Parenting experts are psychologists and social workers with training and experience in helping families and the court. They can help resolve communication and conflict between co-parents as well as provide information and support for issues about parenting time, decision-making authority and contact.
Parenting experts can get involved in different ways:
- one parent wants help for themselves
- both parents agree to get help for the child or the family
- the court makes an order for a parenting expert to advise it on what decisions are in the best interests of the child
On this page, “parent” refers to both parents and guardians.
Need to know
- Parents can hire a parenting expert to help them resolve communication issues and issues about parenting time, decision-making authority or contact.
- The court can order a parenting expert to intervene with or evaluate a family and report back to help it make decisions in the best interests of the child.
- Parenting experts perform different types of interventions and evaluations depending on the needs of the family.
- The parents must pay the parenting expert’s fees.
- The court decides which psychologists and social workers it sees as parenting experts.
Who is a parenting expert
A parenting expert is someone with professional training and experience about family issues, including parenting time, decision-making authority and contact. They are usually registered psychologists, registered clinical social workers or lawyers.
What parenting experts do
Parenting experts observe relationships within a family. Their observations and opinions help the family or the court figure out what decisions about parenting time, decision-making authority and contact are in the best interests of the child.
Parenting experts can perform many roles, such as counselling one or more family members, helping parents better communicate with each other, making decisions for the parents or giving the court their opinion. Their role depends on what the family needs or on what information the court needs to make a decision for the family.
Parenting coordinators
A parenting coordinator is a kind of parenting expert who helps the parents resolve issues, such as day-to-day decisions about the child. Parenting coordinators are usually psychologists or social workers.
The parents must enter into a contract with the parenting coordinator and pay for their services. The contract will say what the parenting coordinator can help the parents with. For example, the contract may say the parenting coordinator can:
- help the parents make day-to-day decisions
- if the parents cannot agree, make day-to-day decisions for the parents to avoid going to court
Did you know?
Many people may say they are parenting experts. However, if you want to use the parenting expert’s report in court as evidence, the parenting expert must be someone the court considers an expert.
You can choose someone the court already recognizes as an expert. If you want the court to consider someone it has never recognized as an expert, you must give the court information about the parenting expert’s training and experience.
How parents can involve parenting experts
If parents cannot agree on issues that affect their children, they can hire a parenting expert to assess the situation and make a recommendation.
Parenting experts can help in many ways. Parents can hire a parenting expert to perform some of the same interventions and evaluations that the court uses (described below) without going to court.
For example, parents can involve a parenting expert to provide counselling to one or both of them, to the child or to the whole family. They can also hire a parenting coordinator to help them make day-to-day decisions about their children when they cannot agree.
Parents can agree on hiring a parenting expert, what their role will be and who will pay the fees. They can work directly with the parenting expert to agree on their services and payment without the court being involved.
However, you may need to go to court for guidance if:
- one parent does not agree on hiring a parenting expert
- you cannot agree on who pays for the parenting expert
- one of you paid the parenting expert’s fees but the other parent is not paying their share as planned
- you cannot agree on whether to use the report as evidence in court, which also means the parenting expert will be a witness
Learn how to co-parent after separation
Parenting After Separation (PAS) is a free online course created by the Government of Alberta to help parents learn how to communicate with each other after a separation. You must complete PAS before you ask the court to make an order about parenting or child support.
Once you have completed PAS, you can take a second course called Parenting After Separation for Families in High Conflict.
The Alberta Family Wellness Initiative has a free Brain Story course that parents and professionals can take to better understand a child’s brain and trauma. It also shares how a parent’s behaviours and decisions impact their children.
How the court involves parenting experts
The Court of King’s Bench involves parenting experts to perform three main types of processes:
- therapeutic interventions
- evaluative interventions
- parenting evaluations
Depending on the process, one or both parents must agree to their or their child’s participation. The parents must also pay the fees.
Two court guidelines describe how parenting experts can help in a court case. These are known as Practice Note 7 and Practice Note 8.
