3 Tips To Help You Secure The Best Visitation Monitor

There can be several different reasons why a court judge can order a non custodial parent to get supervised visitation monitoring. Yet, the most important reason that is common within all court cases is to ensure the safety and protection of a child during visitation. In most cases, this can be assured through the hiring of a neutral-third party person who will be present during the entire visitation and can take accurate record of all interactions. 
Here are three tips to support you with hiring the a court ordered “Supervised Visitation Monitor” 

Tip #1. When calling and interviewing visitation monitors, ask if they are a Professional  or Unprofessional Monitor. 
If your judge has ordered you to hire a visitation monitor, you want to assure that the monitor you hire has taken the necessary educational requirements that are in compliance with standard 5.20 of the California Standards of Judicial Administration and Family Code section 3200.5. Unprofessional monitors are not required to take any education that involves the safety of visitation, mandate reporting, and proper rules of being unbiased. 

Tip #2. Ask if they are Trustline Certified or can show proof of fingerprinting/ background clearance .
Before entering into any agreement ask the potential visitation monitor to provide you with his or her name and their drivers license number. Once you have that, call TrustLine at 1-800-822-8490 to get insure the monitor has no it means that no disqualifying child abuse reports or disqualifying criminal convictions exist in California. Please know that not all providers will go through Trustline, yet all providers must have fingerprinting clearance and no record of child molestation. Ask for proof of background clearance and if your court case exceeds five months, from time to time call to verify their good standing. 

Tip #3. Ask about their intake process and possible scenarios. 
Before visitation can occur, a good monitor will always conduct a thorough intake interview with both parties separately before the first visit. The intake process is key to setting up successful visitations and provides everyone with clear goals and visitation guidelines. Ask your potential monitor to walk you through their emergency plan to prevent a possible child abduction, bathroom visits (this is very important in cases where there was sexual abuse present), and drop - off expectations (in cases where there is a restraining order in place).

 
In closing, if you're a non-custodial parent who was ordered to hire a professional visitation monitor, please know that our job as a monitor is not to judge you or your past actions. We are here to provide neutral third party services and most importantly want to ensure your child is emotionally and physically safe during their special time with you.