PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) – Prior to COVID-19, Family Court used a room only on Sundays for families required to supervise child visitation, serving up to 100 families per week. It was forced to close due to a lack of staff, leaving a worrying dilemma for some families who could not afford to pay for a private service.
“Either you put yourself in danger and try to monitor this visit, or the other option is you don’t do the visits. And now you are violating an order of the court,” said Azucena Ugarte, director of the Philadelphia Office of Domestic Violence Strategies.
The service was available for group supervision only, was staffed by volunteer court staff with limited training, and was limited to Sundays. Although there were security checks, the room did not have separate entrances for those in and out of prison.
Safety is crucial in situations where violence is part of the history of the parents involved. And now it’s the core of the city’s new services.
“Thanks to the advocacy and experience our diverse partners brought to the table to address this service gap, we were able to advocate for the Senate Appropriations Committee to secure federal funding for the City of Philadelphia to establish a supervised project will be a custody program,” Ugarte said. “It took a lot of work, but it happened!”
Cherita Reese-Butler directs therapeutic visiting services in Philadelphia and New Jersey. She said the changes made to the program — including guards and separate entrances and exits so custodial and noncustodial parents don’t have to have contact — are important for everyone’s safety.
“We are here because custodial and non-custodial parents cannot come to an agreement about what visitation should look like for the children. So the guards are there for safety precautions – not just for the parents [but] for the kids, for the staff, for everyone that will be in this area,” Reese-Butler said.
The new WES Health System location also features a large room for group supervised visits and time slots for weekday evenings and weekends.
During the first year, the program will operate on a referral basis only if supervised sessions are part of a Family Court custody order. The judge determines the frequency of the sessions, and when WES contacts the parties, they can determine days and times that work best for them.
Comments are closed.