We understand that you may have some questions about supervised contact so we have put together a list of our most commonly asked questions.
If you still have questions you can contact our office.
We are usually contacted by a referring agency (Family Court or Oranga Tamariki) to see if we can take on your case.
To see if we can do this safely, we ask each family member who has been referred to us to meet with us for an Assessment. This helps us to understand your situation and give us insight into if we can provide you with a safe and secure service.
Your children are also involved in the process as we believe it is essential to listen to them and get their views on how they would like their sessions to go.
Once we have completed our assessment, we will inform the referring agency and you of our decision.
Safety is the cornerstone of supervised contact. We are here to ensure your children are kept safe from adult conversations, inappropriate behaviours, and to make sure that the focus is kept on you rebuilding your relationship with your children.
In supervised contact there are a number of rules and conditions that you must abide by throughout your visit, for instance you and your children must remain in sight and hearing of the supervisor at all times, and you must always speak in a language that is understood by the supervisor.
These are just some of the rules in supervised contact. You will be made aware of the rules and conditions during your assessment and you will be asked to sign an Agreement agreeing to adhere to them.
We are required by our referring agencies to send regular reports of your visits with us. Our reports are neutral and factual.
We only send reports to our referring agency. If you want a copy of our report you would need to have your legal representative make a request to your referring agency.
Fees are usually covered by the referring agency, however this is is dependent upon what has been allocated to you. There are times when you may be required to pay for your contact sessions. We will let you know if this is the case.
Sessions will normally run between 1-2 hours, however, there are times when sessions can run for longer, this is dependent upon the needs of the family, and what has been allocated by the referring agency
Only if it has been approved by the referring agency.
Photos and videos are usually agreed to before the visit and if it has been approved then it will be usual that the supervisor takes the photo or videos. Sometimes the referring agency will allow the contact parent to take photos or videos. However, under no circumstance, photos or videos taken of your children during a contact session are to be posted on any social media sites
Some families are able to leave the centre and have some of their visit in a park or playground. However, this is dependant upon the circumstances of each family
Any food and gifts you want to bring in must be approved before your session starts. All gifts need to be unwrapped and cards unsealed.