ABSTRACT
In the United States, approximately 2.3 million couples marry each year and 1.2 million divorce (Kreider & Fields, 2002; Sutton, 2003). Twenty percent of couples in first marriages divorce or separate after 5 years, and 33% do so within 10 years (Bramlett & Mosher, 2001). Over half of divorces occur to families with minor children, resulting in over 1 million children experiencing parental divorce annually (Amato, 2000). Cohabiting unions are even more likely to dissolve than marriages, and 46% of these unions include children under the age of 18 (Simmons & O’Connell, 2003). Parents who dissolve their intimate relationship with one another must attend to practical, emotional, and legal matters concerning their children. Parents who have never lived together and who choose to dissolve their relationship also face these matters, including establishment of paternity (Seltzer, 2000). Given the challenges that may result from adult relationship dissolution, legal and family professionals have developed interventions to ease the transition for families, reduce destructive conflict, and facilitate progress through the legal system. This chapter describes court-affiliated educational programs and locates them within a larger context of court and community services for families experiencing parental relationship dissolution.
