Resources & Materials for Supervised Visitation and Safe Exchange Programs
This page contains:
Downloadable handouts and resources
Past training session materials and recordings
Please explore the “Publications” tab for additional resources and in-depth materials to support your work.
Downloadable Handouts & Resources
Past Session Materials & Recordings
Disability Access and Healing Services: How to Plan for and Create Accessible Supervised Visitation Services
Inspire Action and Activating Change hosted this session on disability and healing in SV&SE programs. This presentation provided a foundation for planning for access to supervised visitation services. We discussed why this is so critically important, how to approach making a plan, and what policies might be revised. This session was held on September 14, 2023. Learn more about Activating Change here.
The Use of Technology to Stalk
Inspire Action and SPARC (the Stalking Prevention, Awareness, & Resource Center) hosted this Inspired Boost on using technology in stalking. In this session, we explored how technology can be used—and misused—in various ways to locate, surveil, and monitor individuals without their knowledge. The majority of those who experience stalking face both in-person and technology-facilitated stalking. In this session, SPARC addressed common technologies used in stalking. This session was held on April 12, 2023
Due to the confidential nature of the content of this session, Inspire requires a formal request to access the recording.
If you’d like a refresher on the basics of stalking, please watch a recording of “Context is Key” from SPARC’s webinar archive through the link below:https://www.stalkingawareness.org/training-archive/
Supervised Visitation in the Context of Intimate Partner Abuse and Mental Health and Substance Use Series
Being abused by an intimate partner can have significant mental health and substance use effects. At the same time, abuse often targets a survivor’s mental health and substance use in deliberate attempts to control survivors and isolate them from sources of safety and support. These forms of abuse, known as mental health coercion and substance use coercion, not only jeopardize the well-being of survivors but also often seek to undermine parent-child attachment, creating increased risks for children.
This 2-part series, we:
Clarified the relationships between intimate partner abuse, mental health, and substance use, including coercion related to mental health and substance use
Applied equity-based and trauma-informed lenses to better understand mental health and substance use as threat responses
Tried out different tools to support reflective practice
Worked together to identify strategies to build emotional safety into the program environment, services, and relationships
Guest Trainer: Gabriela Zapata-Alma LCSW CADC, Associate Director - National Center on Domestic Violence, Trauma, and Mental Health
Confidentiality, Information Sharing, and Record-Keeping: Key Components & Considerations for Supervised Visitation Programs Series
Part 1: Documentation, Disclosures, & Confidentiality for Supervised Visitation Programs
Federally funded supervised visitation and safe exchange programs are in a unique position because:
they work closely with both victims and perpetrators of abuse
they aren’t an arm of the court but are routinely asked to give reports in cases
they practice respect for parents and children but must enforce boundaries to promote safety and prevent harm.
This unique position means that supervised visitation and safe exchange programs must make thoughtful decisions about what information they collect and document, when and how they disclose information, and when they are legally required to refuse to disclose information.
In this recorded webinar, join experienced strategist and trial attorney Alicia L. Aiken, JD, as we clarify the concepts of privacy, confidentiality, and privilege law; discuss best practices for creating documentation and disclosure policies; and explore the complicated questions that can come up specifically for visitation and exchange programs.
Part 2: Considerations for Addressing Confidentiality, Mandated Reporting, and Information Sharing in Supervised Visitation with Young People
In this recorded webinar, join content experts Aurora Smaldone, JD, and Jasmyn Brown, MA, in navigating confidentiality and privacy protocols linked to visitation supervision roles and in the difficult task of discussing these subjects with children and caregivers.
Covered topics include:
how to talk to children and families about mandated reporting
documentation
confidentiality in ways that are developmentally appropriate and trauma-informed
Part 3: Responding to Subpoenas Q&A Session with Alicia Aiken from the Confidentiality Institute
Join this recorded session with Inspire Action for a Q&A call with Alicia Aiken from the Confidentiality Institute to explore, unpack, and enhance our collective understanding of promising practices for receiving and responding to subpoenas in supervised visitation programs.
This session was designed as an opportunity for programs to bring their questions and challenges to a community conversation led by a leading legal expert.
