What Is Parenting Facilitation?

How Is Parenting Facilitation Defined In Texas?

Parenting facilitation is a resource for Texas families who need help resolving disputes, conflicts, or any other family issues caused or exacerbated by a divorce. Specifically, it is meant for families raising children between homes, in which the issues arising from a divorce have affected a child’s relationship with one or both of their parents, or vice versa.

Many families experience distress during the course of a separation or divorce. However, in some families, that conflict continues even after the divorce is finalized. Divorced parents may have conflict over many issues, including areas that are not explicitly defined in a parenting plan or a Court Order. When they do, children often feel caught in the middle. Repeated exposure to parental conflict and the experience of being torn between parents may put children at greater risk for emotional and behavioral problems – e.g., poor school performance, anxiety, uncontrollable anger, and depression.

Parenting facilitation offers professional help to parents who want to learn to work together for the sake of their children. It utilizes a child-centered dispute resolution process that is facilitated by a trained, neutral third party (or “parenting facilitator”). Through this process, the parenting facilitator helps parents develop and implement workable parenting plans, as well as action plans to reduce or eliminate the conflicts between them.

What Does A Parenting Facilitator Do?

The main goal of a parenting facilitator is to help parents reduce the level of conflict and distress that their children are exposed to. They do this by guiding conversations toward solutions rather than fighting and recrimination. Often, parents who have been through a divorce have grown accustomed to fighting with each other, and have trouble communicating without doing so. A parenting facilitator can help parents shift from “litigation mode” to “cooperation mode”, giving them the space and the tools to come to lasting agreements on points of conflict.

According to the section of the Texas Family Code that outlines parental facilitation, a family facilitator will:

• Identify disputed issues
• Reduce misunderstandings
• Clarify priorities
• Explore possibilities for problem solving
• Develop methods of collaboration in parenting
• Understand parental plans and reach agreements about parenting issues to be included in a new parenting plan.
• Comply (and facilitate compliance) with the Court’s Order regarding conservatorship or possession of and access to the child.
• Implement parenting plans
• Obtain training regarding problem solving, conflict management, and parentig skills
• Settle disputes regarding parenting issues and reach a proposed joint resolution or statement of intent regarding those disputes.

In the service of these goals and these duties, a parenting facilitator may:

• Review written and recorded evaluations, testimonies, and reports
• Interview individuals involved with the family about the family dynamic and areas of conflict
• Meet and communicate with both parents
• Help parents develop new parenting plans and agreements to be filed with the Court (including ensuring that these agreements are recorded in writing and signed by both parties and their attorneys)
• Encourage and facilitate communication and agreement between parents
• Write status reports
• Consult with other professionals involved in the case
• Attend hearings and testify in Court

More Information

• 5 Signs You Might Need A Parenting Facilitator: Considerations For Parents In Greenville
• How Parenting Facilitation Can Help In High-Conflict Divorces
• My Background in Family Law: Guiding Co-Parents After a Divorce or Separation
• What Does Bad Co-Parenting Look Like?
• Is it Possible to Co-Parent Well During the Separation and Divorce Process, or Does Co-Parenting Have to be Handled After the Divorce or the End of the Romantic Relationship is Finalized?
• What Are the Basic Components That Make up a Positive, Healthy Co-Parenting Relationship?

Does Parenting Facilitation Override Court Orders And Decisions?

No, parenting facilitation cannot override the jurisdiction of the Court, which means it cannot override any Court Orders or Decisions.

The work done in a parenting facilitation session can and often does inform modifications to Court Orders. However, the Court ultimately has to sign off on any changes. Parenting facilitators are also prohibited from suggesting or encouraging any action on the part of either parent that is in direct disobedience to a Court Order.

What Are The Qualifications Necessary To Be A Parenting Facilitator?

Parenting facilitators in Texas attend at least 88 hours of facilitation-specific training before serving. This training touches on areas like problem solving, conflict resolution, mediation, interpersonal and familial dynamics, and parenting skills.

Parenting facilitators must also have a license to practice professionally in Texas as a licensed counselor, marriage and family therapist, social worker, psychologist, or attorney.

Where Can I Find A Qualified, Experienced Parenting Facilitator In Northern Texas?

In Greenville, Texas, you can find an experienced, qualified and highly skilled parenting facilitator in Attorney Christina Perrone.

A graduate of the University of Texas, Dallas and Baylor Law School, Attorney Perrone is a Texas Bar certified attorney and parenting facilitator serving the Greenville community.

Attorney Perrone’s diverse background as a 911 operator and police dispatcher have taught her to be remarkably cool, calm, collected, and helpful under pressure. She has the emotional intelligence, empathy, and patience to guide parents through the heat of the moment into the clarity of understanding communication.

As a family law lawyer, Attorney Perrone is uniquely qualified to help parents understand custody, visitation, and other elements of their parenting plan/Court Order, and to help them create a more sustainable future for themselves and their children.

For more information on Parent Facilitation Services In Greenville, Texas, an initial consultation is your next best step. Get the help you need by calling (903) 964-1122 today.