Family Court Services in Riverside County: Child Custody Recommending Counseling, Orientation and the Appointment

Family Code section 3170(a) provides that if it appears on the face of a pleading to obtain or modify a custody or visitation order that custody or visitation is contested, “the court shall set the contested issues for mediation”⁴. Section 3170(b) adds that domestic violence cases are handled by Family Court Services under a separate written protocol approved by the Judicial Council⁴. The court’s pages do not reproduce that protocol.

Section 3183(a) lets the mediator, consistent with local court rules, submit a recommendation to the court if the parties and their attorneys first receive it in writing before the hearing. Where the mediator is authorized to do that, the process is called “child custody recommending counseling”⁵. Section 3183(b) lets the counselor recommend an investigation or other services, and section 3183(c) lets the counselor recommend restraining orders in appropriate cases⁵.

Local Rule 5155(A) says parties needing counseling are assigned an appointment time and date before the court date and must complete one appointment before it³. The court’s Family Court Services page lists what each parent is required to do first¹:

1. Complete the free online course on the Up to Parents website, print the certificate and bring it¹. Rule 5155(I) requires the class when custody or visitation is raised for the first time in the case, and says both parties bring the certificate; the court can order the class at any time³. The court’s FAQ says the orientation is required once, and the certificate is documented in the case file².
2. Complete the Child Custody Recommending Counseling Questionnaire, print a copy and bring it¹. The court’s intake form is RI-FL024; it is marked confidential and carries a notice that the counselor must report reasonable suspicion of child abuse or neglect⁷.
3. Watch the Riverside Parent Orientation Program video, which the court says parents are “encouraged” to do; it is not listed as required¹.

The page also says to arrive at least 30 minutes early for parking, security, check-in and initial paperwork¹.

Both parties must attend for CCRC services to occur, and the court says to be prepared to spend up to two hours¹. Rule 5155(D) requires parties to appear personally. A party who wants to appear remotely needs prior approval from the Family Court Services Department Head, with the request submitted at least seven days before the appointment on the local form³. The court’s FAQ names that form as RI-FL066, emailed to [email protected], and says approval is for “a limited set of circumstances, such as when a party no longer resides in Southern California or there is an Order of Protection in effect”².

CCRC services are conducted by a mental health professional with at least a master’s degree in psychology, marriage family and child counseling or social work and at least two years of clinical counseling experience². Typically only the parties take part; attorneys are not allowed in the session and children do not take part². If the court orders a child interview or the counselor schedules one, it is held on a separate date and time¹².

If a person is afraid to meet the other parent, the court’s FAQ says to tell the clerk at check-in, and the person is given the option of meeting the counselor separately². FL-313-INFO says a person concerned about meeting the other parent, or with a domestic violence issue or protective order, may ask to meet alone with the counselor and may have a support person, who may not speak for them⁶.

Sources disagree The court’s Family Court Services page says counselors “will consider documents that have been filed with the court” and are “prohibited from reviewing/accepting unfiled documents”¹. The court’s FAQ says the best way to share documents is to file them, but that if information has not been filed, the counselor “might consider the information,” and the person must then share it with the other parent and file it². Rule 5155(C) says documents brought to the appointment must be served on the other party before the counselor reviews them³. All three are current. Read together, documents meant for the counselor are filed with the clerk and served on the other parent ahead of the session.

Rule 5155(E) says CCRC is “confidential only to the extent that disclosure of the information received is limited to those who have the right to know,” and that this does not stop the counselor from making a recommendation to the court if the parties do not agree³. The court’s FAQ says sessions are confidential between the counselor and the parties, but information may be shared with the judge, and suspected child abuse or neglect must be reported to the child welfare agency². What is said in the session can therefore appear in the counselor’s recommendation to the judge.

Once both parents are excused, neither may have further communication of any kind with the counselor¹. The counselor then prepares the parenting plan the parents agreed to, or a recommendation if they did not, and typically submits it to the court at least two court days before the hearing¹. The report goes to the parties and their attorneys by the method each chose on the questionnaire: email, fax or in person¹.

Where the parents agree, Rule 5155(F) to (H) have the counselor prepare a written agreement and proposed order; persons present sign unless represented by counsel, and the court signs the proposed order if appropriate³. Where they do not, FL-313-INFO says the parents do not have to agree and that “the judge will decide”⁶. A person who disagrees with the recommendation, or wants a correction, raises it at the hearing¹². The counselor attends the hearing only if the court orders testimony or a party subpoenas the counselor, with the subpoena served at least five court days before the testimony date²³.

A person who misses the appointment still appears at the hearing and explains why; the court may refer the parties back for another appointment².

Rule 5155(J) sets two deadlines in writing to the Family Court Services Department Head: a request to change the counselor at least seven calendar days before the appointment, and a complaint within ten days after it³. The court’s page says to email [email protected] or submit in person where the appointment was held; the Family Court Services Director responds in writing within 30 days, and a complaint does not stop the counselor from making a recommendation¹³.

The court’s private mediation page says parties may use private mediation instead of CCRC, and that the page does not apply to CCRC itself⁸. See mediation and collaborative divorce in Riverside County. The court also keeps provider resource lists, including supervised visitation monitors, and says it “does not recommend nor endorse any provider”¹; see supervised visitation in Riverside County.