Commentary: Local study shows parent education reduces family strife, court disputes

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Parent education for couples involved in family disputes works.

As lawyers, judges and educators, we have long known that parent education can ease conflicts in families and promote reasonable family-based solutions to divorce, custody, visitation and other family disputes.

Now there is new proof that it works from data gathered by the Mental Health Counseling Program and the Wegmans School of Nursing at St. John Fisher College as they continue the work of the Assisting Children through Transition (A.C.T.) Program, begun more than a decade ago but now at home at the college.

The ACT Program, initiated through the work of Supreme Court Justice Evelyn Frazee and clinical psychologist Dr. Joanne Pedro-Carroll, involves volunteer mental health providers and attorneys sharing their knowledge and expertise with parents facing family turmoil. The several hours are spent learning how to best assist children through the changes of a divorce or separation, role playing dispute resolution, discussing the toxic effects of conflict on children and parents, and receiving an overview of

the legal process.

In 2019, the ACT Program board of volunteer mental health, mediation and legal/judicial professionals and its president Charles Inclima, Esq., transferred the program to the Wegmans School of Nursing at Fisher, which, through its Dean Dr. Patricia Gatlin and its Mental Health Counseling Program under the leadership of Dr. Rachel Jordan, is now providing the legal process overview and mental health components of the program.

The transfer of the program occurred during a time when the 7^th Judicial District became a pilot program for the Office of Court Administration requiring parent education at the early stages of family disputes. As a result of experience with A.C.T. and the pilot project, Family Court judges have also modified their court procedures so all family disputes are being referred to parent education, with the result that attendance rose 89% from 2019 through 2021.

The 2021 annual report from the ACT Program illustrates its success. More than 350 parents attended learning strategies for dealing with conflict and disputes involving the parents and their children, as well as

information on the legal process including such topics as legal terminology, ways disputes can be resolved, factors courts consider in making custody determinations, and the importance of obeying court orders.

The $100 cost of participation can be offset by scholarships upon proof of need. Legal Aid clients participate without any cost. To avoid safety issues should domestic violence be present in a relationship and to prevent couple squabbles from disrupting the class, parents who have a child in common are prohibiting from attending the same class.

Judges at all levels referred participants, with Supreme Court Justices Hon. Kevin Nasca, John Gallagher and Sam Valleriani leading the way. Family Court Judges James Vazzana, Joseph Nesser, Stacey Romeo and Dandrea Ruhlman also referred parents, as did Judge Richard Healy from Wayne County. Matrimonial referees and court attorneys also referred parents, an indication of their support for the ACT Program. Lawyers were also active in referring parents, as more than 20 percent of the referrals were directly from attorneys.

The participating parents represented a broad array of racial and ethnic groups. The ages of the participants were clustered mostly in the usual childbearing years although there was a significant percentage of parents of teenagers. A majority of the participants had more than one child. Almost three-quarters of the parents were either in the initial or early stages of an unresolved divorce or other family court proceeding.

The participants disclosed all forms of parental conflict. More than 40 percent of the participants described their level of conflict as either high or very high and more than 70 percent said the level of conflict was either “moderate” or “high.” More than 90 percent of the participants found both the parenting and child well-being portions and the legal process presentations to be relevant and helpful and more than 90 percent affirmed that they would recommend the program to others.

These persuasive endorsements of the program occurred despite the fact that the program has been remote since 2020.

In her notes accompanying the report, Dr. Jordan observed:

Registrations are up and over 91% of the people taking this would recommend the program. I think this is very poignant since this is a mandatory class that 90% of the people paid for. It is difficult to get that many people to feel like the money and 5 hours of their time were worth it.

The success of the ACT Program is providing support to a renewed effort by a statewide ad hoc committee, the Judicial Restoration of Parent Education (JROPE), for mandatory parent education in New York State for divorcing or separating parents with children under the age of 18 years. The success of the ACT Program pilot will be considered by the Committee in its report advocating for changing the present discretionary referral of parents to parent education to required attendance so more parents and their children can experience less conflict and better transitions as the family structure changes.

This new evidence proves that parent education works, reduces family turmoil, eases the toxic impact of conflict that children experience, and makes out-of-court parent-centered settlements more likely. It should be a required part of our court system of the future.

Hon. Richard A. Dollinger is a retired member of the New York Court of Claims, served as the Supervising Judge of the Supreme Court, Matrimonial Part in the 7^th Judicial District, and is a member of JROPE. Dr. Patricia Gatlin is the Dean of the Wegman’s School Nursing at St. John Fisher College and Dr. Rachel A. Jordan is an associate professor in the Mental Health Counseling Program at the College.