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Visitation between a child in the custody of the Department of Health & Human Services and his/her parent(s), family member, or others, is an important component in helping the child maintain relationships.  Further, visitation can facilitate a child’s progress toward permanency.  Additionally, it helps the child adjust to being in an out-of-home placement. Office of Child & Family Services (OCFS) supports placements that promote family, sibling, and community connections.  OCFS recognizes that the removal of a child from his or her home and/or community has a significant impact on both the child and the family.  OCFS is committed to lessening this impact. One of the ways to accomplish this goal is to encourage and promote visitation in a natural setting. A child’s well-being and emotional and physical safety must always be the primary goal.

 

For purposes of the above-cited section,  "child-related sexual offense" means the following sexual offenses if, at the time of the commission of the offense, the victim was under 18 years of age: (1)-Sexual exploitation of a minor, under Title 17-A, §282; (2)- Gross sexual assault, under Title 17-A, §253;(3)- Sexual abuse of a minor, under Title 17- A, §254; (4)- Unlawful sexual contact, under Title 17-A, §255-A or former§ 255; (5)-Visual sexual aggression against a child, under Title 17-A, § 256;(6)- Sexual misconduct with a child under 14 years of age, under Title 17-A, §258;(6A)-Solicitation of  a child by computer to commit a prohibited act, under Title 17-A, §259,or (7) An offense in another jurisdiction , including , but not limited to , that of a state , federal , military or tribal court, that includes the essential elements of an offense listed in subparagraph(1), (2), (3), (4), (5),(6),or(6-A).

Under Title 22, §4035, Sub-section B, there is a rebut table presumption that a person responsible for the child would create a situation of jeopardy for the child if the person allows, encourages or fails to prevent contact between the child and a person who has been convicted of an offense listed in Title 19-A, §1653, subsection 6-A, paragraph A in which the victim was a minor; or the person has been adjudicated in an action under Title 22, Chapter 1071 of sexually abusing a minor at the time of the abuse.  The person responsible for the child may produce evidence to rebut the presumption.  

 

Visitation between children in care and their parents, siblings, extended family members, or other significant persons serves many purposes.  Visits not only promote continuity, but may serve additional functions in aiding progress toward permanency goals identified in the child’s case plan. Some of these purposes include:  

 

Planning for quality visitation relies upon the parents’ participation. It utilizes their own areas of strength, their identification of problem areas, and their ideas about ways in which to enhance the quality of the visits. This planning will occur during a Family Team Meeting or similar collaborative meeting with the family. The purpose and goals of the visits should be clearly articulated to all participants, put in writing, and incorporated into the Child and Family Plan. Family visitation should be individualized to support the child’s needs, case plan, and permanency goal.  The visitation plan should always include open disclosure, including a communication plan in which parents are promptly provided with constructive feedback.  By discussing the successful aspects of the visit, as well as identifying concerns regarding problematic behaviors, the visits are more likely to have successful outcomes. Visitation should be thought of as a tool to assess and enhance family strengths. The visitation plan is fluid in nature and should allow for changes as necessary. Visitation can be a very effective tool in reunifying families and gauging progress towards permanency.

 

Visitation should occur in the most natural setting that will also meet the safety needs of the child.  Supervision of visits is to be determined based on the individual situation, and is not necessary in many cases. The need and justification for supervision will be communicated to the family.  Many families are capable of interacting with their children in an unsupervised setting, while maintaining the child’s need for safety.  This does not preclude caseworkers from attending visits or portions of visits to observe interaction and help strengthen connections.

 

Facilitated visits are those in which the supervision also provides the parents with the opportunity to address family dynamics which have become obstacles in the rebuilding of positive family relationships.  Facilitation involves the visit supervisor assisting the parent by role modeling behavior and engaging the family members in quality parent-child interaction. By providing feed-back to the parent following the visit, the facilitator aids the parents in gaining insight into the family dynamics.  Facilitated visitation, although an important component in enhancing the quality of the visit, is not a determining factor in deciding whether or not a visit occurs.  If a facilitator is unable to attend the visit, or if it is not necessary to have a facilitator at all visits, the visit may still occur and be unsupervised.  More restrictive supervision is necessary only when there are concerns about safety of the child in the visit setting.  During these more restrictive supervised visits, it is important that the visits also provide components of facilitated visitation in the effort to assist with rebuilding positive family relationships.

 

Family Reunification:

It is the caseworker’s responsibility to encourage parents to maintain the parental role, even though their children are not currently placed with them.  This helps validate their continued importance in their children’s lives.  OCFS recognizes that family members know the most about their own families.  It is our responsibility to understand children and families within the context of their own family rules, traditions, history, and culture.  In arranging an individualized visitation schedule for the parents and their children, the caseworker, in consultation with supervisor, will determine if visitation can commence on an unsupervised basis or if a certain level of supervision is required.  Many parents have the ability to ensure their child’s safety during visitation, even though their current life circumstances preclude their child from being safely placed in their home. When parents are treated like partners in decision-making regarding the lives of their children, then the likelihood increases that the bonds will be strengthened, and the parents will be that much more invested in participating in efforts being made to assist them with reunification. The family’s involvement in the development of the visitation plan will occur in the Family Team Meeting setting.  In addition to regularly scheduled visits, parents should be informed of and encouraged to attend appointments and activities involving their children, such as medical appointments and school activities.

 

Factors the caseworker will be considering as a visitation plan is being developed include:

 

APPLA (Another Planned Permanent Living Arrangement):

It is important for youth with a goal of "alternative planned living arrangement" or "self-sufficient adulthood" to maintain positive relationships or re-connect with family, sibling, extended family, and supportive community relationships.  The justification for visits between children and their parents continuing after family reunification has ended is as follows:

 

Adoption:

The objective for visits for children whose goal is adoption is to help maintain healthy relationships to the greatest extent possible. While there is no open adoption law in Maine, there is no provision that prohibits birth family contact, when deemed safe and in the best interest of the child. Preferably, prior to a termination of parental rights, the caseworker will assess whether continued visits will occur with biological parents, extended family, and siblings, are in the best interests of the child.  This assessment will be communicated to the prospective adoptive family.  It is the adoptive family’s decision as to whether post-adoption contact occurs, and what type of contact that is. However, consideration should be given in the adoptive family selection process, to families that are willing to maintain contact in a mutually supportive and respectful manner.

 

When it is determined that continued contact is not in the child’s best interest, a goodbye visit(s) should be arranged which can serve several purposes:

 

If it is believed there is a compelling reason for visits not to take place, the caseworker should seek supervisor approval in consultation with the AAG. The decision should be clearly documented in the narrative log, and an immediate explanation should be provided to the family members. This decision also needs to be documented in the Child’s Plan.

 

The first priority of the Department is a child’s emotional and physical safety. It is particularly important to maintain kinship and community ties to facilitate future attachment, well-being, and permanency. If there is reason to believe that a child would be further traumatized, and if s/he does not feel safe during visits, then the child should not be made to visit until his/her caseworker, in consultation with team members, believes such visits would benefit the child. In making this decision, the caseworker needs to consider issues of grief, loss, and attachment. Reminder: the long-term best interest of a child is best met when past, present and future connections can be maintained.  

In child abuse cases where domestic violence dynamics are present, the cases are complex and can affect children in a profound way on an emotional level even if they are not physically harmed.  In planning visits, one needs to take into account the child’s need and desire to see both parents, as well as the child’s view of each parent. In visitation planning for cases involving domestic violence, careful consideration should be given to the safety of all family members. Parents involved in these cases will not visit the child together, until such a time that intervention and treatment specialists determine such visits pose no threat to any family member.

In sexual abuse cases, the Department cannot allow contact between a child and a person convicted or adjudicated of a sexual offense without making the Court aware of the need and/or desire of the child to have a visit with the offender. The Court must provide consent to the visit occurring. An Act to Protect Children from Individuals who have Engaged in Sexual Abuse of Children in the Past (Title 22 MRSA §4035, subsection 2-A) creates a presumption that contact between a child and someone who has been convicted of a sex crime (there is a defined list of applicable crimes) against a minor, or who has been adjudicated in a child protection action of sexually abusing a minor, is not in the best interests of the child. A parent or person responsible for a child creates a situation of jeopardy for a child if the parent "allows, encourages, or fails to prevent contact" between the child and adjudicated person.

When seeking a Preliminary Protection Order, the caseworker will apprise the Court of a parent’s previous conviction of a child-related sexual offense, or of parent’s history of being adjudicated in an action under Title 22, chapter 1071 of sexually abusing a minor. If the Department believes that this person can safely participate in visits with the child who is the subject of the Preliminary Protection Order, then the Departmental representative must present in the Petition for a Preliminary Protection Order the reasons for the belief that such contact will not create a situation of jeopardy for the child, as well as the reasons why the visits between the child and this individual are viewed as being in the best interests of the child.

