By Frank Parlato
What Is Supervised Visitation?
Supervised visitation is a court-ordered arrangement requiring that an approved third party monitor a parent’s time with their child. It means a stranger gets paid to watch you see your kid.
One hour in a room you didn’t choose, under the eyes of someone you didn’t ask for. It’s like daycare in reverse. You show up. You’re watched. You’re labeled.
No crime, no trial—just an opinion and a check you better be able to write. This is not visitation—it is surveillance.
You walk into a room with crayons, a smile, and a clock ticking above your head. They say you need a chaperone now.
When Is It Ordered?
Judges most commonly impose supervised visitation in cases involving allegations of abuse, substance misuse, mental instability, or high-conflict custody disputes. No proof, no trial. The GAL says, “Just to be safe,” and you’re paying to see your kid under watch.
Supervision is often ordered in moments of fear—sometimes real, sometimes staged, All they need is a hunch, a hearsay, or a therapist note. You had no hearing. No witness. No verdict. And because someone felt something, you lost what once was unconditional.
Who Benefits
Judges do not order supervision in pursuit of justice, but in the maintenance of bureaucratic control. Sometimes they order it because they’re scared, sometimes because they’re tired. Sometimes because they just don’t know. Sometimes they know damn well that there’s no problem. But there would be a problem if they did not keep the money train going.
And the child? He just wants to go home.
A network of service providers, including visitation centers, therapists, custody evaluators, and attorneys, benefit from supervised visitation. It’s a gravy train. Visitation centers rake in $200 an hour. Therapists stretch “reunification” for months. GALs get paid to write reports. And the state cashes in on federal Title IV-D money for every support order they keep alive.
It’s family court for sale. There is money in pain. Money in accusation. Money in a parent’s willingness to pay just to hold their child’s hand for one hour.
It’s a fine hustle. A good business.
Judge orders supervision. The Center charges by the hour. Therapist says, “Needs more time.”
Want to see your kid? That’ll be $200 an hour. The therapist says you need 12 sessions. Great. Lawyer says fight it? Even better—billable hours.
The courtroom is silent. The register is loud. Every hour of supervised visitation is a transaction. You are not entering a courthouse. You are entering an economy built on estrangement.
The system is not broken. It is functioning exactly as intended—for those who benefit. Courts maintain control. Contractors extract fees. Families are destabilized, then monetized.
And the more you fight for your child, the more the system finds a way to bill you. Someone is always counting—but just not the hours you’ve missed with your child.
Frank Parlato is an investigative journalist, media strategist, publisher, and legal consultant.
