Child Consultant
See yourself through the eyes of your child.
A Child Consultant’s role is child centered. It involves meeting with the child(ren), to collect the child’s experiences, needs, opinions and views; and to provide this feedback to parents in the presence of a neutral third-party professional and/or decision-maker, so that the child(ren)’s contribution can be incorporated into future decisions.
A Child Consultant can be retained to provide the child(ren)’s feedback orally in the following processes: Parent Consultant,Mediation, Mediation-Arbitration, Parenting Coordination, Parenting Coordination-Arbitration.
The process of a Child Consultant often includes:
- One interview with each guardian parent; and,
- Two interviews with each child (each parent transports the child to one interview);
- The child(ren)’s feedback is provided orally to the guardian parents and the neutral third- party professional and/or decision-maker;
- Subsequent child interviews can occur if new parenting issues arise.
The feedback is provided orally, no report will be written and there will be no court reporter. If it is anticipated that a written report will be required/requested, the formal option of a Court of King’s Bench Practice Note 7 Views of the Child Intervention is a better fit.
As mentioned above, the Child Consultant can work in collaboration with a Parent Consultant. Please see the Parent Consultant service page to better understand the role of the Parent Consultant.
How we can help:
- Allow your child to be heard
- Gain the views, needs, and opinions of your child
- Incorporate your child’s feedback into parenting decisions