A. A judicial district may establish a "safe exchange and supervised visitation program" by local court rule approved by the supreme court. The safe exchange and supervised visitation program shall be used when, in the opinion of the court, the best interests of the child are served if confrontation or contact between the parents is to be avoided during exchanges of custody or if contact between a parent and a child should be supervised. In a safe exchange and supervised visitation program, the district court may employ or contract with a person:

(1) with whom a child may be left by one parent for a short period while waiting to be picked up by the other parent; or

(2) to supervise visits among one or both parents and the child.

B. A parent may request the services of the safe exchange and supervised visitation program or the court may order that the program be used.

C. Parents shall pay the cost of the safe exchange and supervised visitation program pursuant to a sliding fee scale approved by the supreme court. The sliding fee scale shall be based on ability to pay for the service. The fees shall be paid to the district court to be credited to the fund.

History: Laws 2001, ch. 201, § 2; 2009, ch. 201, § 2.

The 2009 amendment, effective June 19, 2009, in Subsection A, in the first sentence, after "judicial district may establish a", added "safe exchange and"; in the second sentence, added "safe exchange and"; and in the last sentence, added "safe exchange and"; in Subsection B, after "request the services of the", added "safe exchange and"; and in Subsection C, after "pay the cost of the", deleted "neutral corner" and added "safe exchange and supervised visitation".