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By Jenna Heavner of Coots Henke & Wheeler P.C. and Kyli Willis of Buchanan & Bruggenschmidt P.C.
Those of us “in the trenches” of family law know the value (er, need!) of a good, seasoned parenting coordinator on our highest conflict cases. These are the cases with parents so focused on “winning” against the other parent that, by the time the child finishes high school, they have already spent the entire cost of college on 18 years of bickering over issues like extracurricular activities and exchange drop-off times. The value of a parenting coordinator in providing a more efficient, cost-effective, child-focused dispute resolution process outside the courtroom is immeasurable. Yet parenting coordination trainings are few and far between. The last time such a training was offered in central Indiana was in 2018 — five years ago!
These high-conflict cases, with children caught directly in the middle, surely reflect the worst of our practice and they are exhausting — but they aren’t going away. The need for more parenting coordinators willing and able to take on these cases is great. Further, we have an unmistakable need for parenting coordinators who reflect the diverse backgrounds and ethnicities of the families we serve. There is no shortage of work available in this area!
Will you consider being trained to serve as a court-appointed parenting coordinator? The IndyBar Family Law Section will be hosting its two-day parenting coordination training, “Nuts and Bolts of Parenting Coordination: Helping High Conflict Parents Resolve Disputes” on Sept. 14 and 15. We will have several renowned speakers, including Mindy Mitnik, Ed.M. M.A., a nationally recognized licensed psychologist, and 11 seasoned parenting coordinators from central Indiana. Our speakers will incorporate techniques aimed at building consensus and minimizing stress and conflict for families in litigation.
Registration is available from the Family Law Section events page, available at indybar.org. We also are so excited to offer (for the first time!) a Family Law Section PC Training Diversity Scholarship. Applicants are encouraged to apply from the registration event page. We hope you will join us!
Further questions regarding the training and registration may be directed to Jenna L. Heavner ([email protected]) and Kyli Willis ([email protected]), program co-chairs.•
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