Supervised Parenting: Time spent by a visiting (non-custodial) parent with one or more children, observed and supervised by a program staff person, at the program facility.
Supervised Exchange: The supervision of the exchange of children from one parent to the other. The exchange takes place at the program facility in such a way that the parents do not come into contact with one another. After the exchange, the parent picking up the child or children leaves the program facility and the remainder of the parenting time proceeds unsupervised.
Monitors: The program staff persons designated to monitor sessions and exchanges. Monitors must have at least a bachelor’s degree in social work, psychology, or a related field. Program Coordinator: The staff person who conducts intake interviews, schedules sessions and exchanges, trains and assigns monitors, and generally manages the Program.
Orientation: A scheduled meeting between a parent and program staff. The Orientation helps program staff understand your particular situation and is an opportunity for you to learn more about the program. An Orientation must be completed separately by each parent before services begin.
Release of Information: A document that permits the program to communicate regarding participation in the Program with the court, the Friend of the Court, attorneys, therapists and any others, designated by a parent.
Familiarization Visit: A scheduled appointment for child(ren) to come in and meet staff, visit the rooms, and see the toys before the first scheduled session or exchange.
Schedule Agreement: A written document provided by the Program that is signed by both parties, that sets a specific day and time for visits to occur regularly.
Session/Exchange Report: A report that documents detailed information of what occurred during each individual supervised visitation or exchange.
Summary Report: A report that summarizes all of the party’s participation in the Program, including all of the information gathered during the orientation process, from session reports, and through other communications with participants.
Visitor Request Form: A form that must be completed by a visiting parent who wishes to bring visitors to a visit.
Supervised Parenting: Time spent by a visiting (non-custodial) parent with one or more children, observed and supervised by a program staff person, at the program facility.
Intermittent Supervised Parenting: A form of less restrictive supervised parenting time where the visiting parent and child are supervised for part of the time and purposefully left unattended by staff for certain periods of time. Staff will check in on the visit every 5, 10, 15 or 20 minutes depending on the family circumstances and length of the visit. Intermittent supervised parenting time is begun and ended in the same fashion as regular supervised parenting time with a staff member present and staggered arrival and departure times set for parents. Participation in intermittent parenting will be up to the discretion of the program based on several factors, and participation cannot occur without certain minimum criteria being met, including successful participation in regular supervised parenting time for a minimum period of time without incident.
Therapeutic Supervised Parenting: Therapeutic Supervised Parenting (TSP) is a type of supervised parenting, but here the role of the monitor is different. In therapeutic supervised parenting, the monitor is a master’s level therapist who works more actively with the family to achieve therapeutic goals, such as better communication between parents and children. TSP sessions are usually for one hour and may be covered by insurance.