Therapeutic Supervised Visitation Program The NYSPCC’s Therapeutic Supervised Visitation Program serves families, referred by judges who determine that parent-child interaction must be supervised to ensure the children’s safety, usually due to histories of domestic violence, child abuse, mental illness or substance abuse. Our therapists help parents improve their relationships with their children and develop the awareness, knowledge and skills they need to create nurturing homes. Each family receives: • Assessment & Goal Setting: NYSPCC therapists assess each family’s history and dynamics; create goals for the family; and develop a plan for the parent to achieve them. • Therapeutic Supervised Visits: During weekly visits, children and visiting parents repair their relationships through healing conversations, playing games, and creating art. NYSPCC therapists conduct coaching sessions with parents for 15 minutes before and after every visit to teach them about their children’s needs and help them reflect on their strengths and how they can improve. • Parenting Journey: All visiting parents attend Parenting Journey groups, which provide the opportunity to learn new strategies for self-care, reduce isolation through peer support, and empower parents to make healthier parenting choices by learning from their own experiences of being parented. • Support for Custodial Parents: A Custodial Parent Specialist provides custodial parents with therapeutic coaching, referrals for social services, and safety planning to protect themselves and their children from domestic violence. In 2019, the Therapeutic Supervised Visitation Program supported 88 families (including 122 children and 176 adults), who had histories of abuse, neglect, domestic violence, substance abuse, and mental health issues. Despite many children being reluctant or refusing to spend time with their visiting parent due to their family history of abuse and neglect, with the support of NYSPCC staff, to enter visits. 74 100 95% 90% 85% 80% % of the visiting parents, who completed the Parenting Journey program, reported that they improved their self-care and parenting skills. Specifically: of parents reported that Parenting Journey helped them learn why it is important to take care of themselves. of parents reported that they better understand the aspects of their personal life that affect their parenting. of parents reported that they learned where they can look for help if they need it. of parents reported that they now understand what steps they can take to move forward in their lives. “At first, I thought this group would not help me because of all the negative experiences I had with other service providers, but the Parenting Journey group demonstrated that there are spaces that we can trust and feel supported in.” A Parenting Journey Participant 6 | NYSPCC.ORG % of children felt safe enough
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