In early 2020, many hearings, conferences and meetings, including PHCs, had to move to a virtual format due to the COVID-19 pandemic. There was little or no time to prepare for this abrupt change. Through the hard work and ingenuity of all partners — facilitators, judges, court personnel, attorneys, CPSs, guardians ad litem and court appointed special advocates — PHCs in Montana switched to video conferencing in all pilot court jurisdictions. These individuals created a process for scheduling and conducting remote video PHCs that had not existed before. Their hard work and dedication in making that happen and keeping PHCs alive cannot be overstated.

In 2021, some PHC pilot court jurisdictions returned to in-person settings. There are undoubtedly benefits to in-person PHCs, mainly due to the personal observations and interactions with all participants speaking openly in the same room. These benefits should not be discounted.

However, traditional in-person PHCs often require extensive, time-consuming travel to the District Court, especially in Montana's rural jurisdictions. Additionally, attorneys to represent parents and children and a local PHC facilitator may be unavailable in some locations.

2025 changes in the law clarify that PHCs must be held within five business or working days of a child’s removal and before an EPS hearing. This leaves little time for the participants to adjust their plans so they can attend PHCs and EPS hearings. Thus, most jurisdictions have opted to use virtual PHCs. This format allows the parties and participants, including facilitators, to attend a PHC from their home, office or elsewhere without an excessive burden of time, travel and scheduling.

Virtual PHCs are not a one-size-fits-all process. Due to the varying nature of court proceedings throughout Montana, you will likely need to adapt virtual PHCs to address the needs of your specific jurisdiction.

More Information

The following downloadable guide provides facilitation tips for virtual meetings, including the basics of Zoom meetings. This is general information regarding remote facilitated discussions. Some materials may not directly apply to PHC facilitation.

Virtual Meeting Guide with Appendices.pdf

If you're new to facilitating online meetings, take a moment to watch this helpful video by local filmmaker Grace Wolcott. She shares valuable tips on physical presentation, lighting, and sound to enhance your virtual meetings. Please note that the following video refers to the recording of a remote meeting. While this is good advice for recording remote meetings in general, remember that PHCs should never be recorded. As a facilitator, you cannot record PHCs for any purpose.

Security

PHC facilitators should take the following additional steps to protect the security and confidentiality of virtual PHCs. To expand the content, use your mouse or keyboard to select the information icons below.

Important!

Virtual PHCs must not be recorded.

While recording PHCs for educational or record-keeping purposes may be tempting, there is too much risk for abuse. No one should be recording PHCs for any purpose.

Contact Information

PHC facilitators should receive contact information for the attorneys, child protection investigator, child reunification specialist, and the special advocate, a CASA or other GAL. As a facilitator, make sure you have this contact information before PHCs. With it, you can confirm these individuals have the link to join a PHC and can share that link with their clients and other potential participants. If last-minute issues arise, you will need this contact information.

Video Link

Our preferred method is for each facilitator to have their own Zoom link for remote PHCs. The parties and stakeholders receive the date, time, and specific facilitator’s link for remote access to the PHC in advance.

Some jurisdictions have established a dedicated link for remote PHCs and other court appearances. In those courts, parties and stakeholders need to know the date, time, and the remote link specific to that jurisdiction. Sometimes, court personnel must host these PHCs, since the link may require a state employee to open it. Problems can arise if the judge is using the court’s remote link for another purpose. In such cases, the PHC facilitator should provide their own remote Zoom link as an alternative for conducting the PHC.

During Video PHCs

PHC facilitators should ask each participant to identify themselves and their role at the beginning of each PHC. This is especially important when participants are not on video or are not identified on-screen by their name. Participants should be encouraged to turn on their video if possible, since it enhances the quality of remote PHCs. The facilitator must ensure that no unauthorized individuals are present during the PHC.

As with any PHC, a party can generally request that a non-party be excluded from the PHC. This rule does not apply to foster or resource parents or special advocates, a CASA or GAL. For instance, if a father appears on video with his new partner, the mother can ask that the new partner be excluded from the PHC. While removing a non-party from an in-person PHC is usually more manageable, the facilitator should request that any unwanted non-party leave the vicinity of a remote video conference. The PHC facilitator should then seek to verify that the person is no longer able to see or hear the discussions.

Participants cannot fill out attendance sheets during a remote video PHC. Therefore, the facilitator should inform the parties that attendance will be taken. Similar to an attendance sheet, let them know that their presence does not imply agreement with any or all decisions made during a PHC. Although it is our goal to reach some agreements.

No Recordings of Video PHCs

PHCs should never be recorded. While it may be tempting to record PHCs for educational or record-keeping purposes, the risk of misuse is too high. Participants need to be reminded that PHC discussions are generally confidential. Although some portions may later be shared with service providers, attorneys, child protection investigators, and child reunification specialists, these discussions should not be shared with anyone not directly involved in the DN case. Some of the conversation may also be shared with the judge if no party objects to that disclosure. Never share information you learn while preparing for or facilitating PHCs with others outside the DN case.