Texas Association for Marriage and
Family Therapy, 1999
Overview
Families in Texas, like families elsewhere
in the United States, are under increasing pressure to survive, let
alone thrive. The divorce rate has climbed to a point where
almost half of all marriages end in divorce. Unfortunately,
when parents are in conflict, children are often caught in the
middle. For some of these children, the repercussions are
disturbing and long-term, leading to lower educational attainment
and occupational success, poorer social integration, increased
behavioral difficulties and psychological distress, and more
problematic marriages after reaching adulthood.
Causes for the dramatic rise in divorces
and marital conflict are the subject of some debate, but many
researchers believe that a decline in marital satisfaction is the
primary factor. And, while considerable work has been done on
the subject of marital discord, studies on the impact of such
conflict on children, and the development of practical solutions to
mitigate the harm done to them, have been lacking.
Fortunately, this situation is
changing. Attention is now being focused on developing public
policy that is proactive--designed to reduce marital conflict and
to ensure the best possible outcomes for children. Particular
attention has been focused on reducing marital discord as a means
to improve child support payment compliance, although that is by no
means the only outcome desired.
The following white paper, prepared by
Texas Perspectives, Inc. for the Texas Association for Marriage and
Family Therapy, will:
� provide an overview of recent
research;
� examine child support as an
illustration of the need for proactive approaches in conflict
reduction;
� review relevant public policy changes
in Texas and other states; and
� develop preliminary recommendations
on how Texas might proceed in enacting legislative
changes.
1.0
Introduction & Review of Recent Research on Marital Conflict
and Divorce
The American family has been in a period of
dramatic transition over the last three decades. Remarkable
transformations have occurred to alter the landscape of the family
unit, including changes in economic well-being, family
relationships and structure, and gender roles. After
remaining stable throughout the 1950s, the divorce rate in the
United States increased in the 1960s, doubled between 1966 and
1976, then leveled off during the 1980s at an historically high
level.1
Reasons for these disturbing statistics
are many and varied, but most researchers believe that a perceived
decline in marital quality contributed to the upward trend in
divorce.2 In addition, standards for what constitutes a
successful marriage have increased, thus making satisfactory
marriages more difficult to attain. Higher expectations for
marriage�combined with relaxed restrictions on divorce�have worked
together to erode marital satisfaction and elevate divorce to a
level that is unlikely to subside in the near future.3
There is general agreement that the
traditional American family is undergoing many changes. For years,
scholars have argued over how children have been affected by these
societal shifts. Some claim that increases in the number of
dual-earner couples (accompanied by conflicts between the demands
of work and family), declining economic opportunities, and a rise
in single-family households have been to blame for the
deterioration of the family and the attending negative effects on
youth.4 Other scholars have argued that families are becoming
more diverse but not necessarily weaker.5
With publication of the 1997 book A
Generation at Risk, sociologists Paul Amato and Alan Booth provided
for the first time a comprehensive picture of how multiple
dimensions of family change are related to a broad array of
outcomes for children. Amato and Booth conducted a 15-year
longitudinal study that studied in depth the effects of three
decades of domestic changes on America�s youth. The following
provides a summary of the relevant research literature, along with
an overview of Amato and Booth�s findings.
To understand how a child�s family affects
his or her well-being in young adulthood, it is important to
examine a number of family-of-origin characteristics. Two of
the most widely studied characteristics are parents� marital
quality and parents� socioeconomic resources. Parents�
marital quality includes measures of their happiness, interaction,
marital conflict, willingness to divorce, and familial experience
with divorce. Socioeconomic resources include parents�
education, income, employment status, reliance on government
assistance, and perceptions of the family�s economic improvement or
decline.6
1.1 The Impact of Parental Conflict and
Divorce on Parent-Child Relationships
A person�s well-being is influenced by many
aspects of life: relations with parents, the formation,
maintenance, and quality of intimate relationships, the development
of appropriate social roles, educational and occupational success,
and psychological well-being.
Although all of these factors are
important, the primary mechanism impacting children�s outcomes is
the quality of the parent-child relationship. Research has
repeatedly demonstrated that a high level of parental support is
associated with a variety of positive outcomes in children and
adolescents, including sound psychological adjustment, higher
self-esteem, better academic achievement, and more social
competence, as well as considerate and unselfish
behavior.7
Parental support, expressed through
affection and responsiveness, benefits children by conveying to
them a basic sense of security. Parents who praise and
encourage their children reinforce self-conceptions of worth and
competence. Practical assistance and advice from parents
foster the learning of everyday skills, and parental guidance
promotes the formation of appropriate long-term goals.
Setting and enforcing rules teaches children the consequences of
behaviors and how to take responsibility for their actions.
And, by explaining the reasons behind rules, adults help children
internalize social norms.8 Unfortunately, the stresses of living in
today�s society prevent many parents from achieving these
goals. For example, research has shown that serious financial
pressures lead many parents to show less affection toward their
children, engage in harsher forms of discipline, and provide less
supervision for their children.9
A greater threat to positive outcomes for
children is marital conflict, which research shows makes family
life stressful for everyone in the family, not just the
adults. When there is severe marital conflict, research shows
that parents discipline their children more harshly and
inconsistently and they are less emotionally available for their
children.10 Over time, adults who are constantly under such
stress increase the risk of negative outcomes for their children,
such as psychological maladjustment, behavior problems, school
failure, and adolescent delinquency.
