April 30, 2026 – The Bar Association of Erie County (“BAEC” or “Association”) announces its strong support for Senate Bill S.9498 and Assembly Bill A-65B, which seek to establish a statewide supervised visitation initiative to support safe and structured parenting time.
Guided by our mission to pursue justice and our vision to achieve excellence in the practice of law, the BAEC recognizes that a lack of supervised visitation resources represents a barrier to the fair administration of justice. Currently, more than half of New York’s 62 counties have no supervised visitation programs at all. This lack of resources creates a “no-win” situation: children are either unnecessarily separated from their parents during critical developmental stages or placed in potentially unsafe environments.
“Maintaining safe relationships between children and their parents is essential for emotional well-being and for the integrity of the legal system,” states BAEC President Brian Melber. “We must ensure that supervised visitation is not a luxury reserved for those who can afford it, but a reliable resource for every family in every county.”
The BAEC particularly highlights the critical need for this legislation in our communities, which have seen the number of counties without any supervised visitation programs grow from 20 to 32 in just three years. In the limited areas where supervised visitation exists, the backlog often results in families waiting 6–12 months for availability, during which time the parent and child likely have no contact. The proposed initiative will ensure geographic access, prioritize safety, remove financial barriers, and improve judicial efficiency.
The BAEC would like to thank our Matrimonial and Family Law Committee for bringing this matter to our attention and for their ongoing work to ensure the legal system remains accessible to all members of our community.
To read the full Report from the Working Group on the Future of Supervised Visitation in NYS (rev. July 2025), visit https://www.nycourts.gov/LegacyPDFS/advisory-groups/justice-for-families/supervised-visitation-working-group-report-2025.pdf.