CCRC is typically a requirement before any hearing where a party is requesting an order, it is imperative that fathers understand the goal of Child Custody Recommending Counseling (CCRC), before taking part in it.
California mandates that parents attend mediation prior to the court making any orders when either parent seeks custody of their child. In many counties, including Riverside and San Bernardino Counties, CCRC is the type of mediation. This means that the parents attend, meet with the CCRC counselor, and try to resolve the custody issues. If they cannot, the counselor makes a recommendation to the court about what would be in the best interests of the child. This recommendation is based upon the meeting with the parents, a meeting with the child if the child is of appropriate age, and review of documents from the parents. If the parents can’t reach an agreement, the counselor has to make the best recommendation possible on a limited amount of information. County-provided CCRC counselors can have as little as two to three hours to meet with parents, review documents, and make a recommendation.
With this limited amount of time, and such an impactful recommendation to make, fathers must focus the information they provide to a CCRC counselor to the most essential information. The most common desire is the desire to present concerns that have little to no relevance to the present situation. While past domestic violence issues, substance abuse, and poor parenting is relevant in providing context for the current situation, it is not going to be as impactful on a CCRC counselor as how the child is doing socially and academically and if there have there been recent causes for concern with a parent’s ability to parent.
Despite the desire to tell the CCRC counselor all negative from the past, focusing heavily on the past without really addressing the present can look to the counselor like a parent unable to let go of the past and unwilling to support a present relationship with the other parent. A CCRC counselor, unfortunately, is not going to have the time to be able to fully understand the history of a family, the dynamics of the parents or the children. Knowing and understanding this limitation can be crucial in determining what incidents are truly relevant to the current custody dispute.
If you are a father in Orange, Riverside, or San Bernardino Counties, call “The Fathers Rights Attorney” at 951-482-7517 today and put the dedicated team at Reel Fathers Rights on your side.
