Supervised contact

This report presents the findings of a study on the views and experiences of parents and staff involved in three supervised contact centres in the southern region of New Zealand, carried out in late 2005.

The study was funded partly by the Families Commission and the University of Otago, in collaboration with Barnardos, the main non-governmental organisation in New Zealand providing supervised contact services.

Supervised contact allows for a child to see a parent or other significant carer in a safe and controlled environment. Over 40 supervised contact centres exist in New Zealand. While some limited previous research had been undertaken on parents’ views of contact arrangements (Chetwin, Knaggs and Te Wairere Ahiahi Young 1999; Jolley 1999) this study was designed to explore the operation of supervised contact centres from the perspectives of parents and supervisory staff. Apart from parents’ views, a gap identified in previous research was the need to explore staff practices, which help families cope with supervised contact and move towards other arrangements.

It was decided not to interview children, as previous research (see, for example, Jolley 1999; Sheehan et al 2005) had explored their views, and additionally we were aware that the timing of our study did not allow for the necessary consents and in-depth procedures required for interviewing children to be implemented. The views of parents and staff involved in three centres in the southern region of New Zealand – Oamaru, Invercargill and Dunedin – were sought. The broad aims of the study were: to explore the experiences of parents; to identify how Barnardos staff help parents involved in supervised contact; to identify some of the helpful and hindering factors in supervised contact arrangements and in transitions to unsupervised contact or other arrangements; and to find out if contact services are culturally appropriate.