Parental Conflict Prevention Programs and the Unified Family Court: A Public Health Perspective

Family Law Quarterly

Volumn 32, Issue 1, 1998, Pages 95-129

  Schepard, Andrew ^a,b  

^a HOFSTRA UNIVERSITY   (United States)

^b Parent Educ Custody Effectiveness ^*

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 1542758708     PISSN: 0014729X     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: None     Document Type: Conference Paper

References (90)

1. BRIAN J. OSTROM & NEIL B. KAUDER, EXAMINING THE WORK OF STATE COURTS, 1995: A NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE FROM THE COURT STATISTICS PROJECT 39 (1996).
2. Id. at 40.
3. FUTURE OF THE COURTS COMMITTEE OF THE OREGON JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT, JUSTICE 2020: THE NEW OREGON TRAIL 13 (Jan. 1995) [hereinafter JUSTICE 2020] .
4. FUTURE OF THE COURTS COMMITTEE OF THE OREGON JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT, JUSTICE 2020: THE NEW OREGON TRAIL 13 (Jan. 1995) [hereinafter JUSTICE 2020] .
5. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/National Center for Health Statistics, Births, Marriages, Divorces and Deaths for 1996, 45 MONTHLY VITAL STAT. REP. No. 12, July 17, 1997.
6. UNITED STATES COMMISSION ON CHILD AND FAMILY WELFARE, PARENTING OUR CHILDREN: IN THE BEST INTERESTS OF THE NATION; A REPORT TO THE PRESIDENT AND CONGRESS 12 (1996) [hereinafter UNITED STATES COMMISSION ON CHILD AND FAMILY WELFARE].
7. Richard E. Behrman & Linda Sandham Quinn, Children and Divorce: Overview and Analysis, in 4 THE FUTURE OF CHILDREN: CHILDREN AND DIVORCE 5 (Center for the Future of Children of the Packard Foundation ed. 1994).
8. UNITED STATES COMMISSION ON CHILD AND FAMILY WELFARE, supra note 5, at 12.
9. Children and Divorce, supra note 6, at 5.
10. UNITED STATES COMMISSION ON CHILD AND FAMILY WELFARE, supra note 5, at 12.
11. JUSTICE 2020, supra note 3 at 14.
12. See Andrew Schepard, Law and Children: Introduction to Unified Family Courts, N.Y.L.J., Apr. 16, 1997, at 3 (describing history and rationale of unified family court's movement).
13. Michael E. Lamb et al., The Effects of Divorce and Custody Arrangements on Children's Behavior, Development, and Adjustment, 35 FAM. & CONCILIATION CTS. REV. 393, 396 (1997) (consensus statement by experts in psychology, law, and social welfare convened under the auspices of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development) [hereinafter Lamb, Effects of Divorce].
14. Michael E. Lamb et al., The Effects of Divorce and Custody Arrangements on Children's Behavior, Development, and Adjustment, 35 FAM. & CONCILIATION CTS. REV. 393, 396 (1997) (consensus statement by experts in psychology, law, and social welfare convened under the auspices of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development) [hereinafter Lamb, Effects of Divorce].
15. CONSTANCE AHRONS, THE GOOD DIVORCE 56 (1994).
16. H. Ted Rubin, The Nature of the Court Today, in 6 THE FUTURE OF CHILDREN: THE JUVENILE COURT 43 (Center for the Future of Children of the Packard Foundation ed. 1996).
17. Lamb, Effects of Divorce, supra note 12, at 396; Janet R. Johnston, Developing and Testing a Group Intervention for Families at Impasse, in CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS OF THE THIRD INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS ON PARENT EDUCATION PROGRAMS 5 (Association of Family and Conciliation Courts ed. 1997) (Executive summary of a forthcoming Report to the California Judicial Conference) [hereinafter cited as AFCC CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS].
