of the proceedings and make its own determination on the issue. Domingues v. Johnson1
.
The Advent of Parent Coordi- nators in Maryland
Parent coordination first appeared
in Maryland appellate law a bit more than fi ve years ago in McCarty v. Mc- Carty, 147 Md. App. 268 (2002). Judge Ann Sundt in Montgomery County, in a contested custody case, experimented with a six month trial use of a parent coordinator in a case where she believed the parties could make joint decisions in the best interests of their children “with a little help.” She appointed a parent co- ordinator, whose primary purpose was to facilitate communication between the parties to reduce the confl ict between them. Months later, the parent coor- dinator reported to Judge Sundt that it
1
Domingues v. Johnson is 323 Md. 486, 593 A.2d 1133 (1991).
appeared that the parties were making progress with her assistance. As a result, Judge Sundt awarded the parties joint legal custody. The Court of Special Ap- peals upheld Judge Sundt’s ruling, and the court appropriately lauded Judge Sundt for her energetic measures. Sadly, as of the date of writing this
article, there is no statewide list of resources regarding parent coordina- tors. Certain jurisdictions have lists of potential parent coordinators. Check with the family law coordinator in your jurisdiction to see if a list exists. For example, Howard County has a list of “approved” parent coordinators, with the approval being made by the county’s administrative judge based upon their profession and training. Howard County accepts both mental health providers and attorneys as parent coordinators. On the other hand, Montgomery
County is in the process, under the care- ful direction of judges and psychologists, of planning a major ramping up of the parent coordination process, which includes an “immersion” of parents in
parent coordination activities. The “big hammer” of education on the front end of the process promises to serve as a new model in assisting parents for using parent coordinators in the future and, ultimately, learning to make shared deci- sions without a parent coordinator.
How to Pick Your Parent Coordinator
The key to picking a parent coordina-
tor is to understand the personalities of the parties involved. Most of these cases are high confl ict. That is why a parent co- ordinator is being engaged. Sometimes the need is precipitated by one party be- ing overwhelming, while the other party is overwhelmed. This includes the classic dominant/submissive relationship. This parent coordinator should likely be an experienced therapist who understands the nuances of the power struggle dy- namic and who can successfully diffuse it.
The other model involves two strong parents, duking it out against each other,
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Winter 2008
Trial Reporter
37
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