Supporting Safety and Change: Strategies for Engaging with Fathers Who Use Intimate Partner Abuse in Supervised Visitation Programs
In this two-part series, we introduce Pathways to Accountability. This approach enhances the safety and well-being of adult and child survivors of intimate partner abuse (IPA) by working with fathers who have abused them. The approach is based on three fundamental ideas: Fathers (and other people) who have used IPA can be held accountable and supported to change simultaneously; accountability can be achieved both through systems and personal relationships, and fatherhood can be a powerful motivator for behavior change in people who use violence.
We explored:
The connection between working with fathers who have been abusive and enhancing the safety of adult and child survivors.
How visitation programs can work to engage men who use IPA using fatherhood as a leading motivator.
Some strategies and tools supervised visitation program staff can use to engage fathers in changing their behavior.
Grief and Loss in Supervised Visitation
While grief and loss are universal, these experiences are even more complicated for families and staff in supervised visitation programs. This presentation series will discuss the spectrum of loss from bereavement to non-death losses within the context of supervised visitation programs. In this series, we explored:
How to help staff define and identify the different types of grief and loss
Learned how culture and grief interact
Explored the impact on individuals, families, organizations, and institutions
Provided strategies for supporting grieving participants and team members
This 2-part series aimed to create a reflective and non-judgemental space where participants could acknowledge and process their individual and collective grief in service to their personal and professional growth and well-being.
Equity & Trauma-Informed Compassionate De-escalation in Supervised Visitation Services
In this two-part series, we explored how we can best support the family members we serve in supervised visitation, specifically when we may feel worried about our or others' safety and well-being. In the context of supervised visitation, as with all services that support families impacted by trauma, we sometimes encounter situations and behaviors that can feel overwhelming and hard to navigate - for families and us.
Enhancing Staff Retention, Recruitment, and Hiring Practices in Supervised Visitation Programming
Recruiting, hiring, and retaining staff is of the utmost importance for many supervised visitation programs. During these upcoming Inspired Boost sessions, we will provide a space for peer-to-peer learning and conversation on how SV programs can best navigate recruiting, hiring, and retaining staff during this time of change and upheaval. Participants will have an opportunity to strategize and think proactively about what is working well and ways to build more human-centered approaches to hiring and sustaining our program's most valuable resource, our staff. Our goal is to create a loving judgment-free space to share challenges, think creatively, and foster support and encouragement for and from one another. Please come prepared to share your expertise with your fellow colleagues in the field.
SESSION 1: STAFF RETENTION
SESSION 2: STAFF RETENTION
SESSION 3: STAFF RECRUITMENT
SESSION 4: PROMOTING & ADVERTISING JOBS
Additional Supporting Resource for this Series:
Building Resilient Teams in Supervised Visitation Programs
During this time of elevated trauma, burn-out, high staff turnover, and uncertainty, it is more important than ever for visitation programs to create a model of care and compassion and implement a resiliency framework within staff teams. This Inspired Boost session will provide visitation programs an opportunity to explore strategies to implement a healing-centered approach that centralizes wellness and care for families and staff.
Supporting Supervised Visitation Staff & Families During the Holidays
The holidays can be an overwhelming and complex time for families and staff working in supervised visitation programs. During this Inspired Boost session, we will discuss approaches to support visitation work around the holidays and brainstorm proactive strategies to help programs navigate the challenges that arise for families during the holiday season. Participants will have an opportunity to gather new ideas, share strategies, and connect with other programs as they prepare for the upcoming holidays.
Compassionate Leadership for Supervised Visitation Program Webinar Sessions
Peer-to-Peer Sharing Session: Record-Keeping and Data Collection Methods in Supervised Visitation Programs
Many supervised visitation programs have been grappling with the best way to manage, track, and collect program data and maintain participant records. Join us for this peer-to-peer sharing session to hear what other programs are doing, share what you are doing, and help us learn what you need to enhance this area of your programming.
As a result of this session, two supporting “live documents” have been created for your use. Please use these live collaborative boards to both share information and take information on record-keeping and data-collection methods.