You hear a judge has appointed a parenting coordinator in a friend’s custody case.  What exactly IS a parenting coordinator and what does that mean?

Parenting coordinators can help parents manage their conflicts so that they can meet their children’s needs appropriately in a mutual manner.  A parenting coordinator (PC) can be ordered by a court in cases where mediation or litigation between “high-conflict” parents has been unsuccessful.  A parenting coordinator intervenes to assist with the implementation and monitoring of parenting plans.

What are the goals?

The goals of a parenting coordinator are:

• To help parents, post dissolution, to address and resolve the conflicts that exist between parents in order to reduce the re-entry of cases in the Court system and reduce re-litigation rates.
• To provide assistance to children and parents adjusting to the divorce.

The fact is that up to 33 percent of divorced parents report years later that they are still experiencing huge conflicts with their former spouses about the daily care of their children.  Roughly 10 percent of divorced parents engage in repeated litigation while their children are growing up. This can be harmful to the children and cause physical, emotional and behavioral problems.

Parenting coordinators have been shown to be particularly effective in cases where one or both parents have severe psychological disorders, where there are allegations of domestic violence or where there is alleged child neglect and abuse.

Levels of Parenting Coordinators

There are three levels of parenting coordinators:

• Level One – The parenting coordinator is charged with meeting with the parents to develop a cooperative parenting plan and to help resolve disputes in the best interests of the children.
• Level Two – The court gives the parenting coordinator or case manager the authority to resolve conflicts by providing a binding recommendation unless one of the parents takes the matter to the court.
• Level Three – The court may order that the parenting coordinator can also select and manage a treatment team of medical and mental health professionals for the parents and children. Level three can be combined with either or both of the other two levels.

Parenting coordinators are often less expensive and quicker than litigation.  They are most effective when both parents are willing to accept the parenting coordinator process and put their children first.