New AFCC Guidelines for Parenting Coordination (2019)

• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/fcre.12505
• Author: Task Force
• Date: 01 July 2020
• Published date: 01 July 2020

NEW AFCC GUIDELINES FOR PARENTING COORDINATION (2019)

Task Force

In 2017, AFCC President Annette Burns (2017–18) commissioned a Task Force, led by Dr. Debra Carter, to review the many

changes and developments in parenting coordination that had occurred across the United States, in Canada, and across the

world in the approximately 12 years since the 2005 Parenting Coordination Guidelines were released. Though primarily

commissioned to update and revise the 2005 Guidelines, the Task Force also identified emerging issues in need of explora-

tion –the use of technology in parenting coordination, parenting coordination as an intervention when intimate partner vio-

lence is a component of the dynamic, the importance of multicultural awareness and responsiveness, and the overall impact

of the statutes, rules, and regulations that had evolved in significantly varying forms since parenting coordination first pres-

ented as an intervention for court-involved families. The work of the Task Force, including the new (2019) Guidelines for

Parenting Coordination, is presented.

Keywords: Competence; Confidentiality; Guidelines; Intimate Partner Violence; Parenting Coordination; Qualifications;

Training Modules.

I. FOREWORD

The Guidelines for Parenting Coordination (“Guidelines”) are the product of the interdisciplinary

AFCC Task Force on Parenting Coordination (“Task Force”). These Guidelines build on two previ-

ous AFCC task forces, which produced the report, “Parenting Coordination: Implementati on

Issues”

1

and the first set of AFCC Guidelines for Parenting Coordination.

2

It is noteworthy that, as the parenting coordination model has been implemented in various juris-

dictions, there has been variation in the authority of a parenting coordinator (“PC”), the stage of the

legal process when a PC is appointed, the various functions of a PC, the qualifications and training

of a PC, and the best practices for the role.

In 2017, then AFCC President Annette Burns recognized the need to update the 2005 Guidelines

to reflect developments that had occurred worldwide since the Guidelines were first promulgated.

She appointed the current Task Force on Parenting Coordination (“Task Force”). Task Force mem-

bers met monthly via videoconference and in person at AFCC Conferences in Boston, Massachu-

setts (June 2017), Milwaukee, Wisconsin (November 2017), Washington, D.C. (June 2018) and

Denver, Colorado (November 2019).

While revising the 2005 Guidelines, the Task Force identified issues in need of exploration: use

of technology in parenting coordination; parenting coordination when intimate partner violence is

an issue; diversity awareness and responsiveness; and the evolution and impact of legal directives

since the emergence of parenting coordination.

To inform the process, two subcommittees were formed. The Legal Subcommittee reviewed cur-

rent case law, statutes, rules and regulations across jurisdictions and identified key differences and

Corresponding: debra.carter@thencpc.com

AFCC Task Force on Parenting Coordination (2017–2019): Debra K. Carter, Ph.D., Chair; Ann M. Ordway, J.D., Ph.D. and

Linda Fieldstone, M.Ed., Reporters; Hon. Dolores Bomrad; Dominic D’Abate, Ph.D.; Barbara Fidler, Ph.D.; Alexander

Jones, J.D., MSW; Mindy Mitnick, Ed.M., M.A.; John A. Moran, Ph.D.; Daniel T. Nau, J.D.; Matthew Sullivan, Ph.D.;

Robin Belcher-Timme, Psy.D., ABPP.; and, Leslye Hunter, M.A., AFCC Associate Director.

FAMILY COURT REVIEW, Vol. 58 No. 3, July 2020 644–657

© 2020 Association of Family and Conciliation Courts