Child Voice in Parenting Coordination: Toward a Model of Inclusion

• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/fcre.12511
• Date: 01 July 2020
• Author: Jonathan Graham,Lorri Yasenik,Linda Fieldstone
• Published date: 01 July 2020

CHILD VOICE IN PARENTING COORDINATION: TOWARD A MODEL

OF INCLUSION

Lorri Yasenik, Jonathan Graham, and Linda Fieldstone

Is it possible to bring the voice of children to the parenting coordination process without their involvement? And, if chil-

dren are involved, what are the considerations for safe and appropriate inclusion? Ninety-two parenting coordinators

recently surveyed responded about their current practice and thoughts on child inclusion. Their comments, along with cur-

rent trends in child-inclusive practice, and with the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts Guidelines for Parenting

Coordination (2019), assisted in providing a guiding framework and a forum for discussion for the community of parenting

coordinators.

Key Points for the Family Court Community:

The AFCC Guidelines for Parenting Coordination provide some guidance regarding safe and meaningful child inclu-

sion in parenting coordination.

PCs should consider their professional background, training, skills, and experience before attempting to include chil-

dren in the parenting coordination process; Child Consultants may be used in the role to bring the child’s voice to

parenting coordination if the PC’s training and experience are not adequate to ensure the safety of the child in the

process.

Obtaining the child’svoice is the most reliable way to bring the child’s needs and preferences to the parenting coordi-

nation; otherwise coparents are mostly responsible for providing input, which puts the coparents in the position of

accepting, dismissing or distorting their child’s views.

Parental conflict can be mediated by their child’svoice.

PCs must be able to modify what to bring back to parents so at any level of readiness parents may be more open to

incorporating their children’s thoughts and views into decision-making.

Keywords: Child-Centered; Child-Focused; Child Inclusion; Child’s Voice; Coparenting; Guidelines; High Conflict; Par-

enting Coordination.

Should children and youth be seen and heard in the parenting coordination process? Parenting

coordination is a dispute resolution approach that assists parents to implement their parenting plan,

resolve ongoing conflict related to their children in a timely manner, and “protect and sustain safe,

healthy and meaningful parent-child relationships”(Association of Family and Conciliation Courts

Guidelines for Parenting Coordination, 2005 p. 2 and , 2019 p. 2, herein referred to as “Guidelines

2005”and “Guidelines 2019”). It offers a structured dispute resolution process for an extended

duration geared to parents in ongoing high conflict after separation and divorce (Boyan & Ter-

mini, 2013, Coates, Deutsch, Starnes, Sullivan, & Sydlik, 2004). The Association of Family and

Conciliation Courts (AFCC) Task Force that developed the original Guidelines for Parenting Coor-

dination in, 2005 described the process as “child-focused”(Guidelines 2005, p. 2), and in 2019 the

Task Force charged with revising those guidelines (Guidelines 2019, p. 2) reiterated that descrip-

tion; however, in neither of those Guidelines is a definition of “child-focused.”

Is it possible for parenting coordination to assist parents with decision-making and communication

regarding their children without the actual voice of their children in the process? The voice of the child

has been a focus of research and practice, particularly in Australia (McIntosh, Long, & Maloney, 2004;

Corresponding: lorri@iccfl.training

FAMILY COURT REVIEW, Vol. 58 No. 3, July 2020 760–773

© 2020 Association of Family and Conciliation Courts