Believe it or not, May is Supervised Visitation Awareness Month! Who knew? What a great opportunity to tell you about some recent changes regarding this very important service. 😊
If you’ve worked with survivors involved in child custody matters, you are no doubt familiar with the concept of supervised visitation and most likely, you have heard some pretty disturbing stories about it. Unfortunately, many supervised visitation providers have not been trained to understand how abusers can use the service to continue battering. For example, the supervised parent/abuser might bring gifts that have tracking devices or covert messages, they might use their visit to ask the child about the other parent or ask the child or visit supervisor to pass messages to the other parent, they might try to get the child to feel sorry for them, or they might try to make the kids blame the other parent for the current situation. And, by far the most concerning, visitation might be the only opportunity for an abuser to stalk or harm or even kill the survivor and/or the children.
Just last year, RCW 26.09.191 (our statute regarding parenting plan limitations) was updated to include written expectations of visit supervisors (professional and lay) for cases involving domestic violence. New forms were developed as attachments to the updated parenting plan forms. We worked with Northwest Justice Project to add a supervised visitation section to Washington Law Help for pro se survivors to help them determine if supervised visitation is an option they want to pursue and what they might want to consider. And in June, our Justice for Families Project Manager will be conducting a training about this topic for judicial officers.
Sadly, intimate partner violence (IPV), often does not end when a couple separates – especially when they have children. Survivors cannot simply take their kids and move on. Supervised visitation can be ordered when there are safety concerns for the children and/or their protective parent. If done thoughtfully, with child AND adult safety prioritized, a DV savvy, trauma informed visit supervisor can help children and their protective parent feel much safer before, during, and after court-ordered visitation. Clear and consistent expectations and safety protocols can decrease stalking, threats, manipulation, and exposure to ongoing abuse. Written guidelines and expectations by the court are a great first step toward improved services.
We’re committed to focusing on this important issue. Stay tuned for some new tools, tips, and training opportunities to improve supervised visitation services here in King County!