Oregon counselor Judith Vergamini surrenders license relative to biased custody report

September 12, 2011

On August 13, 2010, Judith S. Vergamini surrendered her professional counselor license to the Oregon Board of Licensed Counselor and Therapists for a number of violations of Oregon statutes and administrative laws, relative to her rendering of a parenting plan in a child custody matter, in order to provide the father with access to the couple’s child. The Board’s order describes Vergamini’s biased reporting:

In preparing her Parenting Time Report for the court, Vergamini failed to include the mother’s criminal past but included the father’s DUI conviction.

In preparing a later addendum to her original report, she included the mother’s arrest and conviction record but did not include a discussion of the nature of the those arrests and convictions, where were of a nature relevant to the custody evaluation (the original report however contained a detailed discussion of alleged improprieties committed by the father).

Vergamini conducted a home study of the father’s residence to ensure it provided a safe and appropriate environment for the child but never conducted the same assessment for the mother’s residence.

Vergamini never addressed the mother’s housing situation and how it might influence the custody decision.

Source: Settlement Agreement and Stipulated Final Order in the Matter of Judith S. Vergamini, LPC, LMFT, Case No. 2009-014, DOJ File No. 108001-GB0658-09, Before the Oregon Board of Licensed Professional Counselor and Therapists.