When parents are caught in the turmoil of legal battles and personal distress, it can be challenging to prioritize their children’s needs. Children, in turn, may struggle to find a safe space to express their feelings and understand their experiences during these difficult times. Family Court Services offers a vital resource to bridge this gap.
Understanding Family Court Services
For over two decades, Miami-Dade County, Florida, within the largest judicial circuit in the state, has benefited from the principles of therapeutic justice through Family Court Services. This unit plays a crucial role in assisting judges and general magistrates with complex family law cases. They provide focused, short-term therapeutic interventions designed to help families find solutions and move forward constructively.
Composed of dedicated professionals, Family Court Services is committed to reducing conflict within families and offering supportive services tailored to the entire family unit, with a particular focus on the well-being of children.
Comprehensive Services Offered
Family Court Services provides a range of services to families at no cost, addressing various challenges that arise in family court cases. These services include:
- Alienation: Addressing and providing strategies to manage parental alienation issues.
- Child/Family Assistance: Intervening in situations where immediate child welfare concerns exist, through interviews with family members, including children when appropriate.
- Co-Parenting: Evaluating and enhancing co-parenting skills, communication strategies, and effective time-sharing arrangements.
- Crisis Assistance: Providing immediate support in urgent situations identified by the judiciary, such as potential danger to a parent or child.
- Marital Reconciliation: For parties considering separation or divorce, exploring motivations and factors involved to facilitate clarity and informed decision-making.
- Parenting Coordination: Guiding parents in developing or refining parenting plans and implementing strategies to minimize the child’s exposure to parental conflict.
- Reunification: Addressing feelings of estrangement a child may have towards a parent and working to re-establish or build a healthy parent-child relationship.
- Time-Sharing: Resolving disputes related to child time-sharing, assisting in clarifying existing schedules or creating more effective and meaningful arrangements.
- Supervised Visitation/Monitored Exchanges: Providing a safe and neutral environment for parent-child interaction when concerns about a child’s physical or emotional well-being exist.
Connecting Families with Community Resources
Beyond in-house services, Family Court Services acts as a vital link to the broader community. They facilitate referrals to reputable community agencies and private providers for court-ordered services, including:
- Counseling services for individuals and families
- Extended co-parenting programs
- Parenting skills classes
- Parenting coordination services with external providers
- Psychological and psychiatric evaluations
- Substance abuse evaluations and treatment programs
- Social investigations
- Therapeutic supervised visitation options
- DNA testing services
Operating Hours and Contact Information
Family Court Services is available during the following hours:
- General Hours: Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
- Supervised Visitation Hours: Mondays and Wednesdays, 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., and Saturdays, 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
To learn more or access services, please contact:
Family Court Services
Lawson E. Thomas Courthouse Center
Lawson E. Thomas Courthouse Center
175 N.W. 1st Avenue Suite 1503
Miami, Florida 33128
Telephone: (305) 349-5508
Fax: (305) 349-5634
