Supervised Countact Sessions - Court Witness?

[nannynick]

If your children have supervised visits to see your ex, would you expect the person doing the supervision to be your, or your ex's witness for a court case... if there were no serious incidents during contact sessions?

I supervise a contact session, and court date is coming up. I don't feel that I should be a witness for either side, as my role is impartial - I am there to protect the children should anything untoward happen. Given that nothing untoward has happened... would you expect me to be helping either side by being a witness?

Am I right to try to stay as impartial as possible?

[bigwombat]

Hi nannynick, do you have to give any reports to the absent parent/their solicitor about the visits? I don't think it's unreasonable for those to be used in a court. I would think your input must be quite useful for a court, not many people have an insight into how the supervised parent is doing with the children. If you are just stating facts, that is pretty much impartial?

[Alambil]

TBH I think that if you have been there as a witness to the sessions, you should go to court to give a report - you are the most impartial person to give a totally honest report; you will neither go for the mum's side (for instance - saying the dad is useless, not progressed) and nor will you choose the father's side and say he has managed to change/progress if he hasn't.

I don't think stating facts and going in as the supervisor is taking sides. You remain impartial, IMPO (having been through court) and will be really helpful as my case was my word against his (and his actions, eventually).

[nannynick]

I'm not sure how stating facts will help either side. I was not employed to write a report, so haven't been keeping sufficiently detailed records. If they want some facts stated, that's fine... but if it gets down to things such as how a nappy change was done, how often nappy is changed, then how is it going to help... is a court actually interested in how often a nappy was changed during a 2 hour contact session? Maybe they are... anyone know what sort of things a court is interested in?

Court is likely to be a weekeday, and I can't take the time off work - so can't physically go. So it will have to be a written statement, or nothing. It isn't reasonable on my employer if I call in sick is it.

[Alambil]

no it won't be anything like that - it will be general stuff like;

ould he do it (feed/nappies)?

Did he bail out (like my ex did!) and you had to step in?

How was he in general - interacting with child/baby? Ignoring them? Smothering them or playing?

Has the child settled well into the sessions or do they cry the whole way through - what ways does the dad cope if the child cries a lot?

Things like that - no times, no specifics (like number of nappies/minutes crying); just general stuff.

Do you know for sure that you have to go as a witness or is it just the parents asking you? I think it is quite unusual really to want you there for a proper "witness" unless it is a proper case (I mean with evidence/witness statements etc) as opposed to just the parents/solicitors and judge round a table discussing things. (you don't have to say on here - just something to think about).

It is unfair on your employer (I take it you are a nanny?!) so it's not like they can be let down at such short notice... Could you ring the mum's solicitor and find out where you stand from them because it will be for her I guess seeing as you are supervising the dad (I assume)?

[Alambil]

oops Could he do it...

[Surfermum]

Dh had to have supervised contact with his dd (absolutely no need, but he jumped through all the hoops he had to in order to get his contact order).

A report for the Court was done by the CAFCASS Officer. I think it was only twice that he had to go to the dreadful contact centre, and she came on one of the visits and wrote a report on what she saw.

Dsd wasn't in nappies, but what she reported was along the lines of dsd being delighted to see her Daddy and how she played happily and sat and had cuddles. It was quite brief but it seems she saw enough to recommend that dh had unsupervised contact.

The people who ran the contact centre weren't asked, as far as I know, for their opinions.

[Alambil]

That's a good point actually - usually if reports are needed the court will use their CAFCASS officer so you may not even be asked

[MAMAZON]

you are meant to be impartial but you are being instructed by one side or the other for the purposes of court.
usually the parent who is being supervised.

if the court asks for a report then all you would need to say is that contact was supervised and there were no major incidents. parent was good with teh children etc etc.

it can be as minimalistic as that.

with my XP he is supervised by a foster carer we know in his extende family. but for teh purposes of teh court report he was also supervised by an independant social worker.

it is hughly likely that theyw ill ask you for your opinion on whether the parent was ok with teh kids they will ask a professional to provide a more detailed report of needed.

[nannynick]

LewisFan - those general questions sound fine.
No I don't know for sure that anyone actually wants me to be a witness... as per usual it's mum saying something that dad's supposedly said (expect you know what I mean). Dad however has not mentioned a word about it to me... so I am suspecting it's a non-event. Neither solicitor has yet to contact me - though both have my contact info, as when things were initially arranged, both communicated with me.

Yes, I'm a nanny Mon-Fri, working for a family with 4 children, where both parents work... so it's hardly as though I can easily take time off from work.

Suffermum - CAFCASS are doing a report, and they may or may not get in touch with me - so mum says, which is fine.

Thanks for your input on this everyone... can you tell it's the first time I've done any supervision of contact sessions.

[Alambil]

When CAFCASS were going to do a report for my case (well ex's - he took me to court), they just got me to go to their office, discuss stuff, get him there which he didn't do and then they were going to watch a session. Nothing was said about contacting the supervisor, so it may well never happen.

It may be your first time but you sound like you really care (my supervisor didn't!) and that makes all the difference IMO

[nannynick]

Yeah, I care for the child's well being. My parents separated when I was a young teen, so I know what being a child with parents bickering is like. Must be far worse for a child who's only 2.
So hard not to take sides, but it's not my place to take sides... I'm there to look after the child's best interest - which is to see his father while remaining safe.

Part of me hopes that the court will decide that supervision is no longer required, then my job ends.