Alternatives to committal

The court may try the following alternatives before making a committal order (placing the parent in prison):

• clarifying the order (for example, setting out exact times and dates for contact so that there can be no room for doubt);
• removing the child from a resident parent who is refusing contact, and making an order that the child live with the other parent;
• making a family assistance order which puts the responsibility for arranging and supervising contact onto the local authority (such orders only last for 6 months and are rare).

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