Supervised Contact / Family Time

Village Kids supports parents who do not live with their children to spend quality time with them in a range of settings. Our team can provide fully Supervised Family Time where all interactions both physical and verbal are overseen discreetly and respectfully by the Facilitator as well as Supported Family Time and Supported Changeovers.
Family Time

• The minimum booking period for in person Family Time is 2 hours.
• Family Time Facilitator Fees include*:

1. Weekdays $99.00 per hour inc GST 
2. Saturday $110.00 per hour inc GST
3. Sunday $132.00 per hour inc GST
4. Reports are $88.00 each for Family Time sessions of up to 3 hours

Getting started is easy. Call us on 0476 224 025 for a quick chat and to request application and service forms, alternatively you can email admin@villagekidsccs.com.au. We can send the forms to your lawyer or your personal email address and we send our documents via DocuSign to make life easier. 

Once we receive your application we will contact you to arrange a time for an Intake Interview where we will talk more about your family's needs, worries and goals. If we are able to support you adequately, Family Time will start as soon as possible.

Family Time services are available in the Greater Wollongong and Shellharbour areas, Southern Highlands and Greater Sydney.  

 
*please note both parents need to sign and return forms and speak with our intake team prior to Family Time bookings being made.  

*please see our application form for a full breakdown of fees and charges. 

*please note travel fees may apply to some areas

Children's contact services provide supervised contact when the time a child spends with a parent they do not live with, or other significant person in their lives, needs to be supported by a neutral third party. 

Why Would Family Time need to be Supervised?

The need for the third-party supervision or support is determined in many cases by the Family Court of Australia. In this case, a parent’s time with their child(ren) may be directed to be fully supervised or partially supervised/supported by an agency such as Village Kids because there are worries about what the child(ren) might experience, see or hear. Where there are worries, the best interests of children are protected by the presence of the neutral third party who observes interactions and ensures adherence to expectations family time. 

Parents spending time with their children may also choose for this time to be supervised so that impartial reporting can be provided to the court. 

As things settle, the worries may decrease and families may be able to move carefully towards self-managed Family Time. This often involves gradually stepping down to semi-supervised or supported Family Time then on to supervised changeovers and eventually independence. Where this is not possible, services can remain involved long term. 

We do our best to ensyre that parents feel supports by our team, however, our focus is always the child. 

Children refusing to attend Family Time, wanting to leave Family Time early or not engaging during Family Time can leave parents feeling angry, frustrated and sad. Parents sometimes turn to the service provider to exert influence over the child to 'make' them attend or stay, or to push for engagement. 

Village Kids will not force children into participating in Family Time. Our Child Safe practice means that the child's voice is listened to, that we support their involvement in decisions being made about them and that our approach to our work always prioritises them even if that means things can get tricky with mums and dads. 

If you want to learn more about our approach to managing child reluctance and refusal, please get in touch.