For many families, there can be challenges in arranging and agreeing how contact between children and family members can take place in a safe and supported manner. Arrangements for contact can be made increasingly difficult in situations of relationship breakdowns when emotional turmoil and conflict is at its highest point. In these situations, contact centres can provide a venue for contact to proceed at a neutral location with trained staff offering assistance, support and guidance.
What is a contact centre?
Contact centres play a critical role in providing children experiencing, and affected by, relationship breakdown with a safe and secure environment in which to exercise contact with the parent (or wider family member) with whom they do not live. Often, the contact centre will provide a starting point for contact to take place and a route to a more permanent arrangement for contact moving forward.
Who are the supervisors?
Contact centre staff are trained employees and/or volunteers who have specialist knowledge and understanding of complex family scenarios and conflict. These individuals are trained to be non-judgmental and provide a valuable service to families across Scotland. Staff are required to undertake training recognised by the Scottish Code of Practice and Child Contact Centre Quality Assurance Framework. Contact centre staff must act in a confidential and impartial manner when providing services to families.
What services do contact centres provide?
Contact centres and their staff provide a variety of support services to families to facilitate contact. This can be the facilitation of direct, or indirect contact, supported contact or supervised contact and handovers. Some contact centres may also provide mediation, counselling for children and parenting classes.
Supervised contact
This is contact in which a trained member of staff facilitates handover and then supervises and observes contact between the child and the parent with whom they are having contact. The staff member will be in the room at all times and reports will be produced which can be lodged with the court if that is required.
Supported contact
This is contact whereby a centre worker will facilitate handover from one parent to another with contact taking place within the contact centre. This will mean that each parent will be in a separate room and will not interact with each other. The child will be escorted from the room with one parent by a centre worker to the room with the parent with whom the child is due to have contact. Thereafter, the child and parent will be left to have their contact with a centre worker checking in periodically on how contact is going. Usually, contact reports are not produced in these sessions.
Handover
The contact centre can also act as a venue for handovers to take place in situations where separated parents do not wish to interact with one another, without the need for contact to be supervised or supported. In situations like this, the contact centre can provide a neutral venue for peaceful handovers to take place, where everyone is supported.
Costs
The costs associated with each session of contact and the production of reports vary from contact centre to contact centre and these should be checked with the individual contact centre before contact proceeds.
If you feel you may benefit from advice about contact, please contact a member of family law team today.
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Senior Solicitor
