Court Ordered Social Study

[If you are looking for an Adoption Social Study click here]

When parents are unable to reach agreement about their children’s schedule, they often use Team Collaborative Law or Parenting Plan Mediation to assist them in creating an agreement instead of giving their power to the court to make those decisions.

If couples do reach the point where they need the court to make the decisions for them, the court often appoints a investigator to complete a social study and make recommendation(s) to the court regarding the child(ren)’s best interest.

If parents wish to have the expertise of a third party, but don’t want to give up their power to the court, they can use the Team Collaborative process and hire Jake as the MHP, instead of having him appointed as the investigator.

Jake Jacobson, LCSW, Holly Duke, LPC, and Janie Lewis-Zygiel, LPC conduct social studies at CCD. If you are going to ask the court to appoint an investigator, here’s the standardized order that your attorney should use:

Denton County Social Study Order: Word PDF

If you already have a signed order, then you need to contact Janie, Jake or Holly to schedule your orientation meeting:

Therapist	Phone	Email
Steven E. (Jake) Jacobson, LCSW	940-382-5328 x18	Email
Jake works with couples and divorced and divorcing adults in our Denton office. Just a few of his practice areas include Collaborative Law Couples Counseling Divorce “Coaching” Divorce Mediation Creating Parenting Plans For more information about Jake, please visit his complete bio.
Janie Lewis-Zygiel, MEd, LPC, LCDC	940-382-5328 x25	Email
Janie works with individuals, couples, and families of any age in our Denton office. Just a few of her practice areas include Drug and Alcohol Evaluation and Treatment Parenting Children/Teens Play Therapy including ADHD Depression or Anxiety Change of Life Issues For more information about Janie, please visit her complete bio.
Holly Duke, MS, LPC, NCC	972-353-9404 x23	Email
Holly works with individuals, couples, and families age 5 and older in our Denton and Lewisville office. Just a few of her practice areas include Parent – Teen Communication Grief, Trauma or Loss Self-Injuring GLBT Clients – Orientation, Coming Out, Couples Court Ordered Social Studies For more information about Holly, please visit her complete bio.