In a Collaborative Divorce process, the child specialist conveys to the parents and the team the needs and interests of the children. The child specialist also assists the children adjust to and cope with the changes.
While the details of a child specialist's role will be tailored to meet the circumstances and the needs of each child, the following general description from Susan Gamache's article Collaborative Separation and Divorce, provides some insight for those unfamiliar with the Collaborative Divorce process.
Child Specialist
Most divorces include children. The child advocate is a neutral third party whose job is to understand the situation from the perspective of the children and to advocate for their best interests. Although all team members keep the children's best interests in mind, the child advocate maintains this focus exclusively throughout, thereby assuring that during complicated and sometimes chaotic divorce processes, concerns of the children are not overshadowed by other, equally important considerations. The child advocate provides an opportunity for the child(ren) to ask questions and to identify problems or worries, and provides information and suggestions to the parents and to the team, especially in the development of a parenting plan.