Florida law and public policy support a child’s contact with both parents when they are unmarried, separated or divorced, so long as it is in the child’s best interests. Of course, there are some situations where it could put a child’s welfare in jeopardy to spend time with a parent because that parent has troubling traits or engages in questionable behavior.
What parental traits and behaviors are considered concerning?
Examples of these that could harm children include:
- Addiction to drugs or alcohol
- History of verbal, physical or sexual abuse or violence
- History of neglect
- Refusal to modify home for safety, such as to remove a dangerous pet or remediate lead paint or asbestos
- History of criminal behavior
- Presence in parent’s home or contact with other people who may not be in the child’s best interest
- Mental health problems
- Viewing of pornography
- Failure to monitor their child’s online activity
- Alienation of the child from the other parent
- Pattern of dishonesty, manipulation or controlling behavior
- And other, similar behavior
How supervised visitation typically works
In this situation, supervised time-sharing is a solution judges can make available to Florida parents. In other words, the problematic parent would only have the right to visit with the child in the presence of a third party who would monitor the interactions to keep the child safe during visitation and/or during travel to and from the place of visitation (exchange monitoring).
Implementing supervised visitation into your parenting plan
In a Florida divorce (or paternity or domestic violence proceeding) the court must determine whether to grant visitation to such a parent (Florida law calls visitation time-sharing) as part of the parenting plan. A parenting plan is a document detailing how parents will divide decision-making responsibility, custody and parenting time, including a detailed visitation schedule.
The parenting plan that the judge approves may be one the parties agreed to, one that a parent submitted or one that the court crafted.
The parenting plan becomes part of the final divorce decree and the judge must be satisfied that the arrangements are in the child’s best interests. When there is evidence that visitation with one parent could be detrimental to the child, it might be in the child’s best interest to have no contact with that parent or, in the spirit of Florida’s support of parent-child relationships, have only supervised visitation.
Where to learn more about Florida’s supervised visitation policies
According to state statute, Florida State University’s Clearinghouse on Supervised Visitation is a “statewide resource on supervised visitation issues by providing technical assistance, training and research. ” The clearinghouse is also responsible for developing quality and safety standards for supervised visitation programs that may provide neutral third parties to supervise visitation sessions and facilitate those meetings.
Do you want to look into this option? Talk to us.
If circumstances change after the divorce is finalized, either parent may ask the court to change the time-sharing arrangements. For example, the request could be to remove or add a supervision requirement.
Our experienced Florida attorney can provide you with the information and guidance to learn more about supervised visitations and what this option could mean for you. We’re happy to address any questions or concerns you have about these matters.
