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FREQUENTLY USED TERMS
- Authorized Person: is a person who has been authorized
by the Court to be present in addition to the visiting parent during supervised contacts
- Custodial Parent (CP): natural or adoptive parent, guardian, or state agency and its respresentatives, who has temporary or permanent legal custody of the child(ren)
- Court Order (CO): An order issued by a court that requires a person to do or refrain from doing something.
- Custody: the right of determining the residence, protection, care, and education of a minor child or children, esp. in a divorce or separation.
- Domestic Violence: Defined under the
CA
Penal Code 13700(b) "Domestic
Violence": means abuse committed against an adult or a minor, who is a spouse, former spouse, cohabitant, former cohabitant, or person with whom the suspect has had a child or is having or has had a dating or engagement relationship.
- Fees:
vary case-by-case
and are always non-refundable
- Guidelines: a written agreement between the Provider and the Parents, outlining roles and responsibilities of each as they relate to court ordered supervised contact.
- Intake:
the process that
allows the parents, attorneys, and the provider to evaluate
what type of supervision is necessitated by the court order(s).
Includes a telephone and face-to-face interview, legal review
of all orders, case evaluation to ensure that appropriate
Supervised Visitation services can be provided to support
the unique requirements of each case.
- Minor Child (MC):
a minor, age:
birth to majority.
- Non-Custodial Parent (NCP): may refer to a biological parent or other adult, who is authorized by a court order to have supervised contact with the child(ren).
- Off-Site
Visitation: means that unless there are stipulations
in the court order to limit the activities, the monitored parent
may go anywhere and do anything, that is child friendly and
appropriate for the age of the child, in the time frame of the
visitation.
- Open
Visitation:
the location may be chosen by the person being monitored.
Locations such as: malls, parks, parent's home, relative's
house, playgrounds, restaurants, must be chosen with the provider's
consent.
- Parental Alienation:
is any behavior by parents -mother or father- whether conscious
or unconscious, that could create alienation in the relationship
between the child and the other parent.
- Report: recorded
factual observations during supervised visits/ exchanges are
developed into summary and/or detailed reports and made
available to all parties involved. (Additional fees apply)
- Visitation Provider: is an individual trained to observe the contact between the non-custodial parent and the child(ren)and to document such observations
while remaining neutral. This individual is authorized to facilitate, intervene, and terminate a visit when necessary
all the while protecting the safety of all involved.
Governing Rules and Regulations for Providers:
 
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
- Why is Supervised Visitation ordered by the judge? Supervised parenting time may be ordered due to allegations of--or based on actual evidence of--domestic abuse between the parents, child physical abuse or sexual abuse, parental instability or neglect, chemical dependency or mental illness. It may also be ordered if the non-custodial parent has been absent for a long period of time or is inexperienced.
- How long is a Supervised Visit? It depends on the Court Order setting the parameters of the visitations. Restricted
visitations are generally 2-4 hours.
- What does a Supervised Visitation Monitor do during visitations? The Provider is there to be a neutral third party, observing the interactions between the parent and child(ren); ensuring the safety of the child(ren) with as little interference as possible. The Provider is to be a "fly on the wall", he or she is not there to play, interact or build a relationship with the child; he or she is not the social director of the visit. The Provider will make sure that the Court Order(s) regarding Supervised Visitation are observed and Guidelines are followed. The Provider also will be taking notes as necessary to provide feedback when requested to the agencies involved, Court or attorney's.
- Who pays for the services provided? It is generally outlined in the Court Order(s) which parent or in what percentage the parents are responsible the service fees.
- What happens if the parents do not cooperate or are in any shape or form are incompliant? The visitation provider must terminate the visit immediately. The provider will also contact all parties involved including but not limited to attorneys trough a written report of the incident.
- What do I tell
my child(ren)?
It is essential to prepare your child(ren)
for the monitored visit, however make sure you do it in an
age appropriate way. Use words your child understands while
describing the environment where the visits will take place.
Tell your child he/she will be spending time with mommy
or daddy and have a fun time. During your Intake appointment
the child will meet the Provider, however before the visit
you may want to remind the child of the person s/he met
at that meeting. It will make your child feel more
comfortable and enjoy the time with their other parent if
s/he is reminded it is alright to enjoy spending time with
the other parent.
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