According to court documents released on Tuesday, child-welfare investigators are looking into "multiple child abuse and neglect" allegations in the custody battle between Britney Spears and ex-husband Kevin Federline. The Associated Press reports that as part of a request to unseal parts of the case file, an attorney for the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services wrote that concerns exist about the safety and welfare of the children, Sean Preston, 2, and Jayden James, 1, if they are left in Spears' care.

The document did not provide details on what information was uncovered during investigation referrals related to Federline, and the family services agency did not ask the court to alter the current custody and visitation agreements until their investigation is completed. Federline has temporary custody of the boys in light of Spears' reported non-compliance with court orders for regular drug testing, though Spears is allowed supervised visits with the children (see [article id="1573838"]"Britney Spears, Kevin Federline Told To Reach Compromise On Drug Testing"[/article]).

The latest revelations about the ongoing custody dispute between Spears and Federline came out as part of 300 pages of documents released by Los Angeles Superior Court Commissioner Scott M. Gordon, which included previous court rulings, expense reports and income statements for both parents, the names of the custody evaluators selected by Spears' and Federline's attorneys and their detailed resumes, the AP reported. Spears' attorneys had requested that the court seal the custody and visitation schedules in October, arguing that, "such information greatly increases the chances that the actions of the media could threaten the safety of the children by, for example, causing a traffic accident."

At a recent court appearance, the couple agreed to a holiday visitation schedule for the kids, (see [article id="1574977"]"Britney Spears' Lawyers Set Custody Holiday Schedule; Child Welfare Department Asks For All Files In Case"[/article]), though a court spokesperson would not comment specifically on reports that Spears was ordered not to drive with the boys in the car in light of a number of recent traffic incidents, including one in which she allegedly ran a red light while the youngsters were in the back seat of her car (see [article id="1574106"]"Britney Spears' Bad Driving Is A 'Huge Problem' For Custody Case, Experts Say"[/article]).

Lawyers for Spears and Federline could not be reached for comment at press time.