PCBody

PCBody Janice Black, MSW, LSW
Parenting Coordinator
Family Arbitrator

THE PARENTING CENTER
524 North Tejon Street
Colorado Springs, CO 80903
(upstairs from epcba)

Phone: (719)201-0887
Fax: (480)275-3789
Email: contact@JaniceBlack.com

Resume and Additional Qualifications.

Appointing me as the Parenting Coordinator, Decision-maker or Arbitrator to help families come up with arrangements that serve the best interests of the child(ren) can be useful in any of the following - and some other - situations:

When the high degree of conflict present significantly impairs communication,
Parents are still focussed on problems in their relationship, old hurts and anger at each other rather than the well being of the child(ren),
The parents have extreem difficulty making important mutual decisions,
The parties chronically litigate and need Court intervention repeatedly over the same or related issues,
Severe personality disorders are characteristic of one or more party,
Intermittent mental illness is present,
Abuse is a potential, even if it is not necessarily substantiated.

As a Parenting Coordinator, my goal is to help parents work together for the benefit of their child(ren). I may be appointed after Court Orders concerning their child(ren) have already been entered, but for one reason or another, the parents just cannot seem to work together to coordinate decision making and other responsibilities. The role of Parenting Coordinator is defined by Colorado Revised Statute 14-10-128.1.

My duties as a Parenting Coordinator (noted in CRS 14-10-128.1(3)) include, but are not limited to:

Assisting the parties in creating agreed-upon, structured guidelines for implementing their parenting plan;
Developing guidelines for communication between the parties and suggesting appropriate resources for the parties in learning communication skills;
Informing the parties of resources for developing improved parenting skills;
Assisting the parties in identifying the sources and causes of conflict between them, including but not limited to identifying each party's contribution to the conflict, when appropriate; and
Assisting the parties in developing parenting strategies to minimize conflict.

My goal is to improve parents' abilities to make decisions together for the benefit of their child(ren). However, at times parents cannot agree and have differing views on what is in the child(ren)'s best interests. In some cases, the Court will appoint me Parenting Coordinator/Decision-maker (PCDM) per 14-10-128.3, granting me authority to make decisions about the actual implementation of existing Orders, but not to make significant changes to existing Orders regarding Parenting Time or Parental Responsibilities.

When larger issues than the implementation of existing orders are at stake, I might serve as an Arbitrator per CRS 14-10-128.5. As an Arbitrator, I gather information, review it, consider all sides of the dispute(s) and make decisions for the parties about more substantive matters such as Parenting Time and disputed Parental Decisions, or anything else according to the Order of the Court and the signed agreement with the Parties, and always, ultimately, with the best interests of the child(ren) as my standard.