ASSESSMENT

Diagnostic evaluations can aid with better identifying specific mental health issues through interviews and testing. This can provide a better understanding of individual behaviors and provide recommendations regarding the best interventions. Evaluations can be geared for general diagnostic questions and solutions as well as more specific conditions, such as ADHD. Prices vary by age and tests required.

Sometimes people struggle in school due to a variety of emotional, behavioral, and cognitive issues. Educational evaluations not only provide typical diagnostic testing but can also include specific cognitive tests to determine general cognitive functioning and whether or not a Specific Learning Disorder may be present. These evaluations include any relevant recommendations regarding potential accommodations that might help a student perform to their full potential.

Ensuring suitable candidates are initially hired for public safety jobs is essential to reducing subsequent problems down the road for police, fire, and other related agencies entrusted with protecting others. There are also times when confidence in such personnel is in question due to their behavior once on the job. In these cases, evaluating the individual's fitness for duty is paramount to public safety and reducing departmental liability. Preemployment screening and Fitness for Duty evaluations at KCPC are conducted by a psychologist with formal training and experience as a first responder, experience as an Army special operator, an additional degree in Criminal Justice, a post-doctoral certificate in Civil Forensic Assessment, and formal training sponsored by the American Board of Police and Public Safety Psychology..  

Improve child placement decisions by utilizing thorough evaluations of the parent's mental health and ability to parent in a manner that provides a safe environment for their children. These evaluations generally include interviews and measures to assess the parent for any significant pathology as well as specific interview questions and measures regarding their ability to manage the stress in raising each particular child and what might be done to address any parenting concerns. Parenting Capacity Evaluations at KCPC are conducted by a psychologist with postdoctoral certificates in Civil Forensic Assessment and Child Custody Evaluations as well as specific training in parenting evaluations in child protection matters. 

When parenting issues arise in the course of a custody dispute, it is often best to evaluate both parents and the children involved if there is a question as to whether or not equal custody might not be the most appropriate solution. Evaluations may also be important when there are proposed changes that might significantly impact children, such as a parent wishing to relocate with the children. Comparative Parenting Evaluations at KCPC are conducted by a psychologist with a post-doctoral certificate in both Civil Forensic Assessment and Child Custody Evaluations.

When children or adults engage in conduct or use words that suggest they may pose a risk to a particular individual, group of individuals, or specific public setting, an evaluation to determine whether they actually pose a risk and what can be done to manage it is essential. Traditional violence approaches often fail in these instances, as assessing targeted threats do not often involve the same risk factors as those associated with general violence.. It is also important not to disrupt the lives of individuals to a greater degree than necessary when others are concerned about them when they may actually pose very little risk. The threat assessment approach incorporates particular targeted threat research with individual situations to aid in determining what degree an individual may pose a significant risk of violence toward a particular target. These evaluations can be helpful in school threats, domestic violence, politically motivated threats, workplace violence, and other similar situations.

When a party involved in a hearing has concern about an individual's ability to understand the proceedings against them and assist their lawyer in establishing a defense, it is in the best interest of the proceedings to determine whether or not the defendant has the ability to proceed, and if not currently, what interventions might aid in restoring such ability. While relatively rare, there are also times where there is a question as to whether or not a mental impairment kept the individual from understanding the wrongfulness of their conduct at the time of a crime. These two issues can be complex issues to address that require thorough evaluation. Criminal evaluations at KCPC are conducted by a psychologist who holds postdoctoral certificate in both Adult and Juvenile Criminal Evaluations. 

When an adult or juvenile have been adjudicated for a sex offense or had a substantiated finding of sexual abuse by a State investigation, a psychosexual evaluation might be utilized to help assess risk for reoffending as determining what interventions might aid in reducing such risk. Psychosexual evaluations at KCPC are conducted by a psychologist with formal postdoctoral training in both Adult and Juvenile sex offending evaluations as well as additional training related to particular situations, such as creation or possession of child sexual abuse material. 

Several types of evaluations may aid in the decision-making process regarding immigrations concerns. These could be Extreme Hardship of a U.S. citizen or resident due to the deportation of immigrant, evaluation pertaining to asylum, or a waiver for the English requirement or the civics test for citizenship due to a disability. Disability Exceptions evaluations at KCPC are conducted by a psychologist with experience at completing the N-648 form that has led to successful exemptions in cases where the exemption criteria has been met.