Clearly, the quality of the parents�
marriage has important implications for the parent-child
relationship, particularly the father-child relationship. One
study found that a decline in marital quality over a three-year
period was associated with fathers becoming less supportive of
their young children; there was no comparable finding for mothers,
however.11
Divorce often appears to have a
detrimental effect on the quality of children�s relationships with
the custodial parent (usually the mother).12 A longitudinal
study found that recently divorced custodial mothers exhibited many
of the same problematic behaviors characteristic of parents in
high-conflict families, that is more harsh discipline, less
supervision, and less affection.13 Although the quality of
the mothers� parenting improved after two or three years, problems
persisted in their relationships with their children, particularly
their sons. When divorced and remarried mothers were compared
with mothers in first marriages in the National
Survey of Families and Households,
divorced and remarried mothers reported fewer enjoyable times with
their children, had more disagreements with them, and were more
likely to yell at or spank their children.14
With respect to fathers, research has
shown that the amount of contact between non-custodial fathers and
children tends to decline over time after divorce.15 This may
be due to several causes. First, when conflict between the
parents remains high after the divorce, some mothers may try to
restrict the father�s access to his children. Second, some
men feel �pushed out of the picture� when the custodial mother
remarries, creating a new family structure with the mother and
children more involved with the stepfather.16 Third, men have
generally viewed fatherhood as a �package deal,� accepting
emotional and financial responsibility for children only as long as
they are married to the mother. 17
Conflicts in the parents� marriage can
continue to haunt children as they move into adulthood, regardless
of whether the parents divorce. One study found that, among
adults whose parents remained continuously married, those who
recalled their parents� marriage as being unhappy had relatively
little contact with parents.18 Other studies found that when
parents reported greater marital unhappiness, children reported
less affection for their fathers but not for
mothers.19
Amato and Booth�s landmark study showed that
children whose parents had a high level of conflict and unhappiness
were less willing to ask either of their parents for assistance.
Overall, they found that both low marital quality and divorce are
problematic for children�s later relationship with their parents;
an unhappy marriage weakens parent-child ties, and divorce weakens
them further.
1.2 The Impact of Parental Conflict and
Divorce on Intimate Relationships in Young
Adults
The formation of a satisfying, stable
intimate relationship is one of the primary �tasks� of early
adulthood. An emotionally close and supportive relationship
is critical for several reasons. It contributes to a person�s sense
of well-being and mental health and it provides a social and
economic context for raising children. In general, research
shows that spouses provide emotional support to their
partners and discourage them from engaging in risky behavior (e.g.
excessive drinking).20
The process of establishing and maintaining
intimate relationships is very different today than it was even a
generation ago. The postponement of marriage, the increase in
cohabitation, and the rise in divorce and re-marriage have made
managing an intimate relationship more complex, and the long-term
outcomes less certain, than in previous decades.
Children learn a set of attitudes, social
skills, and ways of handling close relationships from their
families, and these traits have implications for the formation and
maintenance of intimate ties. Although relatively few studies
have focused exclusively on the consequences of parents� marital
conflict for adult children�s intimate relationships, those that
exist yield consistent findings. In several studies of
married adults, those who report unhappiness in their parents�
marriage tend to report less marital happiness and more conflict
and problems in their own marriages.21
Similarly, another study found that young
parents who recall positive relationships between parents are less
likely than other young parents to experience declines in marital
quality following the birth of a baby (an often vulnerable time in
a marriage).22 Overall, these studies consistently show that
people experiencing relationship problems tend to recall a
relatively high level of interparental discord while growing
up.
With respect to divorce, research has
found that the break-up of a marriage accelerates dating and sexual
activity among children, increasing the risk of teen pregnancy, and
possible reliance on government assistance. This is
especially true if divorce is accompanied and/or followed by a high
level of conflict.23 Additionally, children from
conflict-ridden families may fail to learn communication skills
useful in conflict resolution, further contributing to problems in
their own intimate relationships. Young women may be
particularly vulnerable because the absence of a close
father-daughter relationship limits their experience in interacting
with men.24
The transmission of low marital quality and
divorce from one generation to the next seems to arise from several
sources. Many children from chronic, high-conflict marriages
may develop personal traits that predict poor relationship
quality.25
Additionally, persistent conflict between
parents may lead to a state of emotional insecurity or other
problematic personality traits among offspring. Some children
may choose to marry early to escape from family conflict, which
often is associated with lower educational attainment, negatively
affecting future earning potential.26
1.3 The Impact of Parental Conflict and
Divorce on the Development of Appropriate Social
Roles
Part of becoming a successful and
contributing adult is involvement in various groups, such as
churches, fraternal organizations, civic clubs, or other formally
defined organizations. These groups provide social,
emotional, and sometimes, financial support, for the individual
both in personal life and in activities related to work and
career.
In general, research shows that a high
level of social participation increases longevity, buffers
individuals from the effects of stressful life events, and
facilitates a person�s overall sense of well-being.27 Society
benefits because social networks tend to promote healthy lifestyles
and discourage anti-social behavior.28 On a broader level,
society is based on the ability of individuals to connect with one
another and coordinate activities. As a result, social
integration not only benefits individuals but is also necessary for
the smooth functioning of social institutions.
Research also has shown that children�s
positive recollections of parental support during adolescence is
related to church involvement, community attachment, and the number
of relatives and friends to whom they feel close.29 These
findings are consistent with research showing that the quality of
parent-child relationships has implications for children�s later
social functioning.
Children exposed to conflicted or
otherwise problematic marriages often experience challenges
developing appropriate relationship skills since children learn a
variety of those skills from observing their parents. If the
parents cannot demonstrate sharing, taking turns, discussing
problems, compromising