A Proposal to Reduce Unnecessary Divorce - Razorplanet

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42. Susan L. Pollet and Melissa Lombreglia, “A Nationwide Survey of Mandatory
Parent Education,” Family Court Review 46, no. 2 (April 2008): 375–94.
43. Indeed, co-parenting after divorce requires so much sensitivity and cooperation
that it’s tempting to suggest that people who have learned to do post-divorce
parenting well would have been able to stay married well if they had gotten help soon
enough.
44. The pre-filing class requirement could be combined with an additional face-toface
class required of parents who have custody and other shared parenting conflicts
after filing cases. See the model bill in part three, which is nearly identical to one being
considered by the Minnesota legislature.
45. We have devoted considerable space to the pre-filing parent education proposal
because, like the mandatory waiting period, it would apply to the whole population
of divorcing couples with minor children. It’s a population intervention that could
benefit even those parents who would not seek assistance on co-parenting and reconciliation
on their own. Interestingly, the most common evaluation by divorcing parents
who take the currently mandated post-filing classes is that they (a) would not have
taken the class on their own accord, and (b) are glad they did and would recommend
the classes to others. We expect the same response to the course requirement: few
would voluntarily take it this soon (just as few people would seek financial counseling
before filing for bankruptcy), and yet they will find the course surprisingly helpful to
themselves, to their children, and in some cases, to their marriage.
46. Divorce Education Online, “Children in the Middle,” http://online.divorce-
education.com/.
47. In addition to reducing parent conflict and enhancing children’s well-being, the
face-to-face version of Children in the Middle has been found to reduce re-litigation
rates, an issue of major concern to the courts.
48. Disclosure: William Doherty developed and delivers the reconciliation module
for Children in the Middle Online, although without compensation and with the understanding
that the module will be available separately, for free or at minimal cost for
professionals and couples to access online.
49. Barry Wellman et al., Networked Families (Washington, DC: Pew Internet and
American Life Project, 2008), http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2008/Networked
Families.aspx. The report discusses findings from a national survey of 2,252 adults in
late 2000 and early 2008, which indicated that two-thirds of families had a broad band
connection.
50. Because married couples with children have the highest educational and income
levels of any group in the population, their Internet access in rural areas is no