Supervised visitation

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Massachusetts Law Reform Institute
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Sometimes, it may not be safe to leave your child alone with a parent during visitation or you might have safety concerns related to the other parent. In these situations, the court can order supervised visitation.

Supervised visitation means another person stays with the visiting parent during visits. It is the supervisor’s job to make sure that your child is safe and feels safe.

Sometimes courts order:

  • That the supervised visitation take place at a supervised visitation center.
  • That the visitation take place over Zoom with a supervisor. 
  • That visitation be supervised by a person who does not work at a supervised visitation center. This could be a professional supervisor or someone that both parents agree to, like a relative.
  • Supervised visitation just at the pickups and dropoffs.
  • The supervisor also makes sure that the visiting parent acts appropriately. The court prefers to order a supervisor that both parents can agree on.

Generally, the supervisor can stop the visit if they believe your child is not safe during the visit. The supervisor can also bring their own Motion to review or stop the parenting time.

Supervised visitation centers and other agencies provide supervised visitation in Massachusetts. 

Supervised visitation is important if the visiting parent is abusive, has an alcohol, drug abuse, or other problem that could put you or your child in danger.

The court might order supervised visitation for a period of time if the parent asking for parenting time has not had any contact with the child for a long time.

The state does not pay for parenting time supervisors. If there is domestic violence in your case, the court can order the abusive parent to pay the fees for supervised visitation. If there is no domestic violence, both parents usually split the payment unless they have agreed to a different arrangement.

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