February 8, 2016
What’s all this I hear about a Parenting Coordinator making decisions for my kids?
Parenting Coordination (PC) is a method of problem solving for divorced or separated parents who have a history of high conflict, poor communication and often years fighting in the court system. At best, these parents are ineffective parents. At worst, they can parent their kids in ways that are unhealthy and damaging.
A Parenting Coordinator is a trained and experienced mental health or legal professional who works with parents to contain conflict and implement court orders. While a PC often helps parents negotiate parenting decisions, far too often the PC makes the decisions for kids that their parents simply can’t make.
Where does the PC get the right to parent someone else’s kids? From a court order and her contract with both parents.
For a tiny fraction of Connecticut high conflict families a Parenting Coordinator may be the last best option to keep families away from the revolving courthouse doors. But for most parents, the idea of giving parenting authority to a stranger is frightening? And it should be.
To learn more about Parenting Coordination, feel free to contact Jennifer Luise Champagne, MA, LPC, 203-864-6150, www.jenniferluisechampagne.com.
Jennifer can also educate you about non-adversarial methods of divorce or separating, including mediation and collaboration. These methods educate and empower you and your child’s other parent, rather than a stranger, to co-parent your kids.
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