Supervised Visitation Logistics

[Bloopy]

What is the name of your state? VA

I’ve posted this question before, but the thread took off on a second question and this first question was never answered.

CPS, CASA and the GAL all recommended supervised visitation for NCP mom. The judge stated that that would be best, but since mom had no family and no one else to supervise visitation, it wouldn’t be feasible. So he would give unsupervised visitation a trial run and he set up a few contingencies.

I get where he is coming from. Supervised visitation at some center or with some court official would be creepy. But essentially he is saying- Yeah, I think she is dangerous enough that supervised visitation is warranted but since she has NO support circle, she should take them home alone.

DSS offers supervised visitation but how does it work out logistically? Is it weekdays only? public center only?… Obviously overnights wouldn’t happen. Who pays for it? How bad is it that the judge resisted it? For what its worth, the judge strikes me as decent and fair. To have ruled like that, it seems that supervised visitation through DSS must be extremely horrible.

 

[CJane]

What is the name of your state? VA

I’ve posted this question before, but the thread took off on a second question and this first question was never answered.

CPS, CASA and the GAL all recommended supervised visitation for NCP mom. The judge stated that that would be best, but since mom had no family and no one else to supervise visitation, it wouldn’t be feasible. So he would give unsupervised visitation a trial run and he set up a few contingencies.

I get where he is coming from. Supervised visitation at some center or with some court official would be creepy. But essentially he is saying- Yeah, I think she is dangerous enough that supervised visitation is warranted but since she has NO support circle, she should take them home alone.

DSS offers supervised visitation but how does it work out logistically? Is it weekdays only? public center only?… Obviously overnights wouldn’t happen. Who pays for it? How bad is it that the judge resisted it? For what its worth, the judge strikes me as decent and fair. To have ruled like that, it seems that supervised visitation through DSS must be extremely horrible.

Call DSS and find out.

Around here, supervised visitation is offered through a non-profit group. My understanding is that it runs about $75/visit and the parent being supervised is the one who has to pay for it unless they qualify for the sliding scale program. The visits vary in level of supervision, from having a counselor in the room, to simply providing a safe and monitored environment (for instance, for a parent who's a flight risk, but not dangerous).

I doubt anyone here can give you specific answers to what you're asking.

But seriously, if the judge didn't order it, and the kids are coming to no harm... don't look for it to be ordered in the future either.

 

[Bloopy]

Thank you.

Serious harm, meriting supervised visitation, is only occasional.

For example, she decided that dad was sexually abusing the girls. She felt she could trust no one, so she decided that she should personally examine the girls and taped it. She presented the tape as evidence that he was abusing them. It proved no such thing and her exam was abusive. As damning as this was, no one feels that she is a pedophile. Everything abusive that she has done to them has always been in a situation in which she was fearful, irrational and believing she was acting in the girls’ best interest.

Stabilized and compliant with treatment, I don’t think she is dangerous. But she has been non-compliant (dad is not entitled to specifics). It’s been about 2 months since she has pulled a major stunt. The stunts she is pulling lately will just prevent increased visitation. Dad won’t pursue supervised visitation unless there’s another major occurrence. She wouldn’t be able to afford $75 (or whatever amount applies to this area) a visit so I guess that was a determining factor for the judge.

Dad has called DSS but they are stingy with details without a court order. They give him the non-committal answer- “well its different in every case.” Furthermore, he can’t ask the question he wants to ask, “So how much does supervised visitation suck?”