Supervised Visitation and the Harris County SAFE Program
Sometimes in child custody cases, the court may order one parent’s periods of possession and access to be supervised. A judge may order supervised visits if there is a history of family violence, child neglect, child abuse, if a parent has an active substance abuse problem, or other compelling reasons found by the court. In some instances, the court may order the visitations occur at a facility such as the SAFE Program through the Harris County Victim’s Assistance Center. While the parent ordered to have supervised visits through SAFE may feel shame, resentment or anger, it is important that he/she honor the court’s order and establish a positive history. Some advantages to consider about visiting your child through a program such as SAFE are that you will not have to interact with the other parent at all, which eliminates a great deal of hostility and anxiety. Drop off and pick up is facilitated by staff members. The time spent at the SAFE program is an opportunity for the child and parent to have fun together by talking, playing games, or participating in group activities. Unlike the custodial parent, the parent visiting through SAFE doesn’t have to hound the child to complete his/her homework assignments, do chores, or other mundane tasks associated with parenthood. Finally, supervised visitation through the SAFE program provides a venue for you to interact with your child where you may establish good history which will be reported to the court by un-bias third parties. The staff members who facilitate the program note how the visits are going and if the parent shows up. This history may provide future evidence to the court that supervised visits are no longer necessary.