A Practice Note 7 Intervention, also known as a PN7, is where a parenting expert provides education or therapy to a family, or meets with and observes a family to then describe the dynamics between the child and the family. These interventions may be therapeutic or evaluative.
A Practice Note 8 Evaluation, also known as a PN8, is where a parenting expert interviews, uses assessment tools and observes a family before giving an opinion on what the parenting arrangements, parenting responsibilities and decision-making authority should be. The court relies on their report as evidence to make their decision.
If your case is in the Court of Justice
The Court of Justice can grant orders similar to the Court of King’s Bench about the therapeutic and evaluative interventions described in Practice Note 7.
Therapeutic interventions (Practice Note 7)
In a therapeutic intervention, a parenting expert provides different therapies to help a family after a separation. Their role is to support the family in creating change. Some therapeutic interventions involve only one parent while others require both parents to agree to the intervention.
The parenting expert can provide a report to the court if the court orders the intervention in a Practice Note 7 Intervention Order. If the intervention is successful, the report may say what each person agreed to. If the intervention is not successful, the report will include information about each person’s attendance, willingness to participate, barriers to progress and more.
These interventions are described in Practice Note 7. Below are some examples.
A parenting expert can act as a mediator to help parents resolve parenting issues.
The court can order mediation if both parents agree to it. The parents must pay for the mediator unless they qualify for the free Family Mediation program.
The court can order one parent to go to counselling to help them be a better parent. This can include learning how to regulate their emotions or developing new parenting skills and tools. A parent may also need to heal from past trauma that is negatively impacting their life and their children.
The parent must agree to and pay for the counselling.
Post-separation or post-divorce counselling can help separated parents deal with separation issues and learn how to co-parent. The counsellor or psychologist is a neutral, trusted third-party who can act as a mediator or parenting coordinator.
The court can order both parents to go to counselling if they both agree to participate. The parents must pay for the counselling.
A child can receive counselling alone to help them process their parents’ separation. All guardians must consent to the child attending counselling.
If one guardian does not agree, download CPLEA’s PDF titled Get consent for a child to attend counselling to learn what to do.
Also known as family counselling, this intervention can involve biological parents, guardians, stepparents and children. The parenting expert can suggest follow-up one-on-one or group appointments depending on the needs and dynamics of the family. Everyone must agree to participate.
The court can order family counselling if everyone agrees to participate. The family must pay for the counselling.
Also known as remedial facilitated access, this therapy may be necessary if a parent does not have a relationship with the child. The goal is to help the parent and child rebuild their relationship or begin a relationship.
Both parents must consent to this intervention: the primary caregiver must give consent for the child and the other parent must agree to attend. The court can also order reunification therapy in other cases, such as when one parent has been keeping the child from the other parent.
The parents must pay for the counselling.
Evaluative interventions (Practice Note 7)
In an evaluative intervention, a parenting expert interviews, uses assessment tools and observes the family and writes a report about what they learn. The report can be used as evidence in court.
The court can order the parents to arrange for a parenting expert to perform an evaluative intervention. This order is known as a Preliminary Practice Note 7 Intervention Order in the Court of King’s Bench. The Court of Justice can grant a similar order.
The court can also make an order confirming the details of the intervention. This order is known as a Practice Note 7 Intervention Order in the Court of King’s Bench. The Court of Justice can grant a similar order.
In an evaluative intervention, the parenting expert interviews anyone who is involved with the children and their parents, including teachers and school staff, counsellors, mediators, church staff, medical professionals and psychologists.
Once they complete their interviews, the parenting expert writes an Intervention Report. The parenting expert sends their report to the court, not to the parents. A parent may only view the report with their lawyer or, if they do not have a lawyer, they must arrange with the court to view the report.
These interventions are also described in Practice Note 7. Below are some examples.
The parenting expert will learn about the family and recommend what type of further intervention or evaluation would best help the family resolve their issues. For example, the parenting expert may recommend someone attend therapy or that the parents get a Voice of the Child report or Practice Note 8 evaluation.
