PARENTING COORDINATION

The role of the P.C. is to facilitate communication and cooperation between the parties for the purpose of effective co-parenting of their children. The P.C. process provides a way for divorced parents to manage their conflicts outside of a courtroom by helping them come to mutual decisions about contentious issues involving their children. The P.C. accomplishes this goal by meeting with parents and their children and gathering information from necessary persons such as the parties, their children, significant others, grandparents, and their children’s physicians, teachers, and therapists over a period of time in order to assist the parties in developing and implementing a parenting plan. The P.C. then monitors the parties to ensure the parenting plan is followed. A P.C. usually serves for a specified term (often two years), but can serve as long as needed. Sessions with the P.C. can occur as often as once a week depending upon the needs of the parties. If the parties are unable to agree upon a parenting plan, the P.C. may, when vested with the proper level of authority from the court, make binding recommendations about the parties’ outstanding issues. Once the recommendations are approved by the court, both parties are bound to follow them. The goal, however, is to encourage an agreement amongst the parties before binding recommendations are necessary. The P.C. process also offers a unique opportunity for the parties to be educated about child development, communication skills, conflict resolution techniques, family issues, and resources available to assist them through various problems they might be experiencing.