NOTICE: THIS DOCUMENT CONTAINS SENSITIVE DATA.
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IN THE _______________________
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WILLIAMSON COUNTY, TEXAS
ORDER FOR NEW WAY S FOR FAMILIES (NWFF)
Upon good cause shown, the court hereby makes the following Findings and Orders:
FINDINGS:
1.
The dispute between the parents presents a "high-conflict" case within the meaning of
the Texas Family Code §153. 01, or the dispute poses danger to the best interest of the child.
The court finds counseling is in the best interest of the child.
2.
The Court finds it is in the best interest of the child that the parents begin New Ways
for Families (NWFF) counseling model as set out below. This process should begin and
conclude quickly.
DOCUMENTS FOR COUNSELORS
Each parent shall provide a Behavioral Declaration, exchange it with the pother party,
and provide it to his or her Individual Parent Counselor and the Parent-Child Counselor. After
each party provides copies of the other parent’s Behavioral Declaration and each parent
responds, the responses will be exchanged. Neither party shall provide any additional court
documents to the counselors. The counselors shall not communicate with one another other than
to facilitate exchanges of Declarations and responses to Declarations.
INDIVIDUAL PARENT COUNSELING
1.
Mother and father shall each participate in six (6) counseling sessions of 45-60 minutes
each with a NWFF trained, licensed mental health professional using the NWFF Parent
Workbook. Each parent shall contact a separate Individual Parent Counselor trained in the New
Ways method within seven (7) days of the Court order. When the six (6) sessions have been
completes and the Parent Workbook has been completed, each parent shall provide a copy of
their counselor’s signed Verification of Completion (if obtained) to the Court and the opposing
party/attorney.
2.
The Individual Parent Counseling describing above shall be paid for by: Each Parent
shall pay for their own counseling.
3.
The Individual Parent Counseling described above shall be Confidential. The Individual
Parent Counselor shall never submit any letter, report or document (other than the Verification of
Completion of the Individual Parent Counseling) to the Court, nor testify in Court, subject to rare
exceptions provided by law. Counselor shall not communicate with any other professional
involved in the case, except by written agreement of both parties after each has attended at least
4 sessions.
4.
The counseling described above shall be completed by___________________________.
PARENT-CHILD COUNSELING
1.
Mother and father shall each participate in three (3) parent-child counseling sessions with
their child of 45-90 minutes each with a shared NWFF certified, licensed mental health
professional, using the NWFF Parent Workbook. The parties shall specifically use Sandra
Aguilar as their Parent-Child Counselor.
2.
The parents shall alternate Parent-Child Counseling Sessions approximately each week.
Both parents shall complete Session #1, before either parent attends Session #2. Both parents
shall complete Session #2 before either parent attends Session #3. When the three (3) sessions
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have been completed and the Parent-Child Workbook has been completed by each parent, he or
she shall provide a copy of their Parent-Child Counselor’s signed Verification of Completion to
the Court and to the opposing party/attorney.
3.
The Parent-Child Counseling described above shall be paid for by: each parent shall pay
for their own Parent-Child Counseling sessions.
4.
The Parent-Child Counseling described above shall be Non-Confidential, subject to state
laws. The counselor may discuss the case with the Attorney of Record for each party, Minor’s
Counsel, a jointly selected Mediator, an appointed Parent Coordinator, Parenting Facilitator
and/or other Collaborative Team members. The Parent-Child Counselor may be called to testify,
describe observations, and produce counseling records, if called as a witness by either party or
the Court, subject to the Court’s discretion. The counselor shall not submit any written report
or recommendations. The counselor shall not serve as an expert in the case.
5.
The counseling described above shall be completed by _________________ weeks from
entry of the Court’s Order.
NEXT HEARING
1.
Whether or not both parties have completed the counseling described above, there shall
be a Settlement meeting (mediation, parenting coordination or other appropriate ADR process)
by _______________________________________________.
2.
There shall be a hearing on ___________________________________, unless the parties
have reached a full written agreement on all issues before the court.
JUDGE PRESIDING
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