Capacity-Based Competency Assessment and Its Impact on Child Custody Cases Amongst Parents with Intellectual Disabilities

Parents with intellectual disabilities are often subject to child protection interventions. The research shows that cases involving a parent with an intellectual disability will most likely end up in child welfare court. For many of these families, parenting capacity assessments are often requested to make decisions involving the best interest of the child/ren. Given the weight of parenting capacity assessments within the child welfare decision-making process, it is imperative to use a parenting model specific to the needs of parents with intellectual disabilities. The following chapter explores Feldman’s contextual parenting model that outlines the personal and environmental variables that impact parenting and provides a protocol for evidence-based assessment and intervention.