New center to promote meaningful visits between children and their parents in a safe, child- and family-friendly environment.

The Clark County Department of Family Services (DFS) opened a Family Visitation Center on Saturday, February 23.  Located on the Child Haven campus in the O’Bannon Cottage, the new visitation center will be open seven days a week, including holidays, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. 

The center will be staffed full time in an effort to provide flexibility and support to parents and their children during visitation activities. 

The DFS Family Visitation Center is designed to:

• Promote meaningful visitation between children and their caregivers in a safe, child- and family-friendly setting that is conducive to assessing parent-child interaction;
• Offer developmentally appropriate visitation activities;
• Facilitate attachment and bonding; and
• Maintain the caregiver-child relationship.

“We’re excited about the positive impact this center will have on the children and families we serve,” said DFS Director Tom Morton.  “Frequent visitation is highly correlated with the improved functioning and stability of children as well as facilitating the rate of reunification.  Additionally, parents who have visitation plans are more likely to visit with their children than those who do not have them, since such plans are designed to shape parents’ visiting practices.”

As part of the DFS’s comprehensive visitation program, a visitation plan will be developed for each child placed in protective custody.  Visitation shall be addressed at the Child and Family Team (CFT) meeting held within 48 hours of each placement.  Visitation plans address components such as the parent’s right to visit their children, the frequency and duration of visits, goal(s) of visitation and those permitted to visit with the child or children. As staffing permits, Family Visitation Center staff will participate in the initial CFT. 

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