Position Statement – 2025
A.10521 (Hevesi) / S.8661-A (Hoylman-Sigal)
Support
The Women’s Bar Association of the State of New York (“WBASNY”) strongly supports proposed legislation (A.10521/S.8661-A (Hevesi/Hoylman-Sigal)) creating a supervised visitation initiative in New York to enhance existing supervised visitation programs and add programs to areas of the State that do not have them.
Supervised visitation programs allow a non-custodial parent to spend time with their child under the supervision of an unrelated, neutral third party. In situations where there is a family suffering from domestic violence, abuse, neglect, substance abuse, mental health problems, and other issues, supervised visitation programs facilitate safe visits between parents and children, allow for continued parenting by all parties, and are critical to strengthening family bonds.
As of September 2024, 28 of New York’s 62 counties do not have access to supervised visitation programs. Within those counties, supervised visitation programs have meager resources, are significantly oversubscribed, are unaffordable for the noncustodial parent, or unsustainable for most families as many have limited means. Additionally, despite the importance of these programs, the number of counties with supervised visitation programs has continued to decrease over time. In 2022, for example, only 20 counties lacked supervised visitation programs. Without immediate intervention and funding, WBASNY fears that more counties will lose their supervised visitation programs.
Enacting this legislation into law would mark a crucial step toward ensuring the safety and well-being of families suffering from domestic violence, abuse, neglect, substance abuse, mental health problems, and other issues. This legislation would authorize the Office of Children and Family Services (“OCFS”), in coordination with the Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence (“OPDV”), to promulgate regulations necessary to implement a supervised visitation program for each county that lacks a program and enhance the programs in the counties that have programs. OCFS would also be authorized to administer these programs and issue annual reports to the Legislature and the Governor on the progress of the programs.
WBASNY further supports establishing dedicated and continued funding to build a statewide infrastructure, with uniform procedures and protocols for delivering these services. WBASNY also supports formal licensing for entities contracted to operate supervised visitation programs. Additionally, WBASNY believes there must be real, enforceable, and effective oversight by OCFS and OPDV, which includes penalties for and the authority to remove providers who do not follow mandated safety and other protocols. These additional regulations will provide appropriate mechanisms for safe and efficient supervised visitation programs, in line with the recommendations of the Office of Court Administration’s Office for Justice Initiatives 2023 Report on the Future of Supervised Visitation in New York.
WBASNY commends Senator Hoylman-Sigal and Assemblymember Andrew Hevesi for their leadership and recognizing the need for this critical legislation.
WBASNY strongly supports A.10521/S.8661-A (Hevesi/Hoylman-Sigal) and further urges Governor Kathy Hochul to provide dedicated statewide funding for supervised visitation in the FY2025-2026 Budget.