18. Lamb, Effects of Divorce, supra note 12, at 396; Janet R. Johnston, Developing and Testing a Group Intervention for Families at Impasse, in CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS OF THE THIRD INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS ON PARENT EDUCATION PROGRAMS 5 (Association of Family and Conciliation Courts ed. 1997) (Executive summary of a forthcoming Report to the California Judicial Conference) [hereinafter cited as AFCC CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS].
19. Lamb, Effects of Divorce, supra note 12, at 396; Janet R. Johnston, Developing and Testing a Group Intervention for Families at Impasse, in CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS OF THE THIRD INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS ON PARENT EDUCATION PROGRAMS 5 (Association of Family and Conciliation Courts ed. 1997) (Executive summary of a forthcoming Report to the California Judicial Conference) [hereinafter cited as AFCC CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS].
20. Robert B. Yegge, Divorce Litigation Without Lawyers, 28 FAM. L. Q. 407 (1994).
21. WILLIAM J. HOWE III, OREGON TASK FORCE ON FAMILY LAW: A STATUS REPORT 6-7 (1996).
22. Yegge, supra note 16, at 409 (emphasis added).
23. See infra at 123-24.
24. HOWE, supra note 17, at 6-7.
25. Lamb, Effecte of Divorce, supra note 12, at 394-95.
26. DANIEL GOLDMAN, EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE 60-61 (1997) [hereinafter GOLDMAN].
27. Id. at 139.
28. The data is described in more detail in Andrew Schepard, War and P.E.A.C.E.: A Preliminary Report and a Model Statute on an Interdisciplinary Educational Program for Divorcing and Separating Parents, 27 U. MICH. J. L. REF. 155, 139-49 (1993) [hereinafter War and P.E.A.C.E.].
29. The data is described in more detail in Andrew Schepard, War and P.E.A.C.E.: A Preliminary Report and a Model Statute on an Interdisciplinary Educational Program for Divorcing and Separating Parents, 27 U. MICH. J. L. REF. 155, 139-49 (1993) [hereinafter War and P.E.A.C.E.].
30. See generally AHRONS, supra note 13.
31. GEORGE PICKETT & JOHN J. HANLON, PUBLIC HEALTH: ADMINISTRATION AND PRACTICE 6 (9th ed. 1990) [hereinafter PICKETT & HANLON].
32. Id. at 81.
33. See, e.g., Stewart I. Donaldson et al., Drug Abuse Prevention Programming, 39 AM. BEHAV. Sci. 868 (1996) (drug abuse); Caroline Thorton & Daniel J. Piacquadio, Promoting Sun Awareness: Evaluation of an Educational Children's Book, 98 PEDIATRICS 52 (1996) (skin cancer); Marianne Haenlein Alciati & Karen Glanz, Using Data to Plan Public Health Programs: Experience from State Cancer Prevention and Control Programs, 111 PUB. HEALTH REP. 165 (1996) (cancer).
34. See, e.g., Stewart I. Donaldson et al., Drug Abuse Prevention Programming, 39 AM. BEHAV. Sci. 868 (1996) (drug abuse); Caroline Thorton & Daniel J. Piacquadio, Promoting Sun Awareness: Evaluation of an Educational Children's Book, 98 PEDIATRICS 52 (1996) (skin cancer); Marianne Haenlein Alciati & Karen Glanz, Using Data to Plan Public Health Programs: Experience from State Cancer Prevention and Control Programs, 111 PUB. HEALTH REP. 165 (1996) (cancer).
35. See, e.g., Stewart I. Donaldson et al., Drug Abuse Prevention Programming, 39 AM. BEHAV. Sci. 868 (1996) (drug abuse); Caroline Thorton & Daniel J. Piacquadio, Promoting Sun Awareness: Evaluation of an Educational Children's Book, 98 PEDIATRICS 52 (1996) (skin cancer); Marianne Haenlein Alciati & Karen Glanz, Using Data to Plan Public Health Programs: Experience from State Cancer Prevention and Control Programs, 111 PUB. HEALTH REP. 165 (1996) (cancer).
36. Marjorie R. Sable & Allen A. Herman, The Relationship Between Prenatal Health Behavioral Advice and Low Birth Weight, 112 PUB. HEALTH REP. 332 (1997).
