Supervised Visitation

Supervised visitation allows parents in high conflict or high risk situations access to their children in a safe and supervised environment. The noncustodial parent has access to the child only when supervised by another adult. Supervised visitation is used to protect children from potentially dangerous situations while allowing parental access and providing support for the parent child relationship. 

Purpose

The purpose of supervised visitation is to provide a safe and neutral environment for children to have a relationship with parents, and is often used in high conflict situations. Many courts take the position that it is better to make an error that protects the child as opposed to leaving a child at risk. There are many reasons supervised visitation may be needed:

• domestic violence,

• sexual abuse,

• drug abuse,

• mental illness,

• risk of international abduction,

• general risk of child abduction,

• neglect,

• adoption,

• any other potentially dangerous family situations.

Types

Supervised visitation has many forms, including one-on-one supervision, group supervision, neutral or monitored exchange, telephone or video monitoring, and therapeutic supervision. .

• One-on-one supervision is when a one parent and that parent's children are supervised alone, but some providers allow guest to also attend.

• Group supervision may include several parent-child groups in a larger areas, supervised by one or more monitors.

• Neutral or monitored exchange allows parents to pick up and drop off, or exchange the child for changes of possession, without direct contact with each other, minimizing conflict.

• Telephone or video monitoring has become more popular as people move around the world more, allowing for monitoring of telephone, videoconferencing, and other virtual visitation.

• Therapeutic supervision is conjoint parent-child therapy conducted by a licensed or certified mental health professional also trained to provide supervised visitation. This includes a student or intern in training for a post-graduate degree under the direct supervision of a licensed or certified mental health professional.

Friends or family members may be ordered or agree to supervise, or be present during supervised visitations. Professional providers may also be used, depending on the court order.