Draft order C100 child arrangement application, help?!

[bindiboo]

Hi there I am helping my DH apply to court for a child arrangement order to have contact with his 3 yo dd who he has not seen since she was 9 months old. Respondent has ignored all contact from him and the mediator. The form asks that he attach a draft order that he would like court to make. We have no idea what to write.

DH is willing to do whatever the court/cafcass thinks is best for his DD. He is a stranger to her and so ofcourse gradual/supervised contact is best. In his letter to the mother he offered to see dd at any contact centre of her choosing, or to see their dd at his brothers house and be supervised by him there (as the mother has kept in contact with his brother/brothers wife and DH'S dd knows them as her Uncle and aunty). DH's brother and sister in law have offered to be 3rd parties for handovers and communication etc.

Should the draft order state that contact should take place in contact centre OR at his brothers house with brother present?

How long should we write that these supervised visits go on for? 8 weeks, 6 months?

What should visits progress to afterwards? unsupervised day visits? how long would they go on before overnights in our home etc?

We presume the order should include long term plans like this? And what sort of layout should the draft order have and is there anything else it should say? We can't find anything very helpful on the net, no examples or anything.

Any help would be so gratefully received.

Also regarding traveling costs: how does this work? Is it expected that travel is covered 50/50?

If DH has to go to a contact centre it's likely he will be doing 80% of the travel to get to one local to the mother. Is the mum expected to contribute to any of the costs?

If contact takes place at DHs brothers the mother will be doing the traveling, is DH expected to cover all of her travel costs or only 50%?

can't comment on the child arrangement thing I'm afraid as don't know anything about how they are laid out.
Transport costs aren't reimbursed to either party, you pay your own, she pays her own

Thanks inthename. So if it was at his brothers she would have to get their dd there every week and that's that, it's her problem?

Get along to your nearest Families Need Fathers meeting (google it). They are incredibly helpful and can help with the C100. Be careful with suggesting supervised - that can imply a supervised contact centre where reports are written and this isn't cheap! If there are no safeguarding issues then there is no reason for supervised contact.

Contact centres are only appropriate if there are welfare concerns. Nothing else. That said, a large number of non-resident parents (usually fathers) usually see their children in one at the start.

Does your DH need supervision? Or is it to keep his ex happy? Be careful. If you're offering this it can (and I have seen this) as an inference that is needed. The assumption in court is that parents are able to care for their children without supervision unless the court determines this isn't the case.

You are right that contact should be a gradual (and steady!) increase and one that is meaningful. The provision of a court order should last until the child is an adult...or as the cope often hopes - that the parents are able to work together.

As nomoretether says - contact Families Need Fathers. I'm a member and a volunteer for the charity. They have support meetings around the countries, people who are able to help you with the questions in your post, give you emotional support (not just fathers - EVERYONE affected by the separation of parents), a helpline, an online forum and more.

Outside of this I am a McKenzie Friend and I spend my days drafting orders and producing all the other pieces of paperwork required.

Thank you very much for your advice we will definitely get hold of families need fathers.

We presumed supervised contact would be required as his DD is only just turning 3 years old and hasn't a clue who her father is.

DH is more than capable of caring for her unsupervised though, we have a 3 bed house and he is currently stay at home dad to our 6 year old and 1 year old daughters.

He has a dv conviction (kicking on the leg) from 2010 which ofcourse the mum will bring up as a welfare concern so this might mean that the court wants supervision too?

A DV conviction is quite serious and a court may well consider supervised contact appropriate until arrangements can be established, just in case.

However some contact centres provide supported contact as well, or instead of, supervised contact. Supported contact can assist with contact arrangements following separation, especially when the child doesn't know a parent or hasn't seen one of their parents for a while. Families are helped to re-establish and maintain consistent contact which they can sustain for themselves in future. Sometimes there is no charge for services provided by contact centres.

Another option is assisted contact where a family is paired with a volunteer or worker who directly supports contact. For example they may do some life story work to provide children with information which gives them a better idea of their family background and identity before meeting a parent they don't know exists or haven't seen for a long time.