Parent Coordination

Opportunity is missed by most people because
it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.  

- Thomas Edison

Parent Coordination is an alternative dispute resolution service that combines assessment, education, case management, conflict resolution assistance, and decision making functions as outlined in the Service Agreement.  

A Parent Coordinator (PC) is a professional with qualifications and expertise in conflict resolution, abuse prevention, parent education, interpersonal services, co-parenting best practices, and family system dynamics.  

The PC works to identify and neutralize the dysfunctional patterns and destabilizing factors that exhaust individual resources, fuel insecurity, and generate both reactivity and increased risk.  The PC's primary objective is to empower parents to increase safety, security and stability in their child's family system for the benefit of everyone involved. 

Conflict Management

The PC's primary role is conflict management.  The PC utilizes ongoing   assessment, education, coaching, case management, observation, monitoring, decision making and promoting accountability in the service of this conflict management role.  To assist parents with conflict management, the PC utilizes meeting facilitation, conflict coaching, dispute resolution skills, conflict frameworks, and problem solving strategies, as well as principles and practices of negotiation and mediation.   

Assessment

Assessment functions include initial and ongoing information gathering to assist in the analysis of issues, concerns, and conflicts brought forth by the parents or others in their child's support system.  PCs then summarize findings, make recommendations, and require corrective actions. Information gathering includes the following: 

Education

Educational functions include educational skill development through classes and the ongoing coaching of parents on child development, parenting skills, communication skills, conflict resolution skills, divorce and co-parenting best practices, the impact of parental conflict and abusive dynamics on the children, and interventions to address any skill deficits discovered through the assessment.  Educational classes/interventions and coaching sessions may occur individually, with both parents present, with both parents and one or more children present, or with one parent with one or more children present.  

Case Management

Case Management functions include coordination, monitoring, and promoting accountability.  

Coordination of services means ongoing communication and collaboration with all members of the family/household and the professionals and systems involved with the family like mental health, health care, social services, education, legal, etc. as well as with extended family, step parents, and significant others (past and current).  

Monitoring means observing and checking the progress or quality of something over a period of time; to keep under systematic review.  

Promoting accountability means ensuring that unworkable processes are modified, that dysfunctional patterns interrupted, that skill deficiencies are improved upon, that safety issues are neutralized, that abusive behaviors are minimized and eventually eliminated, that parents take responsibility for negatively impacting the other parent and their child/ren*, and take corrective action to repair any harm caused. 

*Note that children are always harmed when one of their parent is harmed, especially if that harm is caused by their other parent.  

Decision-Making

When parents are not able to make decisions or resolve disputes on their own, the PC shall be empowered to make decisions to the extent described in the Services Contract.  

If PCs are not granted decision making authority by parents or by the court, PCs can make recommendations for future considerations.  

If PCs are granted decision making authority via court order or mutual parental consent, confirmed in writing, the specific issue(s) are limited to what is explicitly listed in writing.  

PCs will communicate their decisions in a timely manner either in person or by phone and summarized in writing.   

Would you like to schedule an individual, 

free 20 minute initial consultation

Great!  Click the "Contact COEXISTUS" button below.  It will take you to the Contact COEXISTUS page on this website and fill out the Service Inquiry form.  This tells me why you're seeking services at this time and when you're available for an individual, free 20 minute initial phone/video consultation.  

If you want to know your past, 

look into your present conditions. 

If you want to know your future, 

look into your present actions.

- Buddhist Saying