Publication year: 2011
Source: Children and Youth Services Review, Available online 24 September 2011
Michael Saini, Melissa Van Wert, Jacob Gofman
This paper aims to untangle the assumptions and goals of supervised visitation services in the child welfare and custody dispute contexts, through presenting a legal analysis and review of social science literature. There is confusion in the literature on the specific roles, duties and expectations of supervised visitation services in facilitating parent–child contact within child welfare and custody disputes. A framework is outlined for understanding supervised visitation services in general. The overarching tenets of these services are discussed, and the assumption that parent–child relationships are important is explored. The legal context of supervised visitation in Canada is outlined, specifically examining the ‘best interest of the child’ principle and comparing the legal backdrop of visitation in child welfare and custody disputes. The social science literature is then reviewed with the goal of discerning supervised visitation across child welfare and custody disputes. The limited research on outcomes for children and families after utilizing supervised visitation is discussed. This paper concludes with cautions and considerations for policy and practice for supervised visitation in child welfare and family law contexts, as well as recommendations for both fields.
Highlights
► We examine goals of supervised visitation in child welfare and family law. ► We outline framework for understanding supervised visitation. ► We provide a legal analysis and review of social science literature relevant to supervised visitation. ► We provide cautions, considerations, and recommendations for policy and practice.