Family Court Services

Child Custody Recommending Counseling sessions are a confidential meeting with a Family Court Services staff member who will assist parents in working together to design a parenting plan where they can share their children after separation or divorce. The session may take up to two hours, be sure to allow sufficient time for your appointment.

Before someone can be considered a child custody recommending counselor, he/she is required by California law to have a master’s degree in counseling, social work, or a related field; and a minimum of two years’ work experience post master’s degree. Additional education may be substituted or some experience and additional experience may be substituted for some education. Recommending counselors must also receive additional hours of continuing education annually.

Parents will be scheduled for an appointment with a recommending counselor. No other parties will be present unless one of the parties is a victim of domestic violence. In that case, the victim may request a separate session or may have a support person present. If the parents reach an agreement on a parenting plan, the plan will be submitted to the Court. If the parents are unable to reach agreement, the recommending counselor will make recommendations for the Court to consider, including proposed orders.

The recommending counselor meets with both parents and works on creating a parenting plan that is deemed to be in the minor's best interest.
The recommending counselor’s job is to provide assistance to the parties, without undue influence or personal bias, in developing a parenting plan that protects the health, safety, welfare, and best interest of the child and that optimizes the child's relationship with each party by including, as appropriate, provisions for supervised visitation in high-risk cases; designations for legal and physical custody; a description of each party's authority to make decisions that affect the child; language that minimizes legal, mental health, or other jargon; and a detailed schedule of the time a child is to spend with each party, including vacations, holidays, and special occasions, and times when the child's contact with a party may be interrupted; and, to conclude the session with a written parenting plan summarizing the parties' agreement or recommending counselor’s recommendations which are given to counsel or the parties before the recommendation is presented to the court.

Only child custody and visitation issues will be discussed. Issues of child or spousal support, division of property, or enforcement of an existing court order will not be addressed.

The session can last up to two hours. However, please know that due to parties’ late arrival and/or being unprepared at the appointment, less time may be allowed for your session. Please arrive on time, and be prepared with your intake form filled out.

Any documentation you want the recommending counselor to review must be filed with the Court in a timely manner. However, documents showing compliance with prior orders (proof of counseling, education, attendance at AA meetings, etc.) may be presented at Family Court Services without prior service on the opposing party. No other documents will be accepted at the time of your session.

A parenting plan defines the time the parents will spend with the children and vise‐versa. The plan may include holidays, vacations, transportation arrangements, or other pertinent issues that address the overall welfare of the children.

The recommending counselor will make recommendations which, if adopted, help ensure the child(ren)’s safety. The recommending counselor may also make recommendations to assist the family such as therapy, parenting classes, anger management classes or drug and alcohol rehabilitation services.

The law states the court must "consider" and give "due weight" to the wishes of children who are of "sufficient age and capacity to reason so as to form an intelligent preference as to custody." The judge decides when a child has attained this capacity and must only consider the child’s wishes, not follow them. The Court may also request that a child be interviewed by a recommending counselor; parents and children 14 and older may also make such a request, or request that the child provide direct testimony to the Court.
If the parents are unable to resolve their custody issues at the time of the Family Court Services appointment, the recommending counselor may ask to interview the child in order to clarify issues brought up in the session. If parents reach agreements on their own, interviewing the minors may not be necessary.
Children are not to be brought to Family Court Services unless the Court or the recommending counselor has requested that the children be interviewed.

When an agreement is reached, that agreement is reported to the judge prior to the hearing, copies of said report are also provided to the parties or their attorneys. Reaching your own agreements instead of having a custody and visitation plan superimposed by the Court is in everyone’s best interest. Studies have shown the not only are parties more content with their own agreements, but they are also more prone to follow said arrangements.

When parents are unable or unwilling to reach an agreement on custody and visitation issues, the recommending counselor will make a written recommendation to the judge regarding appropriate orders on disputed issues, as well as a written report on any partial agreements made by the parents. A copy of this will be provided to you or your attorney prior to, or at the court hearing. It is important to note that a narrative may also accompany the recommendation, stating in part the rationale behind the recommendation or partial agreement.
Recommendations may include, but are not limited to, therapy for various family members, drug and alcohol treatment, the appointment of a Family Court Services evaluator or private mental health professional to evaluate the dispute(s) and prepare a written report for the Court, at your expense, as determined by the judge. Sometimes an independent attorney or a Special Master is appointed to represent your child’s interests, which may be at your expense.

After you have left Family Court Services, you will only be returning if a new motion requiring your reappearance at Family Court Services is filed, or if a review has been ordered by the Court.
The mediation report will be e‐mailed (or sent via US regular mail in the absence of an e‐mail address) to you or your attorney prior to the court hearing or you may receive a copy at the time of the hearing.

Irrespective of the reasons that prevent you from attending the recommending counseling session, you will not be provided with another appointment. Please attend your court hearing as scheduled; at that time, the Court will provide you with further guidance on how to proceed.

No, the recommending counselors will not take or return telephone calls from parents or interested parties. Local Rules prohibit the recommending counselors from having contact with the parties prior to, or after the recommending counseling session. Further, the recommending counselors and secretaries do not respond to written or telephonic communication asking for legal advice, as this is also prohibited. You must contact an attorney, paralegal, the Facilitator’s Office, or Legal Aid for legal assistance.

At times parties agree on their own to a parent moving away with the children to a different county, state, or outside the United States of America; ensuring, of course, that children have continual access and contact with the other parent. However, if there is a need for you to move away with your children, and the other parent does not agree, it will be up to the Court to determine whether or not the request for a child to move away from one of the parents will be in that minor's best interest. The recommending counselor will not be making a recommendation as to whether or not the children should or should not move away with the parent making the request.

No, the recommending counselor will not make a recommendation as to which school your child should attend. This is a parenting issue that should be decided by the parents. If this is an issue for you, the Court will be able to guide you further on this request.

If there are serious problems, like child abuse, substance abuse, neglect, mental health issues of one or both parent, etc., that interfere with properly caring for the children. There are three types of supervised visitation providers: Nonprofessional provider, professional providers and therapeutic providers. All providers must follow the uniform standards of practice for providers of supervised visitation as outlined in standard 5.20 of the California Standards of Judicial Administration.

A nonprofessional provider* is usually a family member or friend who is qualified to serve in this role. Professional and therapeutic providers usually charge a fee for their services and are experienced in and trained to provide supervised visitation services.

The Court will specify which type of provider the case necessitates, and if applicable, will specify which party(ies) will be responsible for payment of the professionally supervised visits.

* To review guidelines on nonprofessional providers please go to:https://www.courts.ca.gov/documents/Guide-Nonprofessional-Booklet.pdf

If both parties are in agreement, you may submit a stipulation and order, or you may file an Order to Show Cause or a Notice of Motion at the Family Law Clerk's Office.