Perspectives of Mothers, Fathers, and Parenting Coordinators Concerning the Process and Impact of Parenting Coordination

• Author: James P. McHale,Debra K. Carter,Marthanne Miller,Linda Fieldstone
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/fcre.12462
• Date: 01 January 2020
• Published date: 01 January 2020

PERSPECTIVES OF MOTHERS, FATHERS, AND PARENTING

COORDINATORS CONCERNING THE PROCESS AND IMPACT

OF PARENTING COORDINATION

James P. McHale, Debra K. Carter, Marthanne Miller, and Linda Fieldstone

In a small pilot study, 31 interviewees, including 12 parenting coordinators, 11 mothers, and 8 fathers representing 14 different

parenting coordination cases retrospectively described child and familyf unctioning both pre- and post-parenting coordination in phone

interviews. They also detailed how often and howwell different issues that arose during the parenting coordination work (acrimony,

problem-solving communication, triangulation of the child into the conflict) were actively addressed. Parties tended to view coparenting

more positively when reflecting on post- compared with pre-intervention, but reported less change in child adjustment. Discrepancy

among same-case informant reports was common. Parenting coordinators (PCs) consistently rated their interventions as more frequent

and successful than did parents. Mothers and fathers largely disagreed on interventions they experienced. While this small Npilot can

offer no definitiveconclusions, it unde rscores need for research and wisdom in including both parents’perspectives.

Key Points for the Family Court Community:

Empirical study of the mechanisms and effectiveness of parenting coordination are urgentlyneeded; parental perspec-

tives have been overlooked in past parenting coordination research.

Examining and comparing views of multiple parties within a given case spotlights differences in parent and PC views

about parenting coordination effectiveness.

When reflecting on adjustment before and after parenting coordination, parties rate some facets of coparenting better

post- than pre-parenting coordination, but see little change in child adjustment.

PCs typically rate effectiveness more highly than parents, and parents largely disagree with one another and/or with

PCs on effectiveness of interventions.

Nearly all parties say a focus on child-centered team-building wouldhave been helpful.

Keywords: Acrimony; Coparenting; Parenting Coordination; Problem-Solving;Triangulation.

The need for systematic research concerning parenting coordination, a now widespread hybrid

child-focused conflict resolution process that was developed for high conflict parents, is unquestionable.

In the typical practice of parenting coordination, highly trained and experienced mental health or legal

professionals serve as parenting coordinators (PCs) to help both parents maintain safe, healthy relation-

ships with their children if reasonably possible by: developing and implementing parenting plans; moni-

toring compliance with court orders; settling on-going disputes regarding their children; reducing

conflict through education on communication and effective decision-making (Beck, Putterman, Sbarra, &

Mehl, 2008); and when necessary, making nonsubstantive decisions pertaining to the children within the

scope of the court order (Deutsch, 2008; Hayes, 2010; Hayes, Grady, & Brantley, 2012; The AFCC

Task Force on Parenting Coordination, 2006). Optimally, parenting coordination is situated to help par-

ents resolve coparenting

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concerns, avoid adversarial court processes, and liberate courts to address legal

issues rather than micromanaging the care of the family’s children (Fidler & Epstein, 2008).

It is quite astonishing that empirical research on the acceptability and efficacy of the intervention is so

scarce, given the rapid expansion of parenting coordination in recent years (Deutsch, Misca, & Ajoku, 2018).

Corresponding: jmchale@usfsp.edu

FAMILY COURT REVIEW, Vol. 58 No. 1, January 2020 211–226

© 2020 Association of Family and Conciliation Courts

In a recent survey of 381 AFCC members, almost half (49.1%) stated that there was a statut e, government

regulation, and/or rule specific to the practice of parenting coordination in theirarea (M. Saini, personal

communication, March 11, 2017). The rare investigations of parenting coordination that have been

published to date have addressed a relatively limitednumber of preliminary issues. A handful of studies

document demographics (e.g., primary profession and educational level) of PCs, as well as the tasks,

roles, and skills called upon by PCs (Beck et al., 2008; Fieldstone, Carter, King, & McHale, 2011;

Hayes, (2009); Hayes et al., 2012; Kirkland & Sullivan, 2008). Others examine the legal environment sur-

rounding parenting coordination (Belcher-Timme, 2011), impact on court motions (AFCC Task Force on

Parenting Coordination, 2003; Beck et al., 2008; Brewster, Beck, Anderson, & Benjamin, 2011; Henry,

Fieldstone, & Bohac, 2009), overlap and differences in perceptions of PCs, attorneys and judges

(Fieldstone, Lee, Baker, & McHale, 2012), and/or parenting coordination program development (Beck

et al., 2008; Brewster, Beck, Anderson, & Benjamin, 2011).

While child-related court motions decline meaningfully following parenting coordination partici-

pation (Henry, Fieldstone & Bohac, 2009) and PCs themselves rate their own efforts positively

(Kirkland & Sullivan, 2008), little is presently known about whether successful parenting coordina-

tion experiences actually reduce coparenting conflict and triangulation in the family or improve

child-related communication. There is a dearth of research documenting the experiences of parents

who have been involved in the process, identifying what PCs and parents see as contributing to suc-

cessful outcomes, and focusing on outcomes of children affected by parenting coordination work

with parents (Coates, Deutsch, Starnes, Sullivan, & Sydlik, 2004; Henry, Fieldstone, Thompson, &

Treharne, 2011). The few studies that have appeared in the literature are blemished by methodologi-

cal limitations including small sample sizes, limited assessment, and absence of random assignment.

Below, we summarize what is presently known about parenting coordination through the eyes of

parents, our main thrust in this report.

A. SURVEYS OF PARENT PARTICIPANTS IN PARENTING COORDINATION

Participants in parenting coordination have been the overlooked informants in research on the

process. Most extant studies assess parenting coordination from the perspectives of PCs themselves,

and among those, relatively few concern themselves with the specific intervention processes PCs

employ or the outcomes of these interventions. One pertinent outcome evaluation of a court-based

Parenting Coordination Program (PC Program) in the DC Superior Court prospectively surveyed

participants after their case was accepted into the PC Program and then again at least 6 months later

(Child Trends, 2010). Parental conflict, coparenting, and child behavioral outcomes were examined.

Unfortunately, relatively few parents completed the follow-up instruments (Ns of 5 to 16 people,

depending on the analysis), and most failed to answer all questions on the instruments. Perhaps

because the analysis sample was so small, or perhaps because the Parenting Coordination Program

was not effective, cross-time differences were not statistically significant. While most variables were

rated more favorably by mothers at follow-up than at intake, data from the handful of fathers who

responded were mixed. More recently, a few small-scale pilot studies (Carter & McHale, (2014),

2015), graduate theses, and dissertations (K. E. Mandarino, 2015; Polson, 2014) began exploring

this topic. In Polson’s (2014) unpublished dissertation study, 16 parents separated or divorced at

least 5 years (each representing just one half of the coparent dyad) were interviewed about their

experience with parenting coordination and their coparenting relationship. Polson concluded that

while just over half of those she interviewed gave positive reports about their experience in parent-

ing coordination, even those who were ambivalent or negative in their overall portrayals saw some

benefits of the process and approaches of their PC. She also concluded that while parents

maintained blameful attitudes and operated largely through parallel parenting, most did report hav-

ing gained greater access to their children (Polson, 2014).

In 2016, a published report by K. Mandarino, Pruett, and Fieldstone (2016) outlined several find-

ings from the Mandarino dissertation study. Mandarino had asked practitioners to reach out to

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