Preparing a thoughtful service.
Parenting coordination appointments are not yet available. We are developing the service and confirming the professional requirements, insurance and scope before it opens. Binding determinations and arbitration are not currently offered.
York University’s Certificate in Family Mediation is in progress, with completion planned before this service opens. Completing the certificate does not itself confer parenting coordination certification or decision-making authority. Service launch also depends on confirming the applicable requirements and scope.
View the York family mediation program ↗Ask about the planned serviceHELP WITH THE EVERYDAY DETAILS
The plan is in place.
The practical questions continue.
Parenting coordination focuses on recurring parenting issues after parents have a parenting agreement or order. It can help with implementing arrangements, communication and practical disagreements. It is a separate process from a single mediation session.
Understanding the parenting plan
Identify the existing agreement or order, the practical issue and any questions that need legal or other professional advice.
Parenting communication
Set expectations for messages, response times, shared calendars and how parents raise concerns.
Exchanges and everyday routines
Work through recurring difficulties with pickups, delays, school routines and transitions between homes.
Activities and appointments
Address practical scheduling conflicts and the information parents need to share about children’s activities and appointments.
Holidays and special occasions
Clarify how proposed dates and overlapping plans can be discussed within the existing parenting arrangements.
Keeping children out of adult conflict
Build communication habits that avoid using children as messengers or asking them to resolve adult disagreements.
Recording practical agreements
Make agreed next steps, responsibilities and review dates clear. Obtain independent legal advice about formal changes.
Recognizing the limits of the role
Identify issues outside the agreed mandate and circumstances requiring a lawyer, court or another professional.
Parents have an established schedule, but late exchanges and repeated activity changes lead to arguments. A structured process can help clarify how changes are requested, when a response is needed and what information should be recorded.
A clear mandate comes first.
The proposed service would begin with separate intake and screening, followed by clear written terms covering the role, issues addressed, fees, communication, confidentiality and its limits, records and how the process ends.
Parenting coordination is not suitable for every family. Family violence, coercive control, safety concerns and each parent’s ability to participate need careful consideration. The process does not give a coordinator automatic authority to change a court order or decide every disagreement. Any decision-making power must be legally available and expressly authorized.
Parents are encouraged to obtain independent legal advice before, during and after a parenting coordination process, beginning before agreeing to its mandate and terms. One or both parents may have their own lawyer assist; the lawyer’s role would be clarified in the service agreement. Availability depends on jurisdiction and the confirmed scope of the service.
When ongoing support may be useful.
The planned service is intended for parents who already have an agreement or order but return to the same practical disagreements: late exchanges, unanswered messages, activity changes or different understandings of everyday arrangements.
A clear process may reduce repeated argument, set expectations for communication and help keep children out of adult disputes. It takes participation, time and fees, and is not a guarantee that conflict will stop.
Mediation or parenting coordination?
| Question | Facilitative family mediation | Parenting coordination |
|---|---|---|
| Main purpose | Work toward agreement on defined family or separation issues. | Help implement an existing parenting agreement or order within a defined mandate. |
| Typical format | A focused session or agreed series of discussions. | An ongoing framework for recurring parenting issues. |
| Who decides? | Participants decide whether to agree. | The mandate and applicable law determine the role. No automatic decision-making authority is assumed. |
| Privacy and records | Confidentiality and its limits are agreed before starting. | Reporting, records and confidentiality require their own clear terms; mediation confidentiality should not be assumed. |
| Current availability | Enquiries welcome, subject to suitability and availability. | Service in development. Appointments are not yet available. |
Preparing for an enquiry.
Have the current parenting order or agreement, a short factual chronology and a list of recurring practical concerns ready. Keep children’s names and confidential records out of the first enquiry.
For voluntary discussions about parenting arrangements now, explore family mediation. For a defined Christmas or school-break issue, see holiday parenting-time mediation.
Further reading: Justice Canada’s guide to parenting after separation ↗