A study of parents and supervised visitation in a child welfare setting

Child Welfare Services becomes involved in families' lives when there are concerns regarding the safety and well-being of children in their families' care. In instances where conditions are such that the safety and well-being of the child are at risk if they remain in their home due to issues of abuse and/or neglect, the child is removed from that situation and placed with an appropriate caregiver. After this occurs, the child's family works on a case plan to reunify with the child. Part of the reunification process is supervised visitation. This gives parents the opportunity to strengthen their relationship with their child as well as a chance to practice appropriate parenting skills. This study attempted to administer a survey to parents in supervised visitation in Humboldt County but a viable sample was not obtained. This study also looked at four counties in California to compare their supervised visitation practices with Humboldt County.