A
child specialist, who is a licensed mental health professional with specific training in
child development and experienced in dealing with families in transition, is
neutral as to the parents but advocates
for the
child, keeps the
child's needs in the forefront, assesses the
child's functioning, and helps the
child to express the
child's feelings, thoughts and concerns and communicates these to the parents, thereby providing a «
voice for the
child» in the process, and may provide
child - development education to the parents and assist them in formulating their parenting plan.