Supervised Visitation in Pennsylvania

Supervised visitation refers to a situation in which one parent requires a qualified supervisor to be present at all times when the parent is interacting with the child. This is essentially the only requirement. The supervisor is only there to ensure and assess the child’s safety during the visit.

Family court judges tend to want to ensure that the child has access to both parents in their lives. You do not need to be the “perfect parent” to see your children. However, the priority remains both the safety and the best interests of the children. So the court must strike a balance between protecting the child and ensuring that they have access to both parents.

With the advent of Kayden’s Law, family court judges are now much more cautious when awarding unsupervised parenting time to those with certain histories. Those with a history of mental health problems, substance abuse, or domestic violence may find that the only option to see their children is supervised visitation.

When the court has reason to believe that the children may not be safe with a parent, they may order supervised visitation with the parent.

How does supervised visitation work?

 Supervised visitation is generally ordered by the court when the court has a documented reason to believe that the child’s safety is at risk while they are alone with that parent. Rather than completely taking away that parent’s visitation rights, the court will order supervised visitation time. The court will commonly mandate supervised visitation in situations where:

• There has been domestic violence in the household which has not resulted in physical injury to the child
• There has been child neglect in the household that did not result in physical injury to the child
• There is evidence of substance abuse by the parent
• There is evidence that the parent has an unmanaged mental illness

Often, the court will only require someone to be there for the visitation. This includes family members of the parent. The child’s grandparent, for example, can supervise the visitation. It does not need to be a court-appointed social worker.

Visitation centers 

Generally speaking, it is typically okay for a family member to serve as the supervisor. However, there may be some situations in which this arrangement is not ideal. For example, the parent may not have any extended family members to serve in that capacity. Alternatively, the court might deem that the risk to the child is too great. In that case, the court will appoint a qualified professional supervisor with special training to oversee such visits between parent and child. Some of these visits will take place at supervised visitation centers. These are privately owned facilities where parents can have supervised visits with their children.

Talk to a Philadelphia County Divorce Lawyer Today 

The Law Offices of Lauren H. Kane represent the interests of divorcing Philadelphia residents. Call our Philadelphia family lawyers today to schedule an appointment, and we can get started discussing key elements of your divorce such as equitable distribution, alimony, child custody, and child support.