Most of the time it is in the child’s best interest to have both parents involved in his/her life. But, what happens when one parent isn’t good for the child, or is even dangerous? A common solution for working out visitation when one parent isn’t a fit parent is to have supervised visitation.
What is supervised visitation?
Supervised visitation is when a parent is allowed to have visitation with the child only when a third person is present. This third person has to be approved by the judge, and is there to make sure that nothing dangerous happens during the visit.
Who has supervised visitation?
When a parent has a history that shows they have done things that are harmful to the children, the court can order that visitation be supervised. Some common reasons why a person would have supervised visitation include: a history or domestic abuse or violence towards the children, a history of drug abuse, a criminal history, a history of self-inflicted violence, or being absent from the child’s life for a long period of time. Basically, if the court has concerns that a parent may hurt or harm the child, the court will order supervised visitation. In the case of an absent parent, the court may order supervised visitation until the child is used to the parent.
How does supervised visitation work?
In a situation where a parent has supervised visitation, the court will approve the third person who must monitor the visits. The parents can then work out child visitation arrangements. Usually, supervised visitation isn’t more than a few hours. In some situations, the supervised visit happens where the third person is–at a center or neutral meeting place. Occasionally the visit can happen at the parent’s home, but that must be approved by the court. Depending on the court order, a parent may start with supervised visitation but he/she can can take steps to prove that they can have normal visitation.
If you feel like your child’s other parent is dangerous or harmful, you can request the court to order supervised visitation. This is necessary if there has been a history of abuse or violence in your family, or if you are worried about the other parent’s actions.