37. GOLDMAN, supra note 22, at 256-60, 301-02.
38. The discussion and illustrative graph are adopted from PICKETT & HANLON, supra note 26, at 83.
39. A detailed discussion of the use of prevention programs in cases involving family violence is beyond the scope of this article. See War and P.E.A.C.E., supra note 24, at 170-71 for a discussion of how court mandated educational programs can respond to the problems of domestic violence and child abuse. See also Deborah A. Daro, Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse, in Sexual Abuse of Children, 4 THE FUTURE OF CHILDREN 198 (Center for the Future of Children of the Packard Foundation ed. 1994), for a useful summary of child sexual abuse prevention programs.
40. A detailed discussion of the use of prevention programs in cases involving family violence is beyond the scope of this article. See War and P.E.A.C.E., supra note 24, at 170-71 for a discussion of how court mandated educational programs can respond to the problems of domestic violence and child abuse. See also Deborah A. Daro, Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse, in Sexual Abuse of Children, 4 THE FUTURE OF CHILDREN 198 (Center for the Future of Children of the Packard Foundation ed. 1994), for a useful summary of child sexual abuse prevention programs.
41. See War and P.E.A.C.E., supra note 24, at 186-88.
42. The Association of Family and Conciliation Courts published a Directory of Parent Education Programs in 1997 containing program names, addresses and basic organizational information. The Directory is available from AFCC at 329 W. Wilson Street, Madison, Wisconsin 53703.
43. See Sanford L. Braver et al., Methodological Considerations in Evaluating Family Court Programs: A Primer Using Divorced Parent Education Programs as a Case Example, 35 FAM. & CONCILIATION CTS. REV. 9 (1997), for a discussion of the complexities of creating a meaningful program evaluation.
44. See AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION SECTION OF FAMILY LAW, PARTNERS FOR STUDENTS: CURRICULUM MANUAL FOR TEACHERS (1996). I worked closely with Lynne Gold-Bikin, then Chair of the Family Law Section, in developing the PARTNERS curriculum. Additional information about PARTNERS can be obtained from the website of Family Law Section of the American Bar Association which can be accessed at .
45. Some states are considering requiring preventive education before a couple is issued a marriage license, proposals which are controversial among researchers. For background and discussion consult the package of materials assembled at AABT Couples Special Interest Group, Should Premarital Counseling Be Legally Mandated? (visited Nov. 9, 1997) . Besides effectiveness issues, there are also constitutional questions (e.g., the relationship between religiously sponsored marriage preparation courses which are a requirement for marriage by clergy of particular faiths and secular requirements) and philosophical and practical concerns which are beyond the scope of this article.
46. GOLDMAN, supra note 22.
47. Id. at 257. To be sure, there are many ineffective prevention programs as well. Goldman reports: Educational programs to prevent one or another specific problem such as drug use and violence have proliferated wildly in the last decade or so, creating a miniindustry within the educational marketplace. But many of them - including many of the most slickly marketed and widely used - have proven to be ineffective. A few, to the chagrin of educators, even seemed to increase the likelihood of the problems they were meant to head off . . . . Id. at 257. The key to the future of effective primary prevention is continuing research and development.
48. Id. at 259.
49. Id. at 283, 285.
50. The discussion which follows is adopted from FORREST S. MOSTEN, THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO MEDIATION 376-80 (1997) [hereinafter MOSTEN, MEDIATION]. More information about the Maricopa County program can be obtained from the Conciliation Services of the Superior Court of the State of Arizona, Maricopa County, 201 West Jefferson Street, Third Floor, Phoenix, Arizona 85003-2205.
51. The discussion which follows is adopted from FORREST S. MOSTEN, THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO MEDIATION 376-80 (1997) [hereinafter MOSTEN, MEDIATION]. More information about the Maricopa County program can be obtained from the Conciliation Services of the Superior Court of the State of Arizona, Maricopa County, 201 West Jefferson Street, Third Floor, Phoenix, Arizona 85003-2205.
