Abstract
The primary aim of this chapter is to outline the significance of trauma in the lives of parents involved in the child protection system who are sent for forensic psychological evaluations. The sources of trauma include involvement as a litigant in the child protection system, loss of a child to foster care, personal histories of abuse and trauma, and, for a large percentage of these clients, histories of racial trauma. Assessments are handicapped by an inaccurate understanding of the impact of trauma on these clients. As a result, recommendations can miss the mark and result in seriously negative consequences for both parents and children.