What effect does a parents mental illness have on visitation rights?
Mental illness or substance abuse is not, per se, a sufficient basis for restricting a parent’s visitation rights. The mental illness must be considered along with all the other factors, and visitation can be restricted — such as by requiring supervision — only upon a finding after hearing that visitation would endanger seriously the child’s physical, mental, moral or emotional health. A parent may be prohibited from contact with the child while under the influence of mind altering substances.
