Christy Bradshaw Schmidt, LPC, is a seasoned mental health professional and expert consultant in family law based in Texas. Following six years of service with Dallas County Family Court Services, she launched her private practice in 2006, specializing in contested child custody evaluations, adoption evaluations, and expert consultation statewide.
Over the course of her career, Ms. Bradshaw Schmidt has completed more than 600 comprehensive child custody evaluations. Her work is recognized for its depth, precision, and practical recommendations offered with the intention of helping high-conflict families restructure their lives after divorce. Her evaluations have played a pivotal role in guiding family courts, attorneys, and families toward healthier post-separation dynamics.
In addition to evaluation services, Ms. Bradshaw Schmidt provides expert consultation and testimony in complex family law matters, including relocation, issues related to children under age three, and Parent-Child Contact Problems. She regularly conducts work product reviews of other evaluations and mental health services in court-connected cases and serves as a strategic advisor to attorneys navigating challenging family litigation. Ms. Bradshaw Schmidt is the President-Elect of the Texas Chapter of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (AFCC), with her presidency commencing in the fall of 2026. She is also an active member of North Texas Families in Transition, the Family Law Section of the State Bar of Texas, the American Bar Association, and the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children. Throughout her career, she has remained deeply committed to mentoring emerging professionals working with court-involved families, emphasizing ethics, best practices, and thoughtful collaboration.
Her policy and advocacy work has made a meaningful impact on Texas family law. As the Mental Health Liaison to the Family Law Foundation, she contributed to the development and passage of critical statutes—including those governing child custody and adoption evaluations, parenting coordination/facilitation, and the expert testimony of therapists and mental health professionals. She remains actively engaged in legislative efforts aimed at strengthening practices that protect and support Texas families.
Learn more at her website.
Her CV can be found here
Christy Bradshaw Schmidt's Courses:
All of Christy's Courses are now hosted on our Learning Portal portal.sfrankelgroup.com. Visit her faculty page there to see her full list of courses!
View Christy's Courses (Learning Portal) >
Interested in becoming a Custody Evaluator? Start with your approved 40-CE training.
Complete 40-hours of approved training. Our child custody 101 series fulfills this qualification for California. While it fulfills requirements in many other states/jurisdictions, if you are not located in California, we recommend checking with your local jurisdiction to verify CE carryover.
Completed your 40-hour Training and ready for your next steps?
- Fill out form FL-326
- Complete your supervised evaluations. Find a mentor/supervisor by:
- Joining your local chapter of the AFCC, so you can find other members and groups in your area
- Reaching out to the official California AFCC Mentors
- Can’t find a supervisor?
- Some jurisdictions will allow you to get an exception to the supervision requirement by offering to complete your initial evaluations for free/pro-bono,
- After becoming an Evaluator, keep your CCE credentials up to date by ensuring you complete your annual update requirements!
To read the full requirements, read the California Rules of Court Rule 5.225.
Complete the 16-hour IPV Requitement
The 40 hours training series satisfies the 40-hour CE training requirement defined in Rule of court 5.225. The 16 hour CE IPV requirement is a separate requirement in addition to the 40 hours, defined in Rule of court 5.230 (and mentioned in rule of court 5.225).
According to the California Rules of Courst, any of SFG's courses specifically on the topic of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV)/Domestic Violence (DV) can be applied to this requirement.
These are our currently available IPV/DV courses:
Not located in California?
While rules throughout the United States and Canada for the registration of a Custody Evaluation are similar, the specifics do change between jurisdictions. If you are in another state or are outside the United States, please reach out to your local AFCC chapter and read the Rules of Court of your jurisdiction to find details on completing your certification as a Custody Evaluator.
Leslie Drozd, Ph.D., is a licensed psychologist and marriage, family, and child therapist and works clinically with families in the various stages of divorce including coparenting therapy, family therapy, reunification therapy, and parent coordination.
She has been a child custody evaluator for over 32 years, trains other evaluators, serves as a consultant to attorneys, and as a testifying expert in family law matters. She helped write the Association of Family Conciliation Courts Model Standards for conducting child custody evaluations (2006) and guidelines for parenting plan evaluations involving allegations of domestic violence (2016).
Dr. Drozd is currently on the board of directors of the Association of Family and Conciliation (AFCC) and Overcoming Barriers; and she is an associate member of the American Psychological Association’s Ethics Committee.
She was the founding editor of the peer-reviewed international Journal of Child Custody (2004-2013) and is currently on AFCC's editorial board for Family Court Review. She has taught professionals and published in peer-reviewed journals on parent-child contact problems and resist-refuse cases. She has co-edited books and book chapters on domestic violence in child custody cases, relocation, psychological testing, child sexual abuse, treatment of trauma, alienation, step-up parenting plans, and family therapy with families in which a child resists or refuses contact including a National Council of Juvenile Court Judges' bench book on Navigating Domestic Violence in Child Custody Cases (2006), Professional Resource Press Book, Parenting Plan & Child Custody Evaluations: Using Decision Trees to Increase Evaluator Competence & Avoid Preventable Errors (2013) and Oxford University Press books, Parenting Evaluations: Applied Research for Family Court (2012 & 2016).
She received AFCC’s highest honor for distinguished service, the John E. Van Duzer award, in 2013.
Learn more at her website.
Her CV can be found here
Dr. Drozd's Courses:
All of Dr. Drozd's Courses are now hosted on our Learning Portal portal.sfrankelgroup.com. Visit her faculty page there to see her full list of courses!
View Dr. Drozd's Courses (Learning Portal) >
Robert Pelc, Ph.D., ABPP, is a clinical and forensic psychologist in independent practice in Littleton, Colorado. He completed his doctoral training at the University of Denver in 1975. He is a Diplomate in Forensic Psychology with the American Board of Professional Psychology. He is a past president of the Colorado Psychological Association and a past member of the Colorado Board of Psychologist Examiners. He has taught courses at the University of Denver’s Graduate School of Professional Psychology and at the College of Law. He has authored numerous professional papers.
Sally Lynch, LMFT, spent 10 years as a teacher in grades Kindergarten through Second and also facilitated integrated learning with children with special needs. She completed her Master’s Degree in Psychology at the Phillips Graduate Institute in San Fernando Valley and became a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, working in both the Los Angeles and San Diego areas.
Sally enjoys counseling individuals, families, and couples. She utilizes research-based therapy techniques to assist families and individuals to overcome target behaviors to enhance their productivity and lead healthier and happier lives. Sally has received specialized training as a custody evaluator and is honored to assist families in recommending a blueprint towards their children’s best interest.
Her CV can be found here
Weston Lange, PsyD, LCSW is the Family Court Services Director for the Superior Court of California in Stanislaus County where he provides oversight and training of child custody recommending counseling and court investigations for the Family Law Division. He has operated a private practice for the past twenty years in which he receives court appointments for child custody evaluations, as well as specializing in therapies for post-separation issues including coparenting, family conflict and child adjustment.
Dr. Lange completed a doctoral project focused on the study of triadic relationships in families who have experienced dissolved parental unions. He has developed a unique approach to conducting child custody evaluations which incorporates current research on family systems.
His CV can be found here
Dr. Lange's Courses:
All of Dr. Lange's Courses are now hosted on our Learning Portal portal.sfrankelgroup.com. Visit his faculty page there to see his full list of courses!
View Dr. Lange's Courses (Learning Portal) >
