Supervised Visitation In Arizona Child Custody Cases

When two parents split, custody of a child can be divided in several different ways. In some cases, the court may decline to give one parent custodial rights and limit the relationship to supervised visitation. This will have a significant impact on parental rights, and the parent may have to wait several months before they can request a change. Read on for more information about supervised visitation in Arizona child custody cases. If you’re seeking an experienced family law lawyer for your case, call 480-680-9126 for your free consultation by phone. 

Grounds for Supervised Visitation

Generally, an Arizona family law judge won’t require a parent to have supervised visitation with their child unless there is a compelling reason to do so. Courts don’t want to interfere with a parent-child relationship unless it is in the child’s best interest. Some of the grounds that could cause a judge to order supervised visitation include:

• Mental health conditions: If a parent struggles with untreated mental health issues, it can create a chaotic home environment that isn’t conducive to a child’s development. A mental health condition on its own isn’t grounds for supervised visitation, until it actually starts interfering with that person’s parenting abilities. 
• Substance abuse: Many parents are actively struggling with addiction to drugs and alcohol. This can have a huge impact on parenting abilities. Addiction is also a disease that can be treated, with demonstrable milestones on the way to recovery. 
• Domestic violence or child abuse: If a parent was violent towards a child or another household member, unsupervised visitation with that parent could put the child in danger. Here, supervised visitation could be the alternative to no parent-child relationship at all. 
• Abandonment and absence: If a parent has been out of a child’s life for a significant amount of time, supervised visitation can provide a means to ease back into the parent-child relationship. 
• Abduction risk: If one parent takes or keeps a child in violation of a custody order, it is considered kidnapping. If a parent has done it before or there is a reasonable risk to believe they might abduct their child, this can be grounds for supervised visitation. 

Different Types of Supervised Visitation

Supervised visitation isn’t one-size-fits-all, so there are different types of services available. A party in a child custody matter can request a specific type of supervision and give reasons why, or the judge can choose the supervised visitation level based on the facts at hand. There are three main tiers of supervised visitation: Level I Supervision, Private Paid Supervision, and Professional Monitoring. 

Level I Supervision is the least strict level of supervised visitation. Here, the person supervising doesn’t need to be a paid or certified professional. This can be a trusted friend, family member, neighbor, etc. The person supervising should still be agreed upon in writing  in case disputes arise. This type of supervision works best when the parents still have a fairly positive relationship. For example, if a parent has been convicted of domestic violence or child abuse, Level I Supervision is likely insufficient. 

Private paid supervision is the next level of supervised visitation. Instead of a friend or relative, a neutral third-party professional conducts supervision. The orders should specify which party is responsible for the costs of these services. Visits can occur in public spaces or at either parent’s home. 

Professional monitoring is the most strict type of supervised visitation. As the name suggests, it is conducted by a paid professional. Like private paid supervision, the orders should specify who is to be held responsible for the costs of professional monitoring. Professional monitoring can’t occur in the home- it must be done at a specialized facility. The staff should provide the court with detailed reports about visitation appointments. This way, the court can monitor if continued supervised visitation is appropriate, and if the parent is ready to be moved to a different level of supervised visitation. 

While technically different than supervised visitation, it’s worth mentioning supervised custody exchanges here. This is when a third party observes when parents transfer custody from one to the other, but then they go their separate ways for unsupervised visitation. 

Transitioning to Unsupervised Visitation

Most of the time, supervised visitation isn’t meant to be a permanent situation. Over time, as the parent shows improvement, they may regain unsupervised visitation or even physical and legal custody of the child. The judge may even inform the parent about their plan for reunification or re-entry. The first stage of the plan will usually be evaluating progress with strict supervised visitation. The facility will report back if the parent is timely, there are no conflicts or outbursts, etc. This may start at just a few hours per week or month and increase over time. If supervised visitation consistently goes well, the judge may allow that parent to transition to non-professional supervised visitation. This can remove formality during parenting time and save the parent who pays a significant amount of money. If the non-professional agrees to supervise free of charge, the parents can also agree to a location such as a park to save even more. 

Non-professionals don’t report back to the judge like professionals at strict monitoring facilities. But if there are no issues, the next step in re-entry is to switch to supervised custody exchanges instead of supervised visitation. This might be informal or conducted at a facility by professionals. Unsupervised visitation will likely start off for shorter periods during the daytime, such as 12 PM to 4 PM. Over time, the judge may eventually introduce overnight visitation into the parenting schedule. This may start off as one night per week and eventually grow to look more like a standard parenting plan, or as close to 50/50 as possible. 

Tips for a Parent with Supervised Visitation

If the judge has ordered supervised visitation and you would eventually like to regain your full parenting rights, there are certain tips you should follow, including:

• Avoid discussing the other parent: Some parents may use visitation as an opportunity to interrogate their child about what the other parent is doing. This can be stressful for the child and take away from the limited time with them. 
• Pay attention to your facility’s rules: Make sure any snacks, toys, and games you bring for your child comply with the facility rules. The monitor may give you additional instructions, which should be followed as well. 
• Show up on time: Being late wastes everyone’s time, and could reflect poorly on you in the facility’s reports. 
• Consider reunification therapy: This could be court-ordered or voluntary. A therapist can help both the parent and child deal with emotional issues throughout each step of the reunification process. 

Is Supervised Visitation Relevant to Your Arizona Child Custody Case? Contact Our Firm for Your Free Consultation Today. 

You could feel that supervised visitation is necessary for your child to have a relationship with their other parent, or be the parent ordered to attend supervised visitation. Either way, retaining an Arizona Family Lawyers ensures your rights will be represented throughout the reunification process. There are only so many years you have with your child before they become an adult, so every day counts in custody matters. You owe it to yourself and your child to explore custody options with an experienced family law attorney. If you have a family law matter in Phoenix or Tucson and the surrounding areas, our firm offers unbeatable legal services with competitive rates and free initial consultations by phone. Contact us today to get started by calling 480-680-9126.