TRUSTED PARTNERS AND ASSOCIATIONS
Why Families Choose Family Konnect
No distance limits
Connect from interstate, from overseas, or whenever travel makes an in-person visit impractical.
A full written transcript
Each session is comprehensively documented, giving you an accurate and impartial record.
Hosted and supervised
The supervisor sets up and hosts the session, so neither parent has to share personal contact details with the other.
What happens during an online contact session?
Professional & Impartial Supervision
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A Family Konnect supervisor joins the session for its full duration and remains present throughout. Our role online is the same as it is in a park or a contact room: a supportive, neutral third party, attentive to safety and to the child's comfort, yet unobtrusive enough to let a real conversation happen.
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The supervisor manages the practical side as well, opening the session, admitting each party, and closing it at the agreed time, so neither parent has to arrange anything directly with the other.
Comprehensive Session Transcript
Where an in-person visit produces a contact report with photographs, an online session produces a written transcript. It is a comprehensive record of what was said, and it includes:
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List of participants
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Start and finish times
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An account of the conversation
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Observations on the child's presentation and engagement
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Any technical interruption, and how it was handled
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Final summary and comments on the session
How online contact sessions are set up
We run online contact on whichever platform suits the family and satisfies any orders in place. We send both parties the joining details in advance, and the supervisor hosts the session itself, so no personal contact details pass between parents.
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If a court order or an agency specifies a particular platform, tell us at intake and we will work to it.
Our Online Contact Platforms:
Video call
Face to face on screen. Best for younger children, who respond to expression and gesture more than words.
Zoom
Where a court order, an agency or a family already works to it loresmpisu
Telephone
Simple and reliable where the connection is poor, or where a child finds being on camera overwhelming.
Microsoft Teams
Commonly specified by agencies and legal practices that use it internally.
How can I explain online contact to my child/ren?
Emotional Preparation & Consistency
Children take their cue from the adults around them, so calm, simple, age-appropriate language works best. Frame the session as special time with their family member.
Online contact has a few of its own considerations. Sit somewhere quiet and familiar with the screen at the child's eye level, and let them bring something to show, a drawing, a toy, a school book, because young children find it far easier to show than to talk. Expect a shorter session than an in-person visit would be.
Familiarising with the Supervisor
To reduce anxiety, we make sure the child knows a friendly face will be there. We provide a photo of the allocated supervisor to the residential parent in advance so the child recognises their support person before the session begins, and where appropriate we can arrange a brief introductory call first.
