Standards For Supervised Visitation Practice

22.0 Community Based  Supervised Visitation Services

22.1 Purpose-This section is intended to clarify the policies and procedures required for providers of community based supervised visitation services.

22.2 General Policies

1.  Providers must consider and take into account the safety of all participants in determining whether to offer community based visitation services.      (Also See Section 8.3)

2. Providers must have specific training (See Standard 12.9) that addresses the unique safety challenges of community based visitation services

3. Community Based providers should have policies and procedures that address the provider’s and parent’s responsibilities for the safety of children during community based supervised visitation

22.3. Location of Services

         1. A provider of community based supervised visitation services is responsible for determining location and who can participate after consultation with parents and referring sources.

         2. Providers must have policies and procedures that establish how and where parents, children and providers will go to the bathroom at the visit location. 

         3. Providers must establish policies and/or procedures that address:
                 -Appropriateness of locations selected for community based visits
                 -How the Provider and parents interact with other individuals they may encounter, such as other’s participation in their parenting time (at a park,    swimming pool, etc…)
                 -Who is responsible for transportation of the child to and from the community based location.

22.4. Special Considerations

              Per SVN Standard 16.2, A provider must have written policies and procedures for intervening in and ending parent/child visits in progress. These policies for providers of community based visitation services should address the unique circumstances present when providing these services in the community.

22.5 Home Visits

                  1. Must have policies and procedures that address who can be present during a supervised visit in a home.

                  2. Must have policies and procedures to assess safety considerations and/or appropriateness of the proposed location of the home visit.