52. ARIZ. REV. STAT. § 25-352 (1996).
53. See Eileen Biondi, Legal Implementation of Parent Education Programs for Divorcing and Separating Parents, 34 FAM. & CONCILIATION CTS. REV. 82 (1996).
54. Id. at 84, IOWA CODE § 598.19A (1997) (requiring course within forty-five days of service of notice of petition or application for modification of a custody or visitation order).
55. Biondi, supra note 44, at 87.
56. Karen R. Blaisure & Margie J. Geasler, Results of a Survey of Court-Connected Parent Education Programs in U.S. Counties, 34 FAM. & CONCILIATION CTS. REV. 23 (1996); Sanford Braver et al., The Content of Divorce Education Programs: Results of a Survey, 34 FAM. & CONCILIATION CTS. REV. 41 (1996).
57. Karen R. Blaisure & Margie J. Geasler, Results of a Survey of Court-Connected Parent Education Programs in U.S. Counties, 34 FAM. & CONCILIATION CTS. REV. 23 (1996); Sanford Braver et al., The Content of Divorce Education Programs: Results of a Survey, 34 FAM. & CONCILIATION CTS. REV. 41 (1996).
58. UNITED STATES COMMISSION ON CHILD AND FAMILY WELFARE, supra note 5, at 32-33.
59. The description of court-affiliated educational programs which follows is adopted from Andrew Schepard et al., The Push for Parent Education, 19 FAM. ADVOC. 53 (1997).
60. Braver et al., supra note 47, at 51.
61. See War and P.E.A.C.E., supra note 24, at 186-88.
62. See generally id. More information about P.E.A.C.E. can be obtained from The P.E.A.C.E. Project, Hofstra University School of Law, 121 Hofstra University, Hempstead, New York 11550-1090.
63. More information about Parents Apart can be obtained from Geri Fuhrmann, University of Massachusetts Medical Center, Department of Psychiatry, 55 Lake Avenue North, Worcester, Massachusetts 01655.
64. More information about Kid's Turn can be obtained from Kid's Turn, 1242 Market Street, 4th Floor, San Francisco, California 94102.
65. More information about Families in Transition can be obtained from Families in Transition, c/o Family Court Administrator, Hall of Justice, 600 West Jefferson, 2nd Floor, Louisville, Kentucky 40202.
66. A fuller description of P.E.A.C.E., and its pilot programs and evaluation results can be found in War and P.E.A.C.E., supra note 24.
67. Jack Arbuthnot & Donald A. Gordon, Does Mandatory Divorce Education for Parents Work? A Six Month Outcome Evaluation, 34 FAM. & CONCILIATION CTS. REV. 60, 79 (1996) (summarizing study of Ohio program).
68. Cathleen Grey et al., Making It Work: An Evaluation of Court-Mandated Parenting Workshops for Divorcing Families, 35 FAM. & CONCILIATION CTS. REV. 280 (1997) (evaluation of Montgomery County, Maryland program); Arbuthnot & Gordon, supra note 57 (evaluation of Athens County, Ohio program).
69. Kevin M. Kramer et al., Effects of Skills-Based Versus Information-Based Divorce Education Programs on Domestic Violence and Parental Communication, 36 FAM. & CONCILIATION CTS. REV. 7, 23 (1998).
70. Jack Arbuthnot et al., Patterns of Relitigation Following Divorce Education, 35 FAM. & CONCILIATION CTS. REV. 269 (1997).
71. GOLDMAN, supra note 22, at 62.
72. Robert L. Fisher, The Impact of an Educational Seminar for Divorcing Parents: Results From a National Survey of Judges, in AFCC CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS, supra note 15, at 65 (246 of the 625 judges in the survey sample responded to the survey instrument).
73. The description of the Alameda County program that follows is adapted from Johnston, supra note 15, at 10-11. More information about the program can be obtained from Larry Lehner, Alameda County Superior Court, 1221 Oak Street, # 260, Oakland, California 94612.
