What is a parenting coordinator and how can they help in Ontario?

A parenting coordinator is a neutral professional — often a social worker, psychologist, or lawyer — who helps high-conflict families implement and interpret their parenting plan without going back to court for every dispute. Ontario courts can appoint a parenting coordinator, or parents can retain one by agreement.

The parenting coordinator's role is to help resolve day-to-day parenting disputes quickly. Depending on the scope of their appointment, they may educate parents about child development, facilitate communication, help interpret ambiguous provisions of a parenting order, and in some cases make binding decisions on defined issues (acting as an arbitrator for minor disputes).

Parenting coordination is particularly useful when parents have a final order or agreement but continue to fight about implementation — school pickup times, which activities the child participates in, how to handle holidays. Rather than returning to court for a judge's time on relatively minor issues, the parenting coordinator resolves them faster and at lower cost.

A parenting coordinator cannot change the underlying parenting order. Fundamental changes still require court. But for managing the friction that often persists even after a court order, a parenting coordinator can significantly reduce conflict over time.