The court often orders triage as a first step before making any further decisions.
The parenting expert will talk to the child and their parents to help the child communicate their needs or concerns.
The parenting expert usually talks to each parent and each child on their own. Sometimes they talk to the child twice – once with each parent. They may also observe the child at school or in other settings, or talk to the child’s doctor. The parenting expert can also recommend other therapies for the child, such as counselling, if need be.
A Voice of the Child report is helpful when making a parenting plan or deciding who should have decision-making authority for the child. It can also be helpful when deciding if the child should move away with one parent.
The parenting expert will assess one parent to see if there are any issues or concerns that might make it more challenging for the parent to care for the child. The parenting expert can provide information about risk factors, protective factors and supports the parent may require.
Parenting evaluations (Practice Note 8)
In a parenting evaluation, a parenting expert assesses the family and recommends to the court what is best for the child after a separation. It is also known as a parenting time assessment or parenting responsibilities assessment. These evaluations are described in Practice Note 8.
These assessments help the court decide whether increasing, reducing, supervising or ending a parent’s parenting time would be in the best interests of the child. They can also advise the court on whether a parent should expand, continue or end their responsibilities towards the child.
A parenting evaluation may be necessary if the parents cannot come to an agreement on parenting issues and evaluative or therapeutic interventions will not be or have not been effective. It is the court’s last resort to get evidence about what parenting time or responsibilities are best for the child.
As part of their assessment, the parenting expert:
- evaluates how the parents care for their child, including their strengths and weaknesses as parents
- assesses new partners and other family members who care for the child to see how these relationships impact the child
- determines what the child might need as they grow up
- watches how the parents and child interact with each other
- talks to other people who know the family to better understand the family dynamic
After completing their interviews and assessments, the parenting expert writes an Evaluation Report. The parenting expert sends their report to the court, not to the parents. A parent may only view the report with their lawyer or, if they do not have a lawyer, they must arrange with the court to view the report.
Find a parenting expert
It is important to find the right parenting expert for your needs. Not all psychologists and social workers have the training and experience to qualify as parenting experts for court.
If the court has recognized a parenting expert as an expert witness in another case, the court likely will recognize them as an expert witness again. If the court has not yet recognized a parenting expert as an expert witness, then you must share their resume and experience with the court. The court will question the parenting expert and decide whether they recognize them as an expert witness for your case.
There are a few websites you can use to find a parenting expert:
- The Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (AFCC) Alberta Chapter’s website has a directory of professionals, including those who perform Practice Note 7 Interventions or Practice Note 8 Evaluations as well as mediation, arbitration and parenting coordination.
- The Alberta Family Mediation Society’s website has a directory of mediators and parenting coordinators.
- The Psychologists’ Association of Alberta website‘s Find a Psychologist page identifies some psychologists who perform Practice Note 7 Interventions or Practice Note 8 Evaluations.
Potential issues
One parent wants the intervention or evaluation, but the other parent does not.
The parent who wants to hire a parenting expert can ask the court to order it. However, the court will not order an intervention or evaluation if the parents cannot afford to pay for it or if it requires consent from both parents.
You and the other parent cannot agree on which parenting expert to hire.
Sometimes the court can decide. You can each give the court a list of options for the court to pick from. Make sure a parenting expert is available and willing to help before you add them to your list.
You cannot afford to pay for the intervention or evaluation.
Some parenting experts offer sliding scale fees, which are reduced fees based on your income. Alberta Health Services and some social agencies also provide free or reduced cost therapies in some situations. Contact 211 to find supports near you. If you qualify for Legal Aid, they may also pay part of the fees upfront but you must pay back Legal Aid as part of your payment plan.
Explore related topics
Being a parent or guardian
Overview of who are a child’s parents and guardians.
The best interests of the child principle
Factors to look at when making decisions about a child.
Make a plan for how to co-parent
Plan for how to co-parent your child after a separation.
Get or respond to a court order
Ask the court for an order to resolve family issues.