Based on a survey conducted in 2018 in collaboration with the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts’ (AFCC) Task Force on Parenting Coordination, this paper explores issues related to the process and perceived outcomes of parenting coordination for families post separation and divorce. The views expressed emerge from a diverse and multidisciplinary sample (n = 289) from legal, mental health, and conflict resolution backgrounds. Almost half of all participants (46%) were mental health professionals (psychologist, psychiatrist, social worker), followed by attorneys (28%), family mediators (17%) and judges (5%). Over half of all participants identified as a parenting coordinator (PC) (53%). Based on the results, participants had the highest level of agreement that the goal of parenting coordination should be to assist in sheltering the children from parental conflict and to help the coparents reduce interparental conflict. Participants assigned greater success to parenting coordination when there was demonstration that coparenting conflict decreased. Several differences were noted among professional disciplines and specifically between legal and mental health professionals. Mental health professionals rated higher on the effectiveness of PCs to help children adjust and limit their involvement in the parental conflict, while legal professionals focused on PCs’ ability to help families resolve legal disputes. The implications of the results are discussed, including how best to measure the success of parenting coordination and to prioritize outcomes related to the success of parenting coordination across disciplines to create greater consistency in the field.
This study addresses a lack of empirical research informing evidence‐based practices in the field of parenting coordination. We conducted a national survey of parenting coordinators (PCs), using the PC Network of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts. Participants (N = 79) were presented with narrative descriptions of interventions prescribed by parenting coordination trainers, and rated how effective they perceived each intervention to be in resolving conflicts. Results indicated that PCs perceived specific interventions to be more effective than others. Contrary to expectations, legal and mental health professionals surveyed did not differ significantly in the degree to which they rated interventions as effective. Implications for interdisciplinary, evidence‐based practice and training of PCs are presented, although caution should be exercised when attempting to generalize findings from a limited sample to the broader population. Keypoints for the Family Court Community gain insight into interventions prescribed by parenting coordination trainers across the country. To understand which interventions are seen as most important by a national sample of parenting coordinators. To explore the differences in perceived importance of specific interventions between legal and mental health professionals. To guide training and collaboration in the field of parenting coordination.
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