Standards For Supervised Visitation Practice

13.0 Referrals

13.1 Purpose

This section sets out the general criteria for accepting or declining cases by a provider.

13.2 Accepting Referrals

  1. Referrals may be made by order of a court, a child protective service agency that has taken custody of a child, other sources such as mental health professionals, attorneys, or from parents themselves. Parents must indicate their agreement to participate in services and must do so in writing.
  2. Referral information must include the reasons for the referral and information on any family issues that may impact on the parent/child contact or the safety of the participants.
  3. If a provider receives a referral that does not cover frequency and duration of parent-child contact, type of service, and the parents disagree about provisions of service delivery, the provider must send the issue back to the court or referring agency for clarification. While waiting for a clarification by the referring agency or court, a provider may set temporary conditions for the use of service provided that the parents consent.

13.3 Declining Referrals

  1. A provider must refuse to accept any case when the safety needs and risks presented by the family cannot be managed. Reasons for declining a referral may include that the provider is not adequately trained, resources are insufficient to provide the type of service requested, or there are safety and/or security risks that the provider cannot manage.
  2. A provider must inform the referral source in writing of the reasons for declining any referral.