This Is an Agreement for Parenting Coordination Services
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THIS IS AN AGREEMENT FOR PARENTING COORDINATION SERVICES BETWEEN: FN1 LN1 -and- FN2 LN2 -and- CANADIAN CO-PARENTING CENTRES, CCPC PRINCIPLES 1. The parents, FN1 LN1 and FN2 LN2, acknowledge that child(ren) will benefit from a meaningful relationship with both parents, that parental conflict will impact negatively on the child(ren)'s adjustment and development, and that every effort should be made to keep the child(ren) out of the parent's disputes. 2. Parenting coordination is a child-focused dispute resolution process and the parents agree to voluntarily enter into this Agreement, and to be bound by it, because of a desire to: a) de-escalate parental conflict; b) prioritize the child(ren)'s best interests; c) promote the child(ren)'s optimum adjustment; d) resolve issues/disputes in a timely and cost efficient manner; e) benefit from the direction of a qualified professional. APPOINTMENT OF THE PARENTING COORDINATOR 3. The parents/parties hereby retain the CANADIAN CO-PARENTING CENTRES to provide parenting coordination services, as defined by this agreement, and as described in Schedule "A" of this Agreement, and as generally understood in the professional literature and practice. The Canadian Co-Parenting Centre's primary representative will be FNPC LNPC (the parenting coordinator). (Canadian Co-Parenting Centres, CCPC, is a registered charitable organization and is hereafter referred to as the "Agency".) 4. No party is under any duress or undue influence of the other party and they are voluntarily entering into this Agreement. Each party has had the opportunity to obtain independent legal advice prior to signing this Agreement. GENERAL OBJECTIVES 5. FN1 and FN2 have willingly agreed to use the process of parenting coordination to ensure that issues arising from their roles as parents and co-parents are effectively addressed in a timely manner, so that their children, Children Names, can enjoy a relatively conflict free environment and a good quality relationship with each of their parents. In addition to resolving some existing issues, and having a process for resolving future issues, FN1 and FN2 will endeavour to learn how to co-parent more effectively through improved communication, interest based negotiation, collaboration and the establishment of useful strategies and procedures. The parenting coordination process will create an opportunity for tension and mistrust to subside, and for tolerance and understanding to develop. PARENTS' RESPONSIBILITIES 6. In addition to abiding by the other terms and procedures outlined in this contract, the parents will make every effort to resolve their issues and disputes with each other in good faith and in a respectful, cooperative, and mutually acceptable manner. Their focus will be the best interests of their child(ren), rather than their own needs and wishes, including any wishes to “win” the dispute or remain involved with the other parent. The parents will at all times attempt to learn and employ advice from the parenting coordinator in order to improve their communication and co- parenting. Parents will come to meetings with necessary releases and otherwise arrange for and expedite communication of all relevant information to the parenting coordinator. ROLES OF THE PARENTING COORDINATOR 7. The role of the parenting coordinator is a multi-faceted one. In addition to performing an ongoing assessment of the family in conjunction with the stewardship towards the objectives, the parenting coordinator will: a) investigate any expressed concerns of abuse, neglect, alienation, substance abuse, etc, and implement steps to curtail any such conduct, or to curtail further unsubstantiated allegations. The parenting coordinator may also investigate claims of mental illness. At their discretion, the parenting coordinator will direct that further investigations, or assessments, or both, be done by one or more qualified professionals. Each parent must cooperate with any and all such investigations and assessments. b) facilitate discussions associated with various co-parenting issues that the parents are currently struggling with, and which may arise from time to time, including potential modifications or clarifications to their existing co-parenting agreement, and in so doing, teach the parents how to address things in a non-confrontational, interest based manner. c) ensure that the child(ren)'s relationship with each parent and all significant people is maintained, and assist in making each relationship as good as it can be, and to assist in making all of the home environments of the child(ren) as good as they can be. d) facilitate communication between both parents and assist with developing strategies to improve communication over time. e) facilitate discussions about parenting styles and discipline, to establish appropriate consistency balanced with tolerance and understanding of reasonable differences. f) assist as needed with periodic variations from the regular parenting schedule and with determination of schedules when the regular schedule doesn’t apply. g) facilitate discussions associated with extracurricular activities and assist with developing strategies for collaboratively selecting, registering, and participating in various activities. h) facilitate discussions associated with child care, education, and medical matters. Note that in general, parents will be expected to not impede the provision of standard services such as chiropractic care, physiotherapy, massage therapy, speech therapy, OT (Occupational Therapy), dental, orthodontic, medical doctor, and mental health services. i) ensure that agreements are adhered to and that commitments are fulfilled. j) coordinate the involvement of other professionals, such as individual therapists and specialists, to ensure that each has the relevant information required to contribute in a coordinated fashion to the achievement of the objectives. APPOINTMENT CONFIGURATIONS 8. The parenting coordinator will request, at their discretion, appointments with various family members either individually or in some combination of multiple members. Most sessions will be joint sessions with both FN1 and FN2; however, some individual sessions with one party or the other may be required, or sessions with any combination of family members may be requested. In some instances, persons outside of the nuclear family may be asked to participate and attend. In most cases, appointments will take place in person at the parenting coordinator’s office, or some other mutually acceptable location. For urgent matters, interventions can be provided remotely via telephone or email. Remote interventions will be billed at the same hourly rate as in person meetings. ADMISSIBILITY / INADMISSIBILITY 9. Consistent with the standard practices of mediation, it is agreed and understood that all general discussions associated with the parenting coordination process are without prejudice. More specifically, brainstorming ideas, solutions that are tried temporarily and then abandoned, etc, are not admissible in future legal proceedings. Solutions and agreements that are anticipated to endure are admissible. In the event that one of the parties disengages from the process, or fails to cooperate with the process, the parenting coordinator will be entitled to provide a written report that is admissible to the Court. The cost for writing the report and the cost for appearing in Court, if required, will be apportioned to the party that failed to cooperate or disengaged. The rate will be at the full hourly rate and all time and expenses incurred will be billed. Note that the parenting coordinator will usually attend all court hearings so that information is obtained first hand, in the event that it is later needed. The time expended by the parenting coordinator to attend and observe court hearings will be billed at the full hourly rate to the person deemed to be creating the need, as determined by the parenting coordinator. DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION 10. It is understood that, in order for the process to work, open and honest communication is essential. It is agreed that each party will provide full disclosure of all relevant and pertinent information. In the event that there is a discrepancy on a significant issue, the clients may be asked to substantiate the accuracy of their information. Also, the clients hereby authorize the release of information from all previous and current therapists, evaluators, and school personnel directly to the parenting coordinator. Note that therapists, evaluators, etc will usually require, for their own file, a release of information form of their own to be signed. CONFIDENTIALITY 11. In order to promote open and honest communication and disclosure, a high level of confidentiality will apply. It is understood that the parenting coordinator is ethically and legally required to breach confidentiality if they believe that a child is in need of protection or if either party is at risk of being harmed. Note that in such instances, only pertinent information is disclosed and general confidentiality is still maintained. Similarly, the parenting coordinator may on occasion have dealings with other professionals such as therapists, police, judges, school personnel, coaches, etc. In these situations pertinent information will be disclosed and general confidentiality will be maintained. In the course of assisting a family, the parenting coordinator often communicates with the clients individually and may also have sessions with one of the clients absent. In doing