Parenting Coordination
Parenting Coordination in Florida
Parenting coordination is a child-focused dispute-resolution process where a trained, neutral professional helps high-conflict parents carry out their parenting plan, resolve day-to-day disagreements, and reduce repeated trips back to court. In Florida, it is governed by Statute § 61.125. Jessica Oliver, LCSW, serves as a neutral parenting coordinator for families across the state.
When Conflict Becomes the Norm
You have a parenting plan, but it isn’t working. Every exchange becomes an argument. Texts spiral. Small decisions about schedules, school, activities, or medical care turn into standoffs, and you find yourself back in front of a judge (and paying legal fees) over and over. The conflict is exhausting for you and harmful for your kids.
Parenting coordination breaks that cycle. Instead of litigating every dispute, you have a single neutral professional who knows your family and your plan and can help you resolve disagreements quickly and keep the focus where it belongs: on your children.
What a Parenting Coordinator Actually Does
A parenting coordinator helps parents:
Interpret and implement the existing parenting plan and court orders.
Resolve recurring disputes about schedules, exchanges, holidays, travel, and activities.
Improve communication and reduce hostile exchanges between households.
Make timely decisions on day-to-day issues within the authority granted by the court or the parents’ agreement.
Keep children out of the middle of adult conflict.
In Florida, parenting coordination is defined and regulated under Florida Statute §61.125. A coordinator is a neutral, not a therapist for either parent and not an attorney for either side.
Who Benefits Most from a Parenting Coordinator?
Parents in ongoing, high-conflict co-parenting relationships.
Families who keep returning to court over the same kinds of disputes.
Co-parents whose communication has broken down to the point it’s affecting the children.
Parents ordered by a court to use a parenting coordinator, or who want to avoid that step.
Parenting coordination sits exactly at the intersection of law and mental health, which is exactly where I work. As a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and a Qualified Parenting Coordinator, I bring both the structure of the legal process and the therapeutic skills to de-escalate intense emotions. My background includes nearly a decade working with trauma, high-conflict families, and military and first-responder families, in settings from psychiatric units to domestic violence shelters where managing volatile dynamics was a daily reality. I’ve also navigated the family court system personally. That combination of clinical depth, legal fluency, and lived experience lets me hold a steady, neutral center while helping your family find a calmer way forward.
Why Jessica Oliver?
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a parenting coordinator do?
A parenting coordinator is a neutral professional who helps high-conflict parents implement their parenting plan, resolve everyday disputes about schedules and decisions, and communicate more effectively, reducing the need to return to court.
Is parenting coordination the same as custody mediation?
No. Mediation helps you create an agreement. Parenting coordination helps you carry out an existing parenting plan over time and resolve disputes that arise while living it.
Is a parenting coordinator required in Florida?
Not always. A court may order one in high-conflict cases under Florida Statute § 61.125, or parents may choose one voluntarily to avoid ongoing litigation.
Can a parenting coordinator make decisions for us?
Within the authority granted by the court order or your agreement, a coordinator can help resolve specific day-to-day disputes. Major decisions remain with the parents and the court.
Do you offer parenting coordination virtually?
Yes. I work with families across Florida via secure video, which is often easier to schedule for both households.