What is Cooperative Parenting?

Cooperative Parenting is a solution focused coaching approach for parents going through a divorce. It confronts the parents actions and non-actions that contribute to a child’s stress.  Cooperative parenting finds solutions to the practical problems and issues that parents struggle with.

How does Cooperative Parenting Work?

Cooperative Parenting puts the emphasis on the child and seeks to find a way that he/she can grow up in a home environment relatively free from the devastating stress of being caught in the middle of parental conflict.

Cooperative Parenting is solution focused.  We get down to the basics of problem solving in the case… Questions of: How do you communicate? How do you do exchanges? How do you approach the holidays?  How do you deal with school report cards and sit peacefully at soccer games?  The program teaches parents new skills so that they do not continue to act out the same mistakes.

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What is a Cooperative Parenting Facilitator?

The role of a Parenting Facilitator is to work as a neutral party while assisting both parents and any significant others in resolving conflict in a manner that is beneficial to the child(ren). The Parenting Facilitator Mediates, Monitors, Educates and Refers to additional services as needed.  Parenting plans are addressed in the cooperative parenting approach. In addition, the Parenting Facilitator is available in the future to assist the family as a means of addressing conflict and avoiding future legal costs.

What is a Parent Coordinator?

A Parent Coordinator is a neutral third party appointment by the court to assist parents in resolving issues related to parenting.  The focus is on identifying a parenting plan and a dispute resolution process to minimize future disputes.

What is the difference between a Cooperative Parenting Facilitator and a Parent Coordinator?

Both of these roles help co-parents to identify a parenting plan and assist the family in dispute resolution to minimize disputes in the future. However, the Cooperative Parenting Facilitator has a great scope of responsibility in a case. The facilitator may report to the court and be called to testify, can give referrals as needed and can be available in the future to the family until the child is 18 to deal with any future conflict.

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Is the process confidential?

BY DEFINITION NONE OF THE PROGRAMS PROVIDED BY CO-PARENTING SOLUTIONS ARE THERAPY.

Cooperative Parenting Facilitation is an appointment by the court and it is not a confidential process. The Parent Facilitator can be called to testify and report to the court.

A Parent Coordinator may not produce records or testify in court. A parent Coordinator may submit a written report to the court if ordered by the court and may only give an opinion regarding whether the parenting coordination should continue.

When can a case be referred to Co-Parenting Solutions for Cooperative Parenting?

The courts may order the parties to Co-Parenting Solutions for either Cooperative Parenting Facilitation, Parent Coordination or the Cooperative Parenting Class anytime during the court process. (see brochure)

What is the time Commitment?

If you are referred for either Cooperative Parenting Facilitation or Parent Coordination a minimum of 2 appointments per month are necessary to be in compliance with the court order.  However, many co-parents choose to come weekly to identify and deal with the stressors in the case more  quickly and finish the process in a limited amount of time.

What happens in the Cooperative Parenting class?

The Cooperative Parenting class is an eight week educational focused class to provide information for the parents to effectively co-parent their children. The curriculum is from the Cooperative Parenting Model from the Cooperative Parenting Institute.  It is important to note that this class is only educational in nature and no individual appointments, coaching or Parent Coordination is involved.

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My divorce is very stressful, what program should I be in?

Co-Parenting Solutions offers a range of services.  For the most conflicted cases, we recommend a Cooperative Parenting Facilitator.  The facilitator addresses the parenting plan but also provides additional  services to the family in the present and is available in the future.  If you believe that you will need the staff member to testify in court then you would need to utilize the facilitator option.

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How do you get started?

To begin the process, we need a court order or a Rule 11 agreement outlining the program and scope of the appointment.  When the paperwork is ready, give us a call and we will arrange an intake appointment.