What are supervised visits and custody exchanges in Quebec?
Short answer
They are the two supervised-access services (SDA): the supervised visit lets the child and the non-custodial parent meet safely in the presence of a resource person; the supervised custody exchange handles the child's transition from one home to the other without the parents having to meet. Offered in a neutral place — most often a community organization — under a Superior Court order or a written agreement between the parents, and designed as a transitional, exceptional measure.
In detail
The two services. The supervised visit lets the child and the non-custodial parent meet in complete safety, in the presence of a resource person. The supervised custody exchange handles the child's transition from one family home to the other in the presence of a resource person, so the two parents do not have to meet.
The place. Both services are offered in a neutral location, most of the time on the premises of a community organization. They also make it possible to keep one parent's home address confidential when the situation justifies it (physical or verbal violence, threats).
How to access them. By a Superior Court order — either parent can ask the court, and the judge can include it in the order on their own initiative or at the lawyers' suggestion — or by a written agreement signed by both parents who agree amicably. You deal with the organization closest to the child's permanent home; your local CLSC can point you to the resources in your region. Both parents book their appointments separately with the person in charge.
Transitional and exceptional. These services are meant to be temporary: the order can set a time limit, to encourage parents to seek the help required. The current framework for SDA resources is set by the standards and organization guide (January 2018, ministries of Health and Social Services, Family, and Justice).
What to document
The date and course of each supervised visit or exchange — held, cancelled, cut short — as they happen (the app's exchange log is made for this). Keep the order or written agreement, and any document the organization gives you, dated and in the vault. If the order sets a time limit, that is a deadline for your calendar.
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Official sources
- MSSS — Supervised access services (official leaflet, French)
- MSSS · Family · Justice — SDA standards and organization guide (PDF, January 2018, French)
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What this page is not
This is general legal information about the law of Quebec and Canada, dated and sourced. It is not legal advice, not a strategy, and not a prediction about the outcome of a case. In Quebec, only lawyers and notaries may give legal advice (Act respecting the Barreau du Québec, ss. 128 and 133). Laws and amounts change: the official source always prevails over us.