The AFCC‐Ontario Parenting Plan Guide and Template: Jurisdictionally‐Specific Resources for Family Justice Professionals and Parents

Abstract

This article discusses the development of the concept of parenting plans and the different approaches to providing materials that can help parents and professionals to make individualized, future‐oriented plans for children post‐separation. More than a quarter century after American states began to enact laws to encourage the use of parenting plans, Canada amended its legislation to abandon the proprietary concepts of “custody” and “access,” and encourage the use of parenting plans rather than “custody orders”. To support the making and use of individualized, child‐focused parenting plans, the Ontario Chapter of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (AFCC‐O) prepared its Parenting Plan Guide and Parenting Plan Template. These web‐based materials are available without charge to parents and their professional advisors. The Guide discusses the value of parental co‐operation and planning, while recognizing that in cases where there are serious issues of abuse, violence or parental mental health, a protective judicial role and court orders may be needed. The Guide offers advice on the making of developmentally‐appropriate parenting plans, and the Template provides possible alternatives for the wording of specific clauses. While the available parenting plan materials from different jurisdictions have broadly similar content, there is value in having family justice organizations, including chapters of the AFCC, develop their own materials, that are consistent with the laws, justice processes and resources of their jurisdiction. The Ontario experience suggests that judges, lawyers and parents may be more likely to use jurisdictionally‐specific materials rather than more generic resources.