New York, NY, Wednesday, April 29, 2026 – The Women’s Bar Association of the State of New York (“WBASNY”) commends the New York State Assembly in passing A.65-B (Hevesi)/S.9498 (Mayer), legislation establishing a statewide supervised visitation initiative.
The need for supervised visitation often arises in the context of family court proceedings and custody and visitation cases that involve complexities such as domestic violence, substance abuse, and mental health issues. Supervised visitation programs are a vital tool for courts, in these cases, to provide a safe way to allow healthy parent-child relationships to be fostered.
Studies from 2025, however, indicate 32 of New York’s 62 counties lack access to any supervised visitation program, and this number is steadily increasing. Even in counties that do have such programs, there are reports of long waiting lists and affordability concerns, acting as a barrier to access. Without available and accessible programs for supervised visitation, the default is often supervision by a third party, usually a family member or friend who is not trained or trauma-informed, provides no independent reporting to the court, and may lack objectivity and the ability to control unsafe circumstances that may arise during visits.
This important piece of legislation will establish a statewide supervised visitation initiative to support safe and structured parenting time when a court determines supervised visitation is in the child’s best interest. It will enable access to a supervised visitation program in each county and combat the loss of existing programs. It further creates a more flexible statutory scheme that would provide unified program standards across the State.
WBASNY commends Assemblymember Andrew Hevesi for his work on this legislation, as well as the New York State Assembly for passing this bill. WBASNY urges the New York State Senate to take up this important legislation, as well as the inclusion of $20 million in the FY ‘27 budget to further support supervised visitation programs.
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The Women’s Bar Association of the State of New York (WBASNY) is the professional membership organization of choice for more than 4,100 attorneys throughout New York State and the largest statewide women’s bar association in the country. For 45 years, WBASNY has been a singularly important resource for women lawyers, providing professional networking, continuing legal education programming, leadership training, and advocacy for the rights of women, children, and families. Through involvement with WBASNY’s 20 regional chapters and its 50 committees, WBASNY’s members collaborate with one another on a variety of issues and perform public and community service, in furtherance of its mission to promote the advancement of the status of women in society and women in the legal profession; to promote the fair and equal administration of justice; and to act as a unified voice for its members with respect to issues of statewide, national and international significance to women generally and women attorneys in particular. WBASNY holds United Nations NGO status with the U.N.’s Department of Public Information, and Special Consultative status in association with the U.N. Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). WBASNY is also a founding member of the National Conference of Women’s Bar Associations.
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