Contact with a child is how and when a child gets to spend time with a parent or other person who does not have day-to-day care of them. It used to be called supervised access.
Supervised contact takes place in a safe, controlled situation, overseen by someone such as a relative or an organisation that provides supervised contact services. It is most often used when one parent has been violent, either towards the other parent or towards the children.
Supervised contact has given many parents the chance to rebuild solid relationships with their children.
If a Family Court is dealing with a dispute about arrangements for the care of a child and one of the parties claims that the other has been violent, the Court will hear the evidence and decide whether the claim is true. If it decides it is true, the Court can order that the person who has been violent will have supervised contact with the child, unless it is satisfied that the child would be safe with unsupervised contact.
When the Judge is making a decision, he/she must take the child's wishes into account and may appoint a lawyer for the child. The Court may also require contact to be supervised until it can hear and decide on a claim of violence. The Court may also order supervised contact in situations that don't involve violence (for example, to re-introduce a parent to a child after a period of no contact between them).
Click here to read the booklet from the Ministry of Justice about Supervised Contact
A parenting order is an order made by the Family Court that says who is responsible for the day-to-day care of a child, and when and how someone else important in the child's life can have contact with them. Parenting orders can be enforced just like any other order of the Court. Usually, they involve disputes between a child's parents. But other people in a child's life can apply for a parenting order too - a guardian, or a partner of a parent of the child, for example, and in certain cases others. A parenting order can also be made when parents or guardians agree on the arrangements for the care of children and have prepared a written parenting agreement. Here, one or both can ask the Court to make a parenting order based on the agreement. Day-to-day care used to be called custody, and contact used to be called access. A parenting order is the new name for what used to be called custody orders and access orders.
View the parenting order brochure
Read further information from the Community Law Centre
- The best interest of the child is paramount. The service is neutral in disputes between parties
- Children have the right to express their view and have that taken into account in contact arrangements that affect them
- Children have the right to enjoy their contact with their visiting parents
- The service will provide a safe and child-centred environment for supervised contact visits or change-over arrangements with trained and experienced staff
- Family Focus will respect your right to privacy and keep information we collect confidential. An exception to this is if we believe you, your child or another person is at risk of harm. In this situation, the information will be shared with the appropriate authorities
- Family Focus’s Children’s Supervised Contact Services operate within the legal framework of the Care of Children Act 2004
Supervised Contact services available
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On-site Supervised Contact is a service where the supervision of the child(ren) with their visiting parent/caregiver takes place at our place of work. Sessions are usually for 1 - 2 hours and have staggered arrival and departure times to ensure safety for all parties.
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On-site Supervised Changeover is a service where the supervision of the child(ren) takes place as they transfer from one parent to the other, to ensure that cross-over times are safe, positive, and child-focused.
There is a fee for both these services
What does the referral process involve?
Once the referral information is received, Family Focus initiates a comprehensive assessment process.
The Contact Coordinator will separately with the day to day carer, the visiting parent/caregiver and the child(ren) to determine the best fit with the service and to allow them to raise questions about the visits. The Contact Coordinator and the parties will also discuss and agree to the visit rules to ensure the best interests of the child(ren). If a decision is made to proceed, the children will visit the centre to ensure it feels a safe, familiar, and friendly to them.
After the assessment process, the Contact Coordinator will confirm the session days and times and the contact supervisor.
What are our expectations of referrers?
To ensure the well-being and safety of children in Supervised Contact and to minimise conflict between parties, key tasks for the referrer are:
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To complete all the required details on the Referrer Information Form to identify the family situation, current issues, risks, and safety concerns
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To attach relevant supporting documentation
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To ensure parties are informed of and clearly understand the Supervised Contact assessment requirements and service delivery processes
Click here to download a copy of the Supervised Contact booklet