Supervised Visitation Standards

It is the goal of the administration and staff of Welcome to Our Place to closely follow visitation standards created by the Supervised Visitation Network.  Supervised visitation programs are "an essential component of an integrated community intervention system to eliminate domestic violence and protect its victims... with a dual purpose of preserving the constitutionally protected and emotionally vital parent-child relationship while protecting the child and sometimes the other parent."

Policies and Procedures

From the beginning of each visit until the end our visits are conscientiously designed to ensure safety and reduce stress to the child. Staff emphasize the rules of the program to the parents. These rules include: specific time periods for arrival and departure, policies on what can be discussed and cannot be discussed and other rules that are presented to both parties during the intake. We are not a therapeutic program and staff are encouraged not to become involved in matters of that nature or of legal issues parents maybe experiencing. Our staff hold higher education degrees or are working towards a degree; however staff are not qualified to counsel. WTOP staff are trained to recognize problematic situations and to encourage appropriate play and conversation. 

Limitation of Visitation Reports

Visitation notes are provided to attorneys, guardian ad litems and courts solely as an observation note and not an evaluative report. The observations are of parent-child contacts which have occurred in structured and protected setting. No prediction is intended about how contacts between the same parent(s) and child(ren)might occur in a less protected setting and without supervision. Care should be exercised by the users of these observations making such predictions.

Phone Service

Welcome To Our Place is pleased to announce our new and updated phone system and voicemail service which allows us better comunication with our clients and attorneys who we serve.