House hearing examines bill to create ‘family meeting points’ for supervised visits

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Lawmakers pressed agency officials on March 21 over House Bill 114, legislation that would require the Department of the Family to designate or equip areas inside its family-service centers as “puntos de encuentro familiar” (family meeting points) for supervised visits, neutral drop-off and pick-up of children, and extended operating hours.

The bill, introduced by Rep. Wanda del Valle, would amend Article 11 of Plan de Reorganización Núm. 1 de 28 de julio de 1995 to require such spaces at the department’s centers islandwide. In a public hearing before the House Committee on Older Adults and Social Welfare, witnesses described the measure’s aims to protect children’s relationships with noncustodial parents while offering supervised, neutral settings for potentially volatile exchanges.

Susan Roy Fuerte, secretary of the Department of the Family, summarized the agency’s view of family services and the proposal’s goals, saying, “La familia es la unidad fundamental de la sociedad,” and describing existing prevention and family-strengthening programs the department already runs. The secretary told the committee the department…