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Topic: Supervised Visitation

Scientific Ratings in this topic:
1 - Well-Supported by Research Evidence
2 - Supported by Research Evidence
3 - Promising Research Evidence
4 - Evidence Fails to Demonstrate Effect
5 - Concerning Practice
NR - Not able to be Rated

Definition for Supervised Visitation:

Supervised visitation is face-to-face contact between parents and their children in foster care that is scheduled in advance in a neutral setting. This type of visitation maintains parent-child relationships necessary for successful family reunification while maintaining child safety. Research that has been conducted on supervised visitation identifies maintaining parent-child and other family attachments, in addition to, reducing the sense of abandonment that children experience during placement as potential benefits of this type of intervention.

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

Programs in this topic area

Here are your search results for programs in the area of Supervised Visitation:

The programs listed below have been reviewed by the CEBC and, if appropriate, been rated using the Scientific Rating Scale.

Programs with a Scientific Rating of NR - Not able to be Rated: