Duties

• Specific duties of the parenting coordinator may vary slightly around the country, but the basic concepts are similar. The coordinator's duties are to initiate solutions to parenting conflicts, guide the parents toward a resolution that will satisfy the court and rectify any conflicts that arise regarding the children.
  
  Parenting coordinators help parents make arrangements for visitation between the child and the non-custodial parent, holiday and summer sharing, medical and insurance needs, issues involving education, religion or discipline as well as what to do about extended family relationships and financial responsibility. If domestic violence is an issue, special safety considerations are discussed.
  
  

Variation

• The parenting coordinator duties may vary from case to case, because each case represents different individuals and has unique circumstances. To resolve the particular conflicts, the coordinator may play a slightly different role in each case. This role can be influenced by whether the coordinator was called to duty by the parents or the court or whether there is confidentiality involved in the performance of the duties. The duties of the coordinator also can vary based on the intensity and number of conflicts experienced by each family.
  
  

Situations

• The duties of the parenting coordinator are centered on several possible situations that may include parents having gone through excessive litigation, expressing anger or distrust toward each other, the presence of verbal abuse during court proceedings, physical aggression or threat of aggression or communication that is non-existent or difficult. Also, non-compliance or non-cooperation may have reached the point that the parents' ability to comply with court mandates regarding custody issues has been compromised.
  
  

Tools

• Parenting coordinators use reports and a parenting plan to perform their required duties. Reports, including agreements and recommendations, are used to keep the court and the parents informed during proceedings. These are usually confidential in nature and are used by the coordinator to illustrate compliance or non-compliance for court orders.
  
  The parenting plan, created by the coordinator and the parents, illustrates the actions parents intend to take to comply with court orders.
  
  

Considerations

• Not using a parenting coordinator and choosing to use only the courts to resolve disputes can be both costly and timely, so it can be a good idea to request a parenting coordinator if finances are limited or parents wish to put money toward more important issues. Parenting coordinators also can be helpful when there doesn't seem to be any common ground or room to compromise and having another individual trained in resolving these differences can help find a solution.