If you are looking for a parenting coordinator in Jacksonville, Florida, contact D’Arienzo Psychology at 904-379-8094 to discuss your case and determine whether parenting coordination may be appropriate.
Parenting Coordination in Jacksonville and Northeast Florida
Our parenting coordination services are available to families in:
- Jacksonville and Duval County
- St. Johns County
- Clay County
- Nassau County
- Baker County
- Other Florida jurisdictions when appropriate
We work with parents, family-law attorneys, and court-involved families who need additional structure and assistance implementing parenting plans and resolving recurring parenting disputes.
What Is Parenting Coordination in Florida?
Under Florida law, parenting coordination is a nonadversarial dispute-resolution process that may be court ordered or agreed upon by the parties.
A parenting coordinator is an impartial third party whose role is to assist parents in successfully creating or implementing a parenting plan. The process can include helping parents resolve disputes, providing education, making recommendations, and, when specifically authorized by the parents and the court, making limited decisions within the scope of the order of referral.
You can review the governing Florida statute at the Florida Statutes §61.125 — Parenting Coordination.
Who May Benefit From Parenting Coordination?
Parenting coordination is often considered when separated or divorced parents experience persistent conflict involving their children or parenting plan.
Common areas of disagreement may include:
- Parenting schedules and time-sharing
- Pickup and exchange arrangements
- Holiday and vacation schedules
- School-related decisions
- Extracurricular activities
- Communication between parents
- Implementation of court orders or parenting plans
- Recurring disagreements that repeatedly return to attorneys or the court
The purpose is not to recreate the parents’ relationship. In many high-conflict cases, the more realistic goal is to create enough structure, predictability, and professional guidance to reduce unnecessary conflict and keep the focus on the children’s needs.
Families dealing with persistent co-parenting conflict may also find our high-conflict co-parenting resources and course helpful.
Jacksonville Parenting Coordinators
D’Arienzo Psychology offers parenting coordination through experienced professionals with backgrounds in psychology, family law, mediation, and high-conflict family cases.
Dr. Justin D’Arienzo, Psy.D., ABPP
Dr. Justin D’Arienzo is a clinical and forensic psychologist whose practice includes family-law psychology and forensic psychological services. His work with separating and divorced families includes high-conflict co-parenting matters and court-involved family cases.
Cynthia Salameh
Cynthia Salameh is a Florida attorney and Florida Supreme Court Certified Family Mediator who provides parenting coordination services through D’Arienzo Psychology.
The combination of psychological, mediation, and family-law experience can be particularly valuable in complex or high-conflict parenting matters.
Florida Parenting Coordinator Qualifications
Florida law establishes professional and training requirements for qualified parenting coordinators. Depending on the professional pathway, a qualified parenting coordinator may be a licensed mental-health professional, certain physicians, a qualified family-law mediator with the required mental-health education, or a member in good standing of The Florida Bar.
Florida also requires specified professional experience, family-mediation training, parenting-coordination training, and domestic-violence and child-abuse training for qualified parenting coordinators.
Is Parenting Coordination Confidential in Florida?
Florida law generally provides confidentiality for communications made during parenting coordination, subject to specific statutory exceptions.
Those exceptions can include circumstances involving certain court-related issues, professional misconduct, emergencies, domestic violence, abuse, neglect, or other situations specifically identified by Florida law.
Families should review their court order or parenting coordination agreement and discuss questions about confidentiality with their parenting coordinator or attorney.
Professional Guidelines for Parenting Coordination
Parenting coordination is a specialized professional role. Both the American Psychological Association and the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts have published professional guidance addressing parenting coordination practice.
The resources below are provided for parents, attorneys, psychologists, mediators, and other professionals who would like to better understand the parenting coordination process.
American Psychological Association Guidelines for the Practice of Parenting Coordination
The American Psychological Association’s Guidelines for the Practice of Parenting Coordination provide a professional framework for psychologists serving as parenting coordinators and discuss the role, competencies, professional boundaries, conflict management, and child-focused purpose of parenting coordination.
View the APA Parenting Coordination Guidelines on the American Psychological Association website.
Association of Family and Conciliation Courts Guidelines for Parenting Coordination
The Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (AFCC) published its Guidelines for Parenting Coordination in 2019. The guidelines address the role of parenting coordinators, professional responsibilities, qualifications, case management, ethical considerations, and best practices in parenting coordination.
View AFCC Parenting Coordination Guidelines and Practice Standards.
Frequently Asked Questions About Parenting Coordination in Florida
What does a parenting coordinator do?
A parenting coordinator helps parents manage and resolve disputes involving their parenting plan. Depending on the court order or agreement, the process may include education, conflict-resolution assistance, recommendations, and other services permitted under Florida law.
Is parenting coordination only for divorced parents?
Parenting coordination is commonly used in separated or divorced families where parents have ongoing disputes concerning parenting arrangements or implementation of a parenting plan.
Can a Florida court order parenting coordination?
Florida law allows courts to refer qualifying family-law matters to parenting coordination under the circumstances described in Florida Statutes §61.125. Parenting coordination may also occur by agreement of the parties.
Is parenting coordination the same as therapy?
No. Parenting coordination is a dispute-resolution process focused on parenting-plan implementation and parenting disputes. It is different from psychotherapy, family therapy, psychological evaluation, or legal representation.
Do you provide parenting coordination in St. Johns, Clay, Nassau, and Baker Counties?
Yes. D’Arienzo Psychology provides parenting coordination services in Jacksonville and throughout Northeast Florida, including Duval, St. Johns, Clay, Nassau, and Baker Counties.
Contact a Jacksonville Parenting Coordinator
If you are a parent or family-law attorney looking for parenting coordination in Jacksonville or Northeast Florida, contact D’Arienzo Psychology to discuss your case.
D’Arienzo Psychology
Phone: 904-379-8094
Learn more about our Jacksonville parenting coordination services.
This page provides general educational information about parenting coordination and is not legal advice. Parenting coordination procedures and requirements may vary depending on the case, court order, jurisdiction, and individual circumstances.
