The short answer
Supervised visitation is court-ordered parenting time that happens in the presence of a neutral, trained professional. The supervisor's job is to keep the child safe, ensure the visit follows whatever conditions the court has set, and produce an objective written record of what occurred.
It is not a punishment. It is not therapy. It is a structured framework — most often used while a court is gathering information, while a parent is rebuilding a relationship with a child, or while specific safety concerns are being addressed.
When courts order supervised visitation
Family courts in Florida — and across the country — order supervised time-sharing in a range of circumstances. The most common reasons:
- Allegations or history of domestic violence involving the child or the other parent
- Substance abuse concerns — past or current
- Long absence — when a parent has been out of the child's life for an extended period and the court wants to re-introduce contact gradually
- Mental health concerns that may affect parenting capacity
- Allegations of child abuse or neglect that have not been fully resolved
- Risk of abduction — particularly across state lines or internationally
- High-conflict divorce cases where parent-to-parent contact creates risk for the child
In Miami-Dade County, judges typically order supervised visitation in the context of an ongoing family law case — divorce, paternity, or modification — and reference it in either a temporary order or a final parenting plan. Florida courts use the term "time-sharing" rather than "custody" or "visitation," and a parenting plan with supervision conditions is often called a safety-focused parenting plan. For more on the procedure, see our guide to the Miami-Dade family court process.
What a supervised visit actually looks like
A typical TruVisit Miami session runs two to three hours, depending on the court order. The supervisor:
- Arrives at the agreed location before the visit begins
- Greets the child and parent separately if appropriate
- Remains visually and audibly present for the entire visit
- Takes contemporaneous notes — what was said, what was done, the child's affect and engagement
- Steps in to redirect or end the visit if any condition of the court order is violated
- Confirms the transition back to the custodial parent at the end of the visit
- Produces a written report within 48–72 hours
For a more detailed walk-through, see what to expect at your first supervised visit.
What it is not
Supervised visitation is frequently confused with other services. To clarify:
- It is not therapeutic visitation. A licensed therapist running a therapeutic session is doing clinical work. A supervised visitation supervisor is producing an objective neutral record — not providing treatment. See the full comparison.
- It is not monitored exchange. A monitored exchange is just the transfer of the child between parents — the supervisor is not present during the visit itself. See the difference.
- It is not informal third-party supervision by a relative. Some court orders allow a grandparent or family friend to supervise. Professional supervised visitation is different: a trained, neutral, documented service whose records hold up in court.
Who provides supervised visitation in Florida
Florida does not license private supervised visitation providers the way it licenses, say, therapists. The Florida Supreme Court has adopted minimum standards for court-connected supervised visitation programs, but private-market quality still varies widely. Things to look for:
- Trained and background-checked supervisors
- Written, court-formatted reports
- Transparent pricing — flat rates with no surprise fees
- Direct experience with the Family Division of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit
- Insurance and a real organizational structure
For a deeper checklist, see how to choose a supervised visitation provider. For the standards themselves, see Florida's supervised visitation standards, explained.
How TruVisit Miami approaches it
TruVisit Miami is the Miami-Dade arm of a 10-city national network. The same protocols, the same supervisor certification, the same documentation standards across every city. We charge a flat $100 one-time intake fee, $50/hour for sessions, and $10 per session report (your first two per month are free). No mileage, no monthly fees, no add-ons. We activate most cases within 48–72 hours of intake.