Judicial advocacy, perseverance help transition pandemic-era virtual visitation to more beneficial in-person visits for children and parents
Poughkeepsie, NY … Positive parent-child relationships are critical to children’s emotional growth and development. To maintain these relationships for families who are going through court procedures, Dutchess County Family Court will begin offering non-custodial parents in-person supervised visitation opportunities following several years of virtual-only supervised visits starting in November. The Honorable Judge Joseph Egitto has facilitated this effort to overcome hurdles erected by New York State that prevented in-person supervised visitation opportunities for many cases in Family Court.
Dutchess County Family Court will resume in-person supervised visitation in November. Supervised visitation will take place at the Dutchess County Family Court Building located at 50 Market Street in Poughkeepsie on Tuesdays from 5 - 8pm and Saturdays from 9am - 2pm.
Supervised visitation provides a safe, neutral environment where non-custodial parents and children can visit together. Dutchess County Family Court partners with Family Services, Inc. to have trained staff and volunteers support and monitor these family visits in a child-friendly space that provides a comfortable environment for positive interaction New York State Office of Court Administration (OCA) court officers are on duty, before, during and after the visits, to ensure the safety of all involved, including minimizing risk of harassment or harm to children or parents.
Supervised visitation has been held virtually for the past several years. Virtual visits were first necessitated due to state requirements put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic. As restrictions were lifted, however, OCA no longer funded the court officers who provided the necessary security during visits.
Dutchess County Government will now fund the supervised visitation program including funding for the court officers who supervise these in-person visits two days a week as well as the contract with Family Services.
Supervised visitation may be ordered if a Family Court judge has reason to believe that a child may not be safe alone in the care of a non-custodial parent, but it is also believed it is in the child’s best interest to continue to see that parent. Supervised visitation may be ordered for a variety of situations including:
Visits may be conditioned on the non-custodial parent’s taking certain steps toward self-betterment – for example, entering rehab, undergoing a domestic violence assessment, attending anger management or co-parenting classes, and participating in reunification therapy with the child. Supervision may be lifted or adjusted if the visits go well for a set time period.
Judge Egitto said, “Unifying families and limiting trauma to children are ultimate goals of our family court system. As a longtime proponent of supervised visitation, I know the beneficial impact in-person visits have – keeping parents engaged while providing a bit of normalcy to children whose lives may have unexpectedly been upended. Supervised visitation enables children to continue or even rebuild a relationship with their non-custodial parent without being placed in the middle of their parents’ conflict and allows non-custodial parents to demonstrate healthy interaction and progress.”
Dutchess County Executive William F.X. O’Neil is forwarding a resolution requesting $17,500 in funding to implement the program for the balance of 2023 to the Dutchess County Legislature to consider and approve at its November meeting. The 2024 Dutchess County Executive Budget will include funding for full year operation of the program.
County Executive O’Neil said “After a few years’ hiatus due to COVID-19, it is very important we return to in-person visits. It strengthens both the bonds between families and their children as well as the work of our Family Court system. I commend Judge Egitto and other Family Court Judges for their hard work and dedication to this issue.”
The Dutchess County Family Court hears cases involving children and families including child custody and support, neglect and abuse, juvenile delinquency, family offenses (i.e. domestic violence), and paternity. To learn more about Dutchess County Family Court, visit https://ww2.nycourts.gov/COURTS/9jd/Dutchess/dutchessfamily.shtml.
