“Best Interests” of The Child?

“Best Interests”

Children have the right to an adequate standard of living, health care, education, and services. Children have the right to be raised in a home led by a parent who is empathetic and emotionally supportive.  Children have the right to enjoy a healthy relationship with both of their parents and extended family members. They have the right to a balanced diet, a warm bed to sleep in and protection from abuse, neglect, exploitation, and discrimination.

Placement in a home that affords the child the greatest percentage of these factors is in the court’s view …in the child’s “best interests.”

 

It is easy for parents caught up in conflict to focus their case on only one or two of these factors. But the court must look at all of these factors when determining what is in “the best interests” of the child.

Child Inclusive Parent Coordination

Child Inclusive Parent Coordination considers a child’s input in the process through feedback derived from meetings with the child’s therapist or advocate.  The feedback is often used to assist the Parent Coordinator in working with the family while considering the child’s perspective on particular disputes.

Child-Centered Parent Coordination

Child-Centered Parent Coordination involves the Parent Coordinator meeting with a child in a non-directive interview or activity session which allows for child-led discussions which are designed to assist the Parent Coordinator in learning the child’s perspective on particular disputes directly from the child.