By Emma Va’ai, Senior Associate, McWilliam Tyree Lawyers
What is professionally supervised contact?
Professionally supervised contact is ordered by the Family Court to ensure a child’s safety is protected while enabling contact to continue between a child and close adult (often the child’s parent). The Care of Children Act 2024 places the a child’s safety as the paramount consideration of the Court. This means that the Family Court will take a cautious or protective approach particularly when Court proceedings are just new, and while the Court and professionals involved take time to find out more information to figure out what other options there might be to support safe contact, and whether supervision needs to continue.
When a Court has ordered professionally supervised contact, that does not mean that this will always be how contact is to occur. It just means that this is what must happen for the time being while other steps are taken and information is obtained.
If a referral to professionally supervised contact is made by the Court, then an organisation who is approved to conduct the supervised contact visits will be appointed by the Family Court Co-ordinator. That organisation will then contact each of the parties involved to discuss the expectations and rules of contact and also to plan how the contact might occur (location, days, times etc). It is important that the Court has both parties current contact details so that the supervising agency can easily reach each party.
The contact supervisor will then set the days and times of contact and will arrange with each of the parties for the children and the contact parent (or other adult) to attend the contact.
Professionally supervised contact is quite time limited due to funding and resourcing limitations. It may be that a couple of hours once a week or a fortnight is all that can be arranged.
The contact supervisor is present throughout the contact. They must be within sight and hearing of the child at all times, and will intervene if necessary.
The benefit (for everyone) of professionally supervised contact occurring is that:
- The child’s relationship with the contact parent is not interrupted completely.
- Time and breathing space is given to the adults to have an intermediary make the arrangements at a time when the situation between the adults may be fraught.
- The parent (or other adult) who has the care of the child can receive reassurance that the child’s safety is being protected by an independent, approved adult.
- The contact supervisor will provide written reports to the Court on how contact is going. That can serve to highlight any areas where the contact parent might be able to improve; it can also reassure the other parent and Court about contact when it is going well.
In most cases once professionally supervised contact is established and progressing well, there is likely to be discussion about moving to a family friend or whānau member supervising contact. This enables contact to occur in a more natural setting, and can enable more frequent / longer contact visits.
More information about supervised contact and professionally supervised contact can be found on the Ministry of Justice website: Link to Ministry of Justice Website