The Vermont Statutes Online

Title 33 : Human Services

Chapter 053 : Children in Need of Care or Supervision

• § 5319. Parent-child contact and contact with siblings and relatives

  (a) The court shall order parent-child contact unless the court finds that it is necessary to deny parent-child contact because the protection of the physical safety or emotional well-being of the child so requires. Except for good cause shown, the order shall be consistent with any existing parent-child contact order.

  (b) The court may determine the reasonable frequency and duration of parent-child contact and may set such conditions for parent-child contact as are in the child’s best interests, including whether parent-child contact should be unsupervised or supervised. The court may allocate the costs of supervised visitation.

  (c) Parent-child contact may be modified by stipulation or upon motion of a party or upon the court’s own motion pursuant to section 5113 of this title.

  (d) The court may terminate a parent-child contact order in a juvenile proceeding upon a finding that:

  (1) a parent has without good cause failed to maintain a regular schedule of contact with the child and that the parent’s failure to exercise regular contact has had a detrimental impact on the emotional well-being of the child; or

  (2) continued parent-child contact in accordance with the terms of the prior order will have a detrimental impact on the physical or emotional well-being of the child.

  (e) Upon motion of the child’s attorney, the court may also order contact between the child and the child’s siblings, an adult relative with whom the child has a significant relationship, or an adult friend with whom the child has a significant relationship.

  (f) Failure to provide parent-child contact due to the child’s illness or other good cause shall not constitute grounds for a contempt or enforcement proceeding against the Department. (Added 2007, No. 185 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. Jan. 1, 2009.)