How Supervised Visitation Works And When Is It Used?

Divorce is never easy. When children are involved, it can make the separation even more difficult. Parents must decide on who gets custody and what visitation will look like. If circumstances arise that there is a need for supervised visitation, the courts will take into account several factors before enforcing the ruling.

How does supervised visitation work and when is it used? Here is some information that can help you.

When Is Supervised Visitation Used?

Supervised visitation is not used lightly and actually takes a lot of evidence against the particular parent in order for it to take effect. For example, if a parent has a history or has proven to be abusive toward the child—either emotionally or physically—they may either lose their parenting rights altogether, or they may have to go through supervised visitation.

Other reasons could include domestic violence against their ex-spouse or another family member, addiction, drug or alcohol abuse, sexual behavior, neglect of the child, mental illness, and even physical mental problems such as memory loss or trauma to the brain.

The judge will determine if the parent is fit to have visitation, and if it's determined there is a history of or an allegation of serious bad behavior, supervised visitation will be implemented. They can be temporary or indefinite depending on if conditions change, or until a full investigation has occurred.

How Do Supervised Visits Work?

A supervised visit will typically be done either at the parent's home with a trained and judge ordered supervisor along with the child, at a designated visitation center or in a public place. A counselor or social worker is usually the person who will be on hand during the visit.

These visits are monitored, and the social worker or counselor will also report back to the courts how the visit went, and if they should continue, or if they may not be in the best interest of the child. They can also recommend whether or not the supervised visits should continue or if there is no longer a danger to the child over a period of time.

When Can The Court Order Change?

A judge, either during the divorce proceedings or after a period of time, may revisit the supervised visitation order. They will only change or drop the order if circumstances have changed surrounding the reasons why there was a necessity for the supervision of the parent in the first place. If the parent has received drug or alcohol treatment and has been clean for some time, this order could be dropped or lessened.

It could also be revisited if the parent has received counselling or rehabilitation and have proven they can now be trusted alone with the child. For more information, contact a local divorce attorney.