74. Sherrie Kibler et al., PRE-CONTEMPT/CONTEMNORS Group Diversion Counseling Program, 32 FAM. & CONCILIATION CTS. REV. 62-63 (1994). More information about CONTEMNORS can be obtained from the Family Mediation and Conciliation Court Services of the Los Angeles Superior Court, 111 North Hill Street, Los Angeles, California 90012. The Division of Family Court Services of the Fourth Judicial District of the Circuit Court of Oregon in Portland operates a similar program called Parents Beyond Conflict. More information about that Program can be obtained from them at Room 350, Multnomah County Courthouse, 1021 S.W. 4th Avenue, Portland, Oregon 97204-1154.
75. JANET R. JOHNSTON & VIVIENNE ROSEBY, IN THE NAME OF THE CHILD: A DEVELOPMENTAL APPROACH TO UNDERSTANDING AND HELPING CHILDREN OF CONFLICTED AND VIOLENT DIVORCE 228-29 (1997).
76. Johnston, supra note 15, at 12. Professor Johnston is also presently undertaking an evaluation of Los Angeles County's CONTEMNORS Program. See JOHNSTON & ROSEBY, supra note 65, at 229.
77. See William Howe III & Maureen McNight, Oregon Task Force on Family Law: A New System to Resolve Family Law Conflicts, 33 FAM. & CONCILIATION CTS. REV. 173 (1995).
78. JUSTICE 2020, supra note 3, at 12.
79. MOSTEN, MEDIATION, supra note 42, at 385.
80. See War and P.E.A.C.E., supra note 24, at 165-83 for a discussion of the constitutional issues of compulsory attendance at court-mandated parent education programs and for discussion of practical issues in organizing a preventive education program under court auspices such as funding, staffing patterns, and confidentiality.
81. See JUSTICE 2020, supra note 3, at 10 (describing a future scenario in Oregon where retired judges coordinated by the state court office of public education and out-reach teach conflict management classes for fourth and fifth graders).
82. Paul R. Lawrence, How to Deal With Resistance to Change, 47 HARV. Bus. REV. 4, 12 (1969).
83. MOSTEN, MEDIATION, supra note 42, at 380.
84. Id. at 384.
85. See Craig Mcewen et al., Bring in the Lawyers: Challenging the Dominant Approaches to Insuring Fairness in Divorce Mediation, 79 MINN. L. REV. 1317, 1367-68 (1995) (comparative survey of Maine lawyers who participate in that state's mandatory mediation program with New Hampshire lawyers which does not mandate lawyer participation in mediation).
86. See JUSTICE 2020, supra note 3, at 9 (describing a future day in the life of a "problem-solving" lawyer emphasizing preparation for and participation in non-adversarial dispute resolution techniques). Cf. Abraham Lincoln, Notes for a Law Lecture, in THE LIFE AND WRITINGS OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN 328, 329 (Philip VD. Stern ed., 1940) ("As a peace- maker, the lawyer has a superior opportunity of being a good man. There will still be business enough.").
87. See JUSTICE 2020, supra note 3, at 9 (describing a future day in the life of a "problem-solving" lawyer emphasizing preparation for and participation in non-adversarial dispute resolution techniques). Cf. Abraham Lincoln, Notes for a Law Lecture, in THE LIFE AND WRITINGS OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN 328, 329 (Philip VD. Stern ed., 1940) ("As a peace- maker, the lawyer has a superior opportunity of being a good man. There will still be business enough.").
88. See Andrew Schepard, Law and Children: A Divorce Lawyer's Pledge for Children, N.Y.L.J., July 6, 1996 at 3.
89. Arthur T. Vanderbilt, Introduction, to MINIMUM STANDARDS OF JUDICIAL ADMINISTRATION xix (Arthur T. Vanderbilt ed. 1949). Vanderbilt continued: "Rather, we must recall the sound advice given by General Jan Smuts to the students at Oxford, 'When enlisted in a good cause, never surrender, for you can never tell what morning reinforcements in flashing armor will come marching over the hilltop.'" Id.
90. PICKETT & HANLON, supra note 26, at 84.