In situations where a child is asking for contact with a person who in the past was either convicted of a sexual offense or adjudicated in a child protective action of sexually abusing a minor, then the caseworker for the child will contact the AAG. The AAG will then research the nature of the criminal offense and adjudication and will bring the issue to the Court’s attention. In these situations, visits will not occur until the Court gives permission for the child to have contact with the person convicted of a sexual offense or adjudicated in a child protective action of sexually abusing a child.

 

In all situations and cases, a child’s best interests must be taken into account.  Visits will, in most cases, be beneficial to the children and family members involved.  In some cases, visits may be deemed detrimental to a child’s best interests if a child’s functioning is impaired and determined to be related to contact with the parent.  

 

Ceasing or suspending a parent’s visits with his or her child should be carefully thought out prior to implementation.  Alternative options must also be explored (below). If at any time there is sufficient evidence that the act of visiting is detrimental to the child, the visit should cease until circumstances change.  Consultation with a casework supervisor and AAG is essential.  A motion for an expedited review requesting the change must be filed with the court prior to the change.  In emergency situations where a child would be unsafe, visits can be suspended, with proper notice to the parties involved. One must not only consider the reaction of and impact on the child and his or her family, but also the Court Order and opinion of the therapist and Guardian ad litem.   A child’s well-being and emotional and physical safety must always be the primary concern.  If the visits are being ceased or suspended due to a child’s statements or reactions after visits, one must assess this carefully and consider:

When visits are ceased or suspended, the following people should be notified:  the child, the parent or relative visiting, the visitation supervisor, the foster parents or primary caregiver, the guardian ad litem, the AAG, the parent’s attorneys and the therapist(s).  Whenever possible, the parent should be notified in person or over the phone, with a clear explanation for the change.  This notification should be followed up in writing.

 

 (As Conveyed to the Parents by the Caseworker)

 

Foster parents spend more time with a child in their care than anyone else.  Therefore, they have more knowledge and perhaps insight into a child’s day-to-day functioning and emotional needs.  Foster parents are providing a safe and eventually familiar home for a child in their care.  This makes it valuable in many cases for foster parents/caregivers to supervise visits in the foster home. Initially, foster parents may need support and education in supervision of visits and in the process of arranging and negotiating appropriate birth family contact throughout the case, to develop a sense of normalcy – much like extended family. A positive relationship between the birth family and the foster family can lead to more concurrent and timely outcomes of reunification and adoption. The following must be considered prior to making such a visitation plan:

 

 

ADDENDUM

Family Visitation Service Guidelines

 

It is important that parents take part in planning for visits with their children.  As parent, you know what makes your child feel comfortable.  Much of the planning for visits will happen in the Family Team Meeting (FTM) which your caseworker will arrange.

At the FTM, you and your team will talk about how much supervision or facilitation would be best for you and your child during your visits. Visits may be supervised until your caseworker and Family Team determine that the visit safety concerns have been resolved. Visits are facilitated to help parents plan for successful visits and strengthen their relationship with their children. During facilitated visits, the visit support worker may be present for all or part of the visit. Either before or after a supervised or facilitated visit, the visit support worker will share his/her observations and offer suggestions you may try at the next visit. Visits can give you the chance to show progress in the changes you must make in order for your child to be returned to your care.

At the Family Team Meeting, the team will agree on the best place for you to have good visits. For example, visits may be held at an agency, in the community, or in your home. Decisions will be made by the team about how your children will get to see each other and who will make this happen.

If you are a visitor who is not a parent, it is still important that you and the child’s DHHS caseworker go through these guidelines and decide which ones apply to you.

In setting up visits, it is important that each person has a clear understanding of his or her responsibilities:

 

Parent Responsibilities        

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Visit Support Worker Responsibilities

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DHHS Caseworker Responsibilities

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These guidelines have been discussed with me. I have received a copy and have been given the opportunity to ask questions. I have read, understand, and agree to follow these visitation guidelines.

 

 

Visitor:                                          Date:  

 

Visitor:                                      Date:  

 

I have reviewed these visitation guidelines with the visitor.

Signature:                                Date:                            

Visitor:                                Phone Number:

Caseworker:                                        Phone Number:

Visit Support Worker:                Phone Number: