PARENTING COORDINATION
Divorce and separation often require parents to continue making important decisions together long after their relationship has ended. For some families, disagreements regarding schedules, communication, school issues, medical care, extracurricular activities, transportation, exchanges, and parenting decisions become frequent, emotionally charged, and difficult to resolve. When conflict remains ongoing, children are often the ones most affected.
Parenting Coordination is a child-focused dispute resolution process designed to help parents reduce conflict, improve communication, implement their parenting plan, and make decisions that support their children's emotional health and well-being. In Florida, Parenting Coordination is governed by Florida Statute §61.125 and the Florida Rules for Qualified and Court-Appointed Parenting Coordinators. The purpose of Parenting Coordination is to assist parents in creating or implementing a parenting plan by facilitating the resolution of disputes through education, problem-solving, recommendations, and, when authorized by the court and the parties, limited decision-making authority.
What Is a Parenting Coordinator?
A Parenting Coordinator is a neutral professional specially trained in family systems, child development, high-conflict family dynamics, conflict resolution, divorce-related issues, and Florida family law. Parenting Coordinators are often licensed mental health professionals, attorneys, or other qualified professionals who meet Florida's statutory and training requirements.
Unlike a therapist, Parenting Coordinator, mediator, attorney, or judge, a Parenting Coordinator serves a unique role focused on helping parents manage ongoing parenting disputes, improve their co-parenting relationship, and minimize the negative impact of conflict on their children.
Why Do Courts Appoint Parenting Coordinators?
Parenting Coordination is most commonly used in cases involving:
Florida courts may appoint a Parenting Coordinator when parents are unable to effectively implement their parenting plan, when mediation has been unsuccessful or inappropriate, or when the court determines that parenting coordination is necessary to protect the child's well-being and support healthy parent-child relationships.
What Issues Can a Parenting Coordinator Help Resolve?
Parenting Coordinators commonly assist parents with:
The goal is to help parents resolve these issues quickly and effectively without repeatedly returning to court.
How Parenting Coordination Works
The Parenting Coordination process typically begins with a court order or written agreement identifying the Parenting Coordinator's role, authority, and scope of services.
The process generally includes:
Initial Intake and Assessment
The Parenting Coordinator meets with each parent individually and reviews relevant court orders, parenting plans, and other documents. Information is gathered regarding the family history, parenting concerns, communication patterns, and current areas of conflict.
Education and Skill Development
Parents are provided education regarding:
Ongoing Conflict Resolution
The Parenting Coordinator works with parents to:
Recommendations and Limited Decision-Making
When parents are unable to reach agreement, the Parenting Coordinator may provide recommendations. In some cases, and only when specifically authorized by both the court and the parents, the Parenting Coordinator may make limited decisions within the scope of the court's referral order. Parenting Coordinators cannot make major legal decisions reserved for the court and cannot modify parental responsibility or substantially change a court-ordered parenting plan.
What Parenting Coordination Is Not
Many parents are uncertain how Parenting Coordination differs from therapy, mediation, or a custody evaluation.
Parenting Coordination Is Not Therapy
The Parenting Coordinator is not functioning as a therapist for either parent or child. The focus is on co-parenting and dispute resolution rather than treating mental health conditions or providing counseling.
Parenting Coordination Is Not Mediation
Mediation is generally a voluntary settlement process designed to resolve legal disputes. Parenting Coordination is an ongoing process that assists parents in implementing and maintaining their parenting plan after agreements or court orders have been entered.
Parenting Coordination Is Not a Parenting Plan Evaluation
Parenting Coordinators do not conduct custody evaluations, social investigations, or parenting plan evaluations. They are not appointed to determine what parenting arrangement should be ordered by the court.
Parenting Coordination Is Not Legal Representation
The Parenting Coordinator does not represent either parent and remains neutral throughout the process.
Benefits of Parenting Coordination
Parents often find that Parenting Coordination helps them:
Most importantly, Parenting Coordination helps protect children from being exposed to ongoing parental conflict, which research consistently identifies as one of the strongest predictors of poor adjustment following divorce.
Your Child's Experience Matters
Children generally do best when they are free to maintain healthy relationships with both parents without feeling pressured to choose sides, carry messages, solve adult problems, or become involved in parental disputes. Parenting Coordination helps parents move away from conflict-driven interactions and toward child-focused decision-making.
The goal is not to determine which parent is right or wrong. The goal is to help parents make decisions that support their children's emotional, developmental, educational, and social needs while reducing the harmful effects of ongoing conflict.
What Parents Should Expect
Parents entering Parenting Coordination should expect:
Parenting Coordination is most successful when both parents are willing to focus on their children's needs, remain open to problem-solving, and commit to improving the co-parenting relationship.
Divorce and separation often require parents to continue making important decisions together long after their relationship has ended. For some families, disagreements regarding schedules, communication, school issues, medical care, extracurricular activities, transportation, exchanges, and parenting decisions become frequent, emotionally charged, and difficult to resolve. When conflict remains ongoing, children are often the ones most affected.
Parenting Coordination is a child-focused dispute resolution process designed to help parents reduce conflict, improve communication, implement their parenting plan, and make decisions that support their children's emotional health and well-being. In Florida, Parenting Coordination is governed by Florida Statute §61.125 and the Florida Rules for Qualified and Court-Appointed Parenting Coordinators. The purpose of Parenting Coordination is to assist parents in creating or implementing a parenting plan by facilitating the resolution of disputes through education, problem-solving, recommendations, and, when authorized by the court and the parties, limited decision-making authority.
What Is a Parenting Coordinator?
A Parenting Coordinator is a neutral professional specially trained in family systems, child development, high-conflict family dynamics, conflict resolution, divorce-related issues, and Florida family law. Parenting Coordinators are often licensed mental health professionals, attorneys, or other qualified professionals who meet Florida's statutory and training requirements.
Unlike a therapist, Parenting Coordinator, mediator, attorney, or judge, a Parenting Coordinator serves a unique role focused on helping parents manage ongoing parenting disputes, improve their co-parenting relationship, and minimize the negative impact of conflict on their children.
Why Do Courts Appoint Parenting Coordinators?
Parenting Coordination is most commonly used in cases involving:
- High-conflict co-parenting relationships
- Frequent disagreements regarding parenting decisions
- Difficulty implementing a parenting plan
- Repeated court filings regarding parenting issues
- Ongoing communication problems between parents
- Concerns that parental conflict is negatively affecting the children
- Cases involving complex parenting schedules
- Situations requiring ongoing guidance and dispute resolution
Florida courts may appoint a Parenting Coordinator when parents are unable to effectively implement their parenting plan, when mediation has been unsuccessful or inappropriate, or when the court determines that parenting coordination is necessary to protect the child's well-being and support healthy parent-child relationships.
What Issues Can a Parenting Coordinator Help Resolve?
Parenting Coordinators commonly assist parents with:
- Parenting plan implementation
- Time-sharing disputes
- Holiday and vacation scheduling
- School-related decisions
- Medical and healthcare issues
- Extracurricular activities
- Transportation and exchange logistics
- Communication difficulties
- Introduction of significant others
- Children's participation in social activities
- Consistency between households
- Clarification of parenting plan provisions
- Day-to-day parenting disagreements
The goal is to help parents resolve these issues quickly and effectively without repeatedly returning to court.
How Parenting Coordination Works
The Parenting Coordination process typically begins with a court order or written agreement identifying the Parenting Coordinator's role, authority, and scope of services.
The process generally includes:
Initial Intake and Assessment
The Parenting Coordinator meets with each parent individually and reviews relevant court orders, parenting plans, and other documents. Information is gathered regarding the family history, parenting concerns, communication patterns, and current areas of conflict.
Education and Skill Development
Parents are provided education regarding:
- Child development
- The effects of conflict on children
- Effective co-parenting strategies
- Communication skills
- Problem-solving techniques
- Child-focused decision making
Ongoing Conflict Resolution
The Parenting Coordinator works with parents to:
- Identify issues requiring resolution
- Improve communication
- Reduce misunderstandings
- Develop practical solutions
- Focus discussions on the children's needs rather than past relationship issues
Recommendations and Limited Decision-Making
When parents are unable to reach agreement, the Parenting Coordinator may provide recommendations. In some cases, and only when specifically authorized by both the court and the parents, the Parenting Coordinator may make limited decisions within the scope of the court's referral order. Parenting Coordinators cannot make major legal decisions reserved for the court and cannot modify parental responsibility or substantially change a court-ordered parenting plan.
What Parenting Coordination Is Not
Many parents are uncertain how Parenting Coordination differs from therapy, mediation, or a custody evaluation.
Parenting Coordination Is Not Therapy
The Parenting Coordinator is not functioning as a therapist for either parent or child. The focus is on co-parenting and dispute resolution rather than treating mental health conditions or providing counseling.
Parenting Coordination Is Not Mediation
Mediation is generally a voluntary settlement process designed to resolve legal disputes. Parenting Coordination is an ongoing process that assists parents in implementing and maintaining their parenting plan after agreements or court orders have been entered.
Parenting Coordination Is Not a Parenting Plan Evaluation
Parenting Coordinators do not conduct custody evaluations, social investigations, or parenting plan evaluations. They are not appointed to determine what parenting arrangement should be ordered by the court.
Parenting Coordination Is Not Legal Representation
The Parenting Coordinator does not represent either parent and remains neutral throughout the process.
Benefits of Parenting Coordination
Parents often find that Parenting Coordination helps them:
- Reduce conflict and stress
- Improve communication
- Resolve disputes more quickly
- Minimize attorney fees and litigation costs
- Increase compliance with court orders
- Improve co-parenting effectiveness
- Create more consistency for children
- Keep children out of adult conflicts
- Make decisions more efficiently
- Focus on long-term solutions rather than recurring disputes
Most importantly, Parenting Coordination helps protect children from being exposed to ongoing parental conflict, which research consistently identifies as one of the strongest predictors of poor adjustment following divorce.
Your Child's Experience Matters
Children generally do best when they are free to maintain healthy relationships with both parents without feeling pressured to choose sides, carry messages, solve adult problems, or become involved in parental disputes. Parenting Coordination helps parents move away from conflict-driven interactions and toward child-focused decision-making.
The goal is not to determine which parent is right or wrong. The goal is to help parents make decisions that support their children's emotional, developmental, educational, and social needs while reducing the harmful effects of ongoing conflict.
What Parents Should Expect
Parents entering Parenting Coordination should expect:
- A structured and professional process
- Neutrality from the Parenting Coordinator
- Accountability for communication and behavior
- A focus on the children's best interests
- Education and coaching regarding co-parenting
- Assistance resolving ongoing disputes
- Practical recommendations and solutions
- An emphasis on reducing future conflict
Parenting Coordination is most successful when both parents are willing to focus on their children's needs, remain open to problem-solving, and commit to improving the co-parenting relationship.