DuPage County Child Custody Resources and What They Can Do for You

 Posted on May 18, 2016 in Child Custody

As of January 2016, Illinois State no longer uses the term child custody, but instead refers to it as the allocation of parental responsibilities - These responsibilities include deciding who will have visitation (parenting time) with your child and when, lifestyle decisions for your family, and how you plan to execute those decisions.

As a single parent going through a divorce, you likely have many questions about the allocation of parental responsibilities and need to know where to turn for help. DuPage County's Family Center division is an excellent resource for parents attempting to navigate the post-divorce world. Ways your county and state can provide you with assistance in the child custody process include the following:

Mediation

Mediation plays a role in the child custody as it is designed to help assist parents in negotiating a parenting plan that best suits their family. This is only put into practice via court order, so should you need help finding common ground on parental responsibilities, you will need to speak with your lawyer and address the issues you and your spouse are having in court. During mediation, a professional Mediator will help provide a civil, respectful environment for you and your spouse to discuss disagreements and identify your children's needs so you can give them the safest, most stable living environment possible.

Parent Education

Another part of the child custody process is the parent education tool, something the county uses to aid divorcing parents in learning how to interact and relate in a way that keeps their children out of the conflict. This in turn helps parents keep their child's best interests at heart, despite the challenges of the divorce process. There are various course options available-all of which are mandatory-including a program for Never Married parents.

Supervised Parenting Time

Finally, a tool that is helpful with the allocation of parental responsibilities is supervised parenting time (visitation), which the county offers to the non-custodial parent in order to equip him or her with the safe, non-threatening environment he or she needs to spend time with their children. It helps to protect the child's welfare, helps ease the transitional period, and encourages a consistent, healthy parent-child relationship.

Working alongside an experienced DuPage County family law attorney, you can utilize these county resources to gain the confidence and knowledge you need in your quest for allocation of parental responsibilities. Contact The Stogsdill Law Firm, P.C. at 630-462-9500 today.

Source:

https://www.dupageco.org/familycenter/