Program Statistics 45 families with 56 children served in 2005                                      40% families report incomes less than $10,000 per year                                        2% families speak English as a second-language

Meeting Place serves at-risk children and their parents in conflict over child access following parental separation, removal of a child from his/her home or open adoption. The program offers a safe setting for visits between parent(s) and their child(ren). Trained Child Access Supervisors oversee these meetings, allowing parents and children to remain in contact without risk of physical or emotional harm. Our staff is experienced in working with high conflict families, including parents with a history of domestic violence.

Meeting Place trains adults from the community as Child Access Supervisors and is interested in recruiting supervisors who speak languages other than English, including Haitian Creole, Portuguese and Spanish.

Hours of Operation for Supervised Visitation: Mondays from 3 PM to 6 PM; Saturdays from 9AM to 2PM. Off-site visits can be arranged at other times.

Hours of Operation for Inquiries: Mondays from 9 Am to 6 PM; Wednesdays and Fridays from 9AM to 12:30PM; Saturdays from 9 AM to 3 PM .

Services Offered
Services are provided to

• divorced, separated and never-married parents and their children;
• children in DSS Foster Care placements and their parents; and
• children in open adoption situations and their parents.

Services include:

• Supervised Visits: Parent-child visits (1-2 hours in length) at The Guidance Center’s Main Office during which time parents do not have contact with each other and a security officer is on-site.
• Supervised Exchanges (neutral drop off and pick up): Child Access Supervisor assists children in transitioning between parents at the start and end of visits. (These parent-child visits are unsupervised and may vary in length from a few hours to overnight.)
• Off-site Supervision: Continual monitoring of parent-child visits away from the program center. Visits longer than 2 hours are possible.
• Supportive Supervision: Supervision is combined with education and support to aid parent-child contact.
• Case Management: Scheduling of visits, discussion of concerns about visits and safety, and options for moving beyond supervised visitation.
• Post-Supervision Services: Case management and telephone consultation to help parents in the transition to unsupervised contact.
• Objective Observation Notes: Written for each parent-child contact.
• Referrals: Referrals can be made for additional supportive services for children and adults, including referrals for victims of abuse, as well as for those parents who have been violent.
• Consultation: Provided to other visitation programs, private providers and other domestic violence service providers.

Languages Spoken

• English
• Spanish

Eligibility Criteria
Any family with supervised visitation needs are eligible for services. Most referrals come from the Probate and Family Courts and the Cambridge/Somerville DSS Area Office.

Client Fees
Fees are on determined by sliding scale beginning at $20 per hour of supervised contact; the program is committed to serving all families regardless of ability to pay.

Referrals
Referrals can be made by phone or fax by any of the following sources:

• Probate and Family Court
• Department of Social Services
• Attorneys
• Community-Based Organizations
• Self-Referrals

To make a referral or for more information, please contact:

Sarah McClellan
Administrative Coordinator
Main Office
5 Sacramento Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
Tel: 617.354.2275 x145
Fax: 617.547.4356

PLEASE NOTE: Do not include any client information when communicating via email. Email is for general inquiries only.