Heritage Album

How do you decipher family law documents when they are not yet put into place?

We are located in Texas. I am the director of a child care center and I have one parent who has issued a restraining order against the other on 4/16/2009. The petitioner does not want the respondent to have any online viewing that we provide to parents or any of the child's sign in/out logs. The respondent is requesting to be able to sign up and view his child on the internet as well as recieve the sign in/out records. Not sure what to do? Does anyone have any suggestions?

Public Comments

1. What does the restraining order cover? Does it just cover that the respondent cannot be in proximity to the petitioner/child, or does it cover whether or not the respondent can have knowledge of the petitioner/child's activities? If you have an attorney (and you should, if you have your own business/day care center), contact that person and have him/her assist in interpreting the restraining order. Alternatively, you may need to petition the court for clarification of the order, and again, an attorney would be helpful.
2. If she has only requested a restraining order and it has not yet been signed by a judge you have no right to restrict the father from anything. Even when the judge signs the restraining order there will specific things the father is restrained from doing. It needs to be spelled out that the father is restrained from accessing the child's files and is restrained from picking the child up and so on. Parental restraining orders are specific in the things they can and cannot do. You cannot legally do anything until you get the restraining order that is signed by a judge. Like I said even then you can only enforce what is on the order as it pertains to you and your facility.