Child contact centre

A contact centre is a place where a non-resident parent may have supervised (or supported) contact with his or her children. Its primary role is to support and promote contact between those parents, grandparents, guardians and children that do not have a Residence Order (non-resident parent).

Use of a contact centre may be ordered by a family court in cases where:
 * contact is being resumed after a break and there are concerns raised by the resident parent.
 * when there are allegations by either party of
 * domestic violence or spousal abuse
 * child abuse either; sexual abuse, emotional abuse or physical abuse
 * neglect
 * where there is parental alienation present or where one of the parties involved in the dispute has an implacable hostility toward another.
 * where this has been deemed necessary by a custody evaluator or child welfare officer for welfare reasons, for evaluation purposes or else as a result of an abuse of power.

United Kingdom
The centres are local projects, run by charities such as Family Mediation and the WRVS, or local churches and are not statutory institutions. The first contact centres in Scotland opened in 1988. There are more than 280 contact centres throughout England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Families are referred by the courts, CAFCASS officers, family mediators and social workers.

Australia
Children's Contact Services (CCS) are funded under the Government of Australia's "Family Relationship Services Program" (FRSP). The services help with handover of children and also provide supervised contact.

At 1 February 2004 there were 35 FRSP-funded Children's Contact Services and a number of non-Australian Government funded services.