Assembly Standing Committees on the Judiciary
Assembly Standing Committee on Children and Families
In response to the Invitation to Participate
In the New York State Assembly
Hearing on Supervised Visitation Programs
Testimony by: Women’s Bar Association of the State of New York
Presented by: Marea L. Wachsman, President
Good morning. My name is Marea Wachsman. I am the president of the Women’s Bar Association of the State of New York. We are known as (“WBASNY”), an organization with nearly 4,000 members and twenty Chapters throughout the state dedicated to protecting women’s and children’s rights. Thank you to the chairs and members of the Assembly Committees on the Judiciary and Children and Families for providing WBASNY a forum to express its views on supervised visitation programs.
As members of these Committees may know, there is a pressing lack of supervised visitation resources and programs. This is especially concerning in child custody cases where there are allegations of domestic violence or serious substance abuse and/or mental health issues of a parent. These programs provide safety for parents and children, allow for continued parenting by all parties, and are critical to strengthening family bonds. The urgency of this situation cannot be overstated. Everyone must remember that children love their parents and want to be with them regardless of the inappropriate behavior the family has been subjected to in the family home. Our job as leaders is to ensure the children’s needs are met physically and emotionally, including bonding with both parents.
Access to Supervised Visitation
Currently, there are 28 counties without any supervised visitation programs and 34 counties with programs with inadequate funding and limited resources. Many of these programs are unaffordable for almost all families, and for programs that families can afford, the waiting lists are at least six months or more.
As a statewide organization, WBASNY members report that these issues occur throughout New York. For example, a WBASNY member practicing in Suffolk County reports that it is nearly impossible to get visits at a supervised visitation program in a reasonable amount of time, and the court will often order unsupervised visitation somewhere they perceive to be safe, like a library. Another practitioner has urgently advised that the Bronx, despite having two supervised visitation programs, is in a state of crisis. These programs are overwhelmed with cases, resulting in long waiting lists, sometimes a year out. In the Bronx, constant turnover among program staff means that social workers often supervise without getting to know the family. Judges do not want to keep children away from a parent for many months and are left to propose alternatives. However, there is no one to supervise the interaction, nothing to stop a parent from leaving the public place with the child, and there is nobody to monitor or prevent inappropriate interactions with the child during the visit.
With the lack of suitable programs and resources, supervision and safe exchanges of children are often left to an unqualified neutral party or family member. These circumstances have sometimes led to devasting outcomes such as death or serious physical injuries to custodial parents and children, violence against the family member who is acting as the supervisor, weapons being brought into the visitation area, or victims of abuse supervising a child’s visitation with their abusers.
Additionally, with untrained people or ill-equipped programs, WBASNY members have heard of several unsafe situations. For example, a visitation center took it upon itself to allow off-site visits for a parent, contrary to the court order, at a busy carnival where the supervisor lost sight of the parent and child for several hours. The same agency insisted on a meeting with both parents at the same time for orientation before the commencement of the visits, even though there was an order of protection requiring the non-custodial parent to stay away from the custodial parent. During the orientation, the father began yelling at the mother and punched her.
Potential Solutions
WBASNY strongly supports an amendment to the New York State Social Services Law to establish a supervised visitation initiative funded by New York State. The initiative would provide a program in every county and provide additional resources to existing programs. Bills were introduced last session to accomplish these goals, but the need for increased funding remains a critical issue that cannot be overlooked.
These programs must be conducted with a regulatory structure that includes established statewide protocols based upon existing guiding principles promulgated by federal programs. There should be enforceable and effective oversight and established penalties for any provider not following safety and other protocols mandated by the state. Additionally, the only way to establish appropriate systems and oversight is with dedicated state funding to support it.
WBASNY urges Governor Kathy Hochul and members of the Legislature to recognize the urgent and immediate need for adequate funding and provide dedicated funding for such programs in the Fiscal Year 2026 Budget. WBASNY commends Senator Hoylman-Sigal and Assemblymember Andrew Hevesi for their leadership in recognizing the need for this important legislation.
On behalf of WBASNY, thank you for the opportunity to share our concerns and recommendations regarding supervised visitation programs.