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Judges, advocates tell Assembly New York lacks supervised‑visitation programs in 28 counties; $20M funding ask proposed
Summary
Judges, legal advocates and service providers told a joint Assembly hearing that professionally supervised visitation and safe‑exchange programs are scarce across New York, leaving families on months‑long waitlists. Witnesses urged state funding, oversight and training; a working group recommended $20 million to expand services.
Assembly leaders convened a joint hearing of the Assembly Standing Committees on the Judiciary and on Children and Families to examine access to supervised visitation programs ordered by family courts and how New York should resource and regulate them. Judges, legal advocates and nonprofit service providers testified that professionally staffed supervised‑visitation and safe‑exchange programs are severely limited statewide and that gaps are driving delays in custody and visitation cases and harming children.
Judge Richard Rivera, the statewide coordinating judge for family‑court matters, told the committees that a July 2023 working‑group report and a 2024 Unified Court System update show growing service gaps: programs are absent in many counties,…
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