HD43 - A Study of Prevention of Divorce Programs and Parenting Skills for Separating Couples Programs


Executive Summary:
The Virginia Department of Social Services was given the responsibility under House Joint Resolution 225, passed by the 1994 General Assembly, to study the use of divorce-education classes in Virginia's courts. The study was to include an evaluation of the programs, how they are used in other states, and how they could be used in Virginia. To carry out this responsibility, a task force, chaired by a staff person from the Department of Social Services, was formed. The task force was composed of representatives from four state agencies, two legal organizations and a private citizen. The workgroup developed three telephone surveys to collect information from:

1) programs to prevent family break-up;
2) programs on parenting skills for separating couples; and
3) judges in Virginia localities that offer parenting skills for separating couples programs.

The purposes of the two program surveys were to determine:

1) the goals of the program;
2) how the program was formatted; and
3) the cost of operating the program.

The purpose of the judges' survey was to obtain feedback on the effectiveness of the parenting skills programs in the opinion of the persons who are requiring participation.

The study identified six nationally recognized developers of divorce prevention programs. These programs, specialized versions of marital therapy, are offered nationally and internationally through churches, licensed therapists/counselors or other mental health professionals, who are trained by program developer(s) or an authorized agent via workshops, seminars and/or manuals. One of these developers is located in Virginia. These experts, as well as four presenters and a developer of a locally-based divorce prevention program, provided information for this study. Two of the presenters surveyed are located in Virginia.

Telephone surveys of eight programs in Virginia and 32 programs in 20 other states were conducted to learn more about existing classes in family coping skills for divorcing or separating couples. All of the programs are offered as group educational classes and have as their main goal to make/keep the children's family needs paramount, in spite of the parental break-up. Twelve judges from seven Virginia localities that offer classes in parenting skills responded to a survey that was focused on obtaining their opinion on the effectiveness of the classes. All the judges felt the classes should be continued and ten felt they should be expanded to other localities in Virginia.

As a result of the information obtained from the surveys, the following recommendations were developed:

1) Strongly recommend that judges in all Virginia localities develop and implement divorce prevention programs to be offered to families prior to their filing for divorce. The judge should take into consideration problematic situations such as those where there is evidence of child abuse or spousal abuse when encouraging couples to attend these programs.

2) Develop a group of trained/certified program presenters (e.g., clergy, volunteers) who could offer prevention programs at no charge to low income or otherwise disadvantaged couples in Virginia whose access to these services would otherwise be limited. A consortium of clergymen and other presenters could also be formed on a local or statewide basis to maintain a referral service, to recruit new "presenters" and to promote outreach.

3) Encourage local Community Service Boards to intervene at the earliest possible point of marital discord and offer prevention programs on-site or via contractors.

4) Recommend that judges in all Virginia localities explore ways to make available a course in parenting skills for separating couples with children who file for divorce. The judges should take into consideration problematic situations such as those where there is evidence of child abuse or spousal abuse when encouraging couples to attend these classes.

5) Explore the possibility of having the courses taught by trained volunteers to keep the cost of operating the program to a minimum.

6) Establish a fee for this service based on ability to pay.