Algernon D'Ammassa Las Cruces Sun-News
Published 4:53 AM EDT Sep 8, 2020
ALBUQUERQUE - A New Mexico Supreme Court committee is finalizing proposed administrative rules governing court-appointed parenting coordinators.
Second Judicial District Court Judge Jane C. Levy, chairwoman of the state Supreme Court's Domestic Relations Rules Committee, confirmed to the Las Cruces Sun-News that the committee is developing proposed rules concerning appointments of parenting coordinators.
A work group comprised of lawyers, judicial officers, psychologists and other mental health practitioners has been at work since March, Levy said, and during August the group was putting final touches on a proposal to submit to the state's high court in Santa Fe for review and possible publication for comment.
After publication and a public comment period, the court would decide whether to adopt the proposed rules.
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“Parent Coordinators are used widely around the country but no formal legislation or rules exist in New Mexico to establish a parent coordinator’s minimum qualifications, the process for their appointment or the scope of their responsibilities," Levy wrote to the Sun-News.
"Thus, the Domestic Relations Rules Committee identified this as an area where clear rules and formal procedures would help families, judges, and attorneys in our state to use what has often been identified as a valuable tool for high-conflict custody cases,” Levy continued.
She said the work group was formed in February, and that the committee had begun researching rules and statutes regarding parenting coordinators about a year ago.
In high-conflict custody cases, district court judges may appoint a parenting coordinator to assist parents in following a parenting plan, facilitating communication over sharing time with the child, school work and discipline.
According to the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts, PCs play "a hybrid legal-mental health role that combines assessment, education, case management, conflict management, dispute resolution, and, at times, decision-making functions."
While parenting coordinators have been appointed in jurisdictions throughout Europe and Canada as well as the United States since the 1990s, most states have not passed specific legislation regarding the practice.
New Mexico law gives judges latitude for the use of "auxiliary services" in custody cases, to appoint experts and set procedures for dispute resolution.
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Qualifications and guidelines for parenting coordinators are not defined by statute, however, and the law does not define the scope of what parenting coordinators may do.
Similarly, parenting coordinators are not addressed by the state's administrative code or regulation and licensing department.
Moreover, there is no professional licensing board defining and enforcing qualifications or rules for parenting coordinators, although the AFCC's recommended guidelines for PCs are a typical point of reference.
Among those recommendations, the AFCC encourages courts "to establish a means for confirming the qualifications and training of mental health and legal professionals seeking to be appointed as PCs (parenting coordinators). This information should be available for review by parents and lawyers considering a PC."
As to qualifications, the AFCC recommends that the PC be "a licensed mental health or family law professional, or a certified, qualified or regulated family mediator, under the rules or laws of their jurisdiction."
A Sun-News report in July found that in New Mexico judicial districts where parenting coordinators are appointed, judges vary widely in the scope of powers they grant to the practitioners.
For example, in the Third Judicial District located in Las Cruces, one parenting coordinator who is not a therapist or attorney has been granted quasi-judicial authority, including immunity from lawsuits, in some cases but not in others.
Upon appointment, both parents in a case are typically required to pay the PC a retainer and maintain an account balance.
If either party is unhappy with the PC, they can ask the judge for the PC's removal.
Attorney Anna Farrell said the lack of uniform rules can lead to arbitrary appointments that also add to the financial burdens of separated families.
"Without standards, policies or procedures, judges can just make it up as they go," Farrell said, adding that she hoped the committee "will take into account the ability of parents to pay for parenting coordinators. PCs should be paid for by the state if the courts are going to impose them. If it’s not worth paying for with public dollars, maybe it’s not worth doing at all."
Algernon D'Ammassa can be reached at 575-541-5451, adammassa@lcsun-news.com or @AlgernonWrites on Twitter.
Published 4:53 AM EDT Sep 8, 2020