Why was Supervised Visitation chosen as a topic by the Advisory Committee? (Click for Answer)

Supervised Visitation was chosen by the Advisory Committee for several reasons. Supervised visitation has been found to be strongly associated with the outcomes of placement, particularly family reunification, and with the length of stay in foster care. According to research, the children who were visited most frequently were more likely to be reunified with their parents and to experience shorter placements before reunification. In addition, researchers have found a relationship between the frequency of the parent-child visits and the child(ren)’s well-being while in foster care. Children in foster care who are visited frequently by their parents are more likely to have high well-being ratings and are more likely to adjust well to their foster care placement than are children less frequently or never visited (Borgman, 1985; Fanshel & Shinn, 1978). Frequent visiting has consistently been found not only to emotionally benefit children in care but also to contribute to the achievement of permanency. Above all, supervised visitation provides the necessary element for the successful return of the child to the parent home.

Stuart Oppenheim
Executive Director
Child and Family Policy
Institute of California