Recommended Educational and Experiential Background of Parent Coordinators

The following are my recommendations for preparation as a Parent Coordinator:

Parent Coordinators should be an attorney, psychiatrist, psychologist, or social worker, and have five years of parenting coordination related experience and/or five years of other significant court related (assigned) experience in litigation, evaluation and/or resolution of custody and visitation cases, with moderate and high conflict families. I define "significant experience" as a minimum of 20 court related (assigned) custody and visitation cases with high and moderate conflict families.

Parent Coordinators should have completed at least 21 hours of mediation training related to resolving family conflicts.

Parent Coordinators should have at least 26 hours of Parent Coordination training in the following essential core areas:

a. Three (3) hours of domestic violence training which addresses how domestic violence issues affect families in conflict as well as the parent coordination process and with applicability to determining which cases having a history of domestic violence are appropriate for Parent Coordination and those with a history of domestic violence which are not appropriate for Parent Coordination work is required for members.

b. Five (5) hours of training in family dynamics, psychopathology, which should address the psychosocial dynamics of families in conflict and the basics of psychodynamics is required of members, unless the associate member is a psychiatrist, psychologist or certified social worker.

c. Three (3) hours must be allocated to the substance abuse knowledge requirement, which should address the awareness of how substance abuse problems affect families in conflict and the parent coordination process.

d. One (1) hour of training in court procedures, including how the court system operates.

e. Fourteen (14) hours in parent coordination cases review, strategies, theories, techniques.

f. Parent Coordinators should participate in routine, relevant continuing education and peer review.