What Is a Parenting Coordinator?
A Parenting Coordinator is a specially trained, experienced mediator whose purpose is to assist parents in the smooth, day-to-day operation of their court-ordered custody arrangement. When mediation of disputes does not result in agreement, the Parenting Coordinator has the ability to make a decision that is in the child's best interests. Disputes that are customarily decided by the Parenting Coordinator involve schedules, overnights, choice of schools, extracurricular activities, transfers, holidays, discipline, health issues, and other ongoing concerns. The Parenting Coordinator typically does not have the authority to make changes to a court order, only to asist the parties with following their order when a dispute arises. The goal is to spare parents the cost, stress and delay involved when every decision must be litigated in court. Parenting Coordination is a child-focused intervention that helps high-conflict parents resolve disputes on an ongoing basis.
In order to take advantage of Lynn MacBeth's services as a Parenting Coordinator, parties must sign an agreement or consent order stating the guidelines for use of the Parenting Coordinator. Parties agree to allow the Parenting Coordinator to make emergency decisions when the parties cannot agree. In actual practice, use of a Parenting Coordinator often helps parties learn to work together and decisions by the Parenting Coordinator in the absence of agreement by the parents are the exception rather than the rule.
