SUPERVISED VISITATION A Profile of Providers |
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| Authors: | Nancy Thoennes Jessica Pearson |
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| Institution: | Nancy Theonnes is the associate director of the Center for Policy Research, Denver. She is currently working on the National Violence Against Women Survey funded by the National Institute of Justice and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She has also conducted work on court-based dependency mediation throughout the United States, studies on the effectiveness of programs to alleviate child access and visitation disputes, and an examination of the three major models through which foster care reviews are currently conducted;. Jessica Pearson is the director of the Center for Policy Research, Denver. She has conducted numerous demonstration and evaluation projects dealing with a variety of social and legal issues that affect families. She is currently principal investigator for several national projects that examine domestic violence, welfare reform, and child support program developments, as well as intiatives to provide services to noncustodial parents and programs to increase voluntary paternity acknowledgement in hospital settings;. |
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| Abstract: | Surveys with 94 administrators of supervised visitation programs, 51 family court judges, and 40 administrators of child protective services agencies provide a national picture of supervised visitation services, their utility, and areas of unmet need. Although the programs are perceived to fill an important need, they struggle to survive financially, particularly those that handle family court cases. In addition, because many programs operate without adequate access to the assessment and treatment services that some families need, judges frequently want visitation supervisors to assist them in determining suitable custody and visitation arrangements, a role that supervised visitation programs do not feel is appropriate. Many different types of entities provide effective supervised visitation services; many different service formats work. Architects of new programs should fashion services that use local resources to maximum advantage. |
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