supervised visitation and exchanges

Our goal is to provide a safe and comfortable environment for children and families so that they may maintain healthy relationships.

Visitation Center Location and Contact Numbers

817-212-7296 (during visitation weekends)

817-884-1616 (during the work week)

200 East Weatherford St.
1st Floor side entrance
Fort Worth TX 76196

Member of the Supervised Visitation Network

Notice: Some of the documents on this page are scanned images.  If you require assistance in accessing the information, please contact Family Court Services at 817-884-1616.  

Supervised exchanges through the visitation center:

Supervised exchanges are offered in the Family Law Center on first, third and fifth weekends on the first floor of the Family Law Center.  Attorneys and parties may agree to an order to use this service without consulting with Family Court Services as there is currently not a waiting list. We are members of the Supervised Visitation Network

Please refer to the "Visitation Policies and Procedures" for more detailed information.

• Provide a copy of the order to FCS. Court order or Associate Judge's Recommendation required. Currently, there is no waiting list for supervised exchanges and therefore, attorneys and parties may agree to supervised exchanges without consulting with FCS first.
• Intake and one-time fee required. Both parties must participate in the intake process before exchanges will be set up. 
• Supervised exchanges available on first, third and fifth weekends. The center is open for supervised exchanges at the following times:
  
  • The first, third and fifth Friday of every month from 5:45 to 6:15 p.m.
  • The first, third and fifth weekend of every month (determined by Friday), on Saturday from 8:45 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. and on Sunday from 12:45 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Supervised visitation through the visitation center:

Supervised visitation at the visitation center is limited to first, third and fifth weekends for one hour in Judge Jenkins's first floor waiting room at the Family Law Center, subject to availability. There is usually a minimum 30-day waiting list to have a slot assigned.

Please refer to the "Visitation Policies and Procedures" for more detailed information.

• Provide a copy of the order to FCS. A court order or associate judge's recommendation is required. Any agreements made with regard to supervised visitation must first be approved by Family Court Services.
• Intake and one-time fee required. There is a one-time $50 set up fee. Cases will not be processed until this fee is paid in full and the parents have both participated in our intake process.
• Visitation Center open on first, third and fifth weekends only. The Visitation Center is open on first, third, and fifth weekends only. The center is open for one hour supervised visits on Saturdays from 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. and Sundays from 12:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
• Supervised visits at one hour only. Supervised visitation is available for one hour only each weekend that the center is open. The hour is assigned by FCS as available.
• Do not include a specific time for supervised visitation.  The better practice is to order that visitation is for one hour, at the time designated by Family Court Services. If you do not check with us first, the time you designate may not be available because supervised visitation slots are limited and are in high demand.
• Subpoenas are not necessary. The supervisor will try to make arrangements to be available for testifying, if requested in advance by an attorney, by a party or by Family Court Services. The supervisor will generally appear for testimony without the necessity of being served with a subpoena. However, he or she may request a subpoena to be provided at the courthouse, if required for an excused absence from the supervisor's regular employment. The supervisor's records will be made available to attorneys upon advance notice and payment for the cost of copying (currently 50 cents per page) - no subpoenas are necessary for the attorneys to obtain a supervisor's records. Pro se litigants may review the records in the FCS offices with advance notice; however, FCS does not release copies of the visitation notes to litigants unless ordered to do so by the court.
   

Community supervised visitation:

Community supervised visitation provides more flexibility. Community supervised visitation is $55 per hour with a two-hour minimum. It is a supervised visitation program that enables parents to visit with their children out in the community or in their home.

Please refer to the "Community Supervision Agreement" for more detailed information.

• Provide a copy of the order to FCS. Attorneys and parties may agree to community supervision without consulting with Family Court Services first, as there is currently not a waiting list. However, the attorneys and parties must still participate in intake before agreeing to our services. A specifically approved court order, available through our office and in most of the courtrooms, is required. The best way to ensure we can fulfill the order is to state preferred times and dates and add "or as directed by FCS" if not available.
• Intake and one-time fee required. There is a one-time $50 set up fee. Cases will not be processed and assigned to a supervisor until this fee is paid in full and the parties have both participated in our intake process.
• No longer than 3-hour visits. Generally, no period of community supervised visitation should exceed three hours at a time.
• Note: The following cases are generally not appropriate for community supervised visitation:
  • the visiting party is a flight risk;
  • the visiting party is seriously mentally ill; or
    
  • the visiting party has a history of violence.
• Payments in cash directly to supervisor. The supervisor is paid $55 per hour by the visiting party with a minimum of two hours (unless the other party is ordered to pay the cost). The visiting party is required to pay the supervisor in cash at the beginning of visitation, for the full amount of time scheduled for the visitation. If the supervisor terminates the visitation, the supervisor retains the full fee for the time scheduled. If the person picking up the child is late, the person is required to pay the supervisor a $55 late fee or $55 per hour for any hour or portion of an hour beyond the scheduled ending time for the visitation, whichever is greater.
• Supervisor does not transport children. The supervisor will NOT transport the child(ren) at any time during visitation unless the supervisor determines there is an emergency and failure to transport the child would result in harm to the child.
• Court Testimony. The supervisor is paid $55 per hour by the party requesting testimony for any time the supervisor is requested to appear to testify, with a $110 minimum fee paid in advance of the hearing.
• Subpoenas usually not necessary. Although Community Supervisors are independent contractors, we will do our best to assist as a liaison if a supervisor needs to be available for testifying, if requested in advance by an attorney or by a party. The supervisor's records will be made available to attorneys upon advance notice to FCS and payment for the cost of copying (currently 50 cents per page) - no subpoenas are necessary to obtain a supervisor's records. In most cases, the supervisor will generally appear for testimony without the necessity of being served with a subpoena. However, he or she may request a subpoena to be provided at the courthouse, if required for an excused absence from the supervisor's regular employment.  Pro se litigants may review the records in the FCS offices with advance notice. However, FCS does not release hard copies of the visitation notes to litigants unless ordered to do so by the court.