Supervised Visitation Progams in Florida: A Cause for Optimism, a Call for Caution

When parents are fighting and one is not allowed to see the kids, it can be hard to figure out what to do. In Florida, there are places where a neutral person can help the visit go smoothly. These places are called supervised visitation centers. They are helpful, but they are not a long-term solution. It’s important for lawyers and parents to understand the rules and how to use these centers safely. Florida has 15 supervised visitation centers for families dealing with domestic violence. They offer supervision during visitations and exchanges between parents. Each center is unique and receives funding from different sources. For example, the Family Visitation Center in Pensacola is run by the Children’s Home Society and has volunteer supervisors. It operates five days a week and has support from the local community. Two different judicial circuits in Florida have family visitation programs that help families spend time together in a safe and supervised environment. In Tallahassee, the program is run by graduate students at Florida State University and the Guardian Ad Litem Program, with support from the local sheriff’s department and county commissioners. In Jacksonville, the Family Visitation Center is a non-profit organization with paid staff and volunteers, providing supervised visits for families involved in foster care and other family-related cases. The program uses security measures and operates out of buildings leased from local churches. The Family Visitation Centers in Ocala, Clearwater, and Orlando are places where families can visit with their kids in a safe and supervised environment. They are funded by community organizations and government agencies, and have trained staff and volunteers to make sure visits go smoothly. The centers also offer other support and resources for families, like parenting classes and a library for parents to use. Dade County and the 12th Judicial Circuit both have supervised visitation programs for families going through court cases. Dade County has two programs – Family Court Services (FCS) and the Family Visitation Center (FVC). FCS offers supervised visits and other support services for dissolution and modification cases, while FVC focuses on dependency cases and is looking to expand to include domestic violence cases. The 12th Judicial Circuit also has two programs – the Children and Families Supervised Visitation Program, which accepts dependency and family court cases, and sends trained volunteers to supervise visits. The programs are funded by various organizations and operate several days a week. In 1996, the Supervised Visitation Program opened in Manatee County. It’s run by Family Resources, Inc. and is funded by the Department of Children and Family Services. The program has two staff members who supervise visits, with security present. It operates two nights a week and on Saturdays, and visits last 90 minutes. In Hillsborough County, the Children’s Advocacy Center is funded by the Children’s Board and the Department of Children and Family Services. It operates six days a week and offers monitored exchanges at a local church. In Palm Beach County, the Family Connection Program operates every weekend at two elementary schools and is staffed by trained supervisors paid by the county. The 15th Judicial Circuit program recruits volunteers from the Palm Beach County School System and family law legal community. It’s proven to be more cost-effective to have deputies on-site at each center for visitation arrangements. In Broward County, the 17th Judicial Circuit program called Our House provides supervision for families in dependency cases and family court cases. Junior League volunteers are trained by Broward County Children’s Victim Services to supervise visitations. There is no charge for the supervision, and panic buttons and security personnel are present during evening visitations. The program supervised about 205 family court visits last year, and parents can visit for 90 minutes up to twice a week. In the 20th Judicial Circuit, there are two programs for supervised visitation. The Family Connection Center helps with dependency and family court cases and has two locations. The Family Visitation Center of Southwest Florida supervises one family at a time and offers hands-on parent education. Both programs charge a fee based on income. The Florida Legislature passed a law in 1996 to create a Family Visitation Network and Task Force to help families with visitation issues. The Florida Visitation Network has been created to help families with supervised visitation. It will compile a list of visitation programs, hold workshops and conferences, and provide support to these programs. There is also a task force that will help oversee the network and make recommendations for improvement.

Source: https://www.floridabar.org/the-florida-bar-journal/supervised-visitation-progams-in-florida-a-cause-for-optimism-a-call-for-caution/