Differences between a Hear the Child, Views of the Child, and Full S. 211 Report
A Hear the Child (or Voice of the Child) report is based on a neutral third party (e.g. lawyers or mental health professionals) interviewing a child and reporting their views, often verbatim. The interviewer does not assess the child and the interviewer does not provide any opinions about what the child stated, or what is in their best interests. It is conducted under s. 202 or 224(1)(b) of the Family Law Act and is not considered an expert report. The child's views are accepted at face value and are passed to the court without analyzing their reliability or the influences behind them. There is often a second interview, during which information is reviewed with the child for inclusion into the report. There is no assessment of parenting ability and no recommendations are offered. The child is treated as the client and has control over what is reported. This makes it useful when the goal is simply to give the child a voice without extra clinical interpretation, but courts receive the child's stated views with no direct information about how much weight to give them. These reports are generally considered less reliable in higher-conflict situations, where there are concerns that a child may have been coached or influenced.If parents are interviewed, interviews are brief and limited to contextual and background information.
A Views of the Child report also focuses on a child’s views, but there is an evaluative component as well. The assessor is usually a mental health professional, such as a psychologist, counsellor, or social worker. In addition to what the child reports, the assessor analyzes the content and process behind those views, commenting on their reliability, consistency, and susceptibility to influence or coaching. This usually involves two or more interviews with the child to check for stability in the responses. Parents may be briefly interviewed as well for contextual and background information, but they are not assessed and the assessor does not provide opinions about the parents or parenting time. In a views of the child report, the court is considered the client and the assessor may provide limited opinions specific to the child’s views; however, as the parents are not assessed, the assessor cannot provide any opinions or recommendations related to parenting time or parenting responsibility.
A full Section 211 report is the only one of the three that is a comprehensive parenting assessment, in which opinions around parenting time may be made. Under s. 211(1) of the Family Law Act, the court can appoint an assessor to address any or all of three things: the child's needs, the child's views, and each party's ability and willingness to meet those needs. A full s. 211 report typically includes interviews with the child(ren) and both parents, observation of parent-child interactions, review of documentation and records, information from collateral references, and usually includes psychological testing and home observations. It is the only type of report among these three that produces recommendations on parenting time and parenting responsibility. As this assessment is the most comprehensive, it is also the most costly and time consuming.
It is important to note that a Hear the Child or Views of the Child Report is not a shortcut or replacement for a full s. 211 assessment. They each serve different purposes and must be matched to the specific needs of a family law dispute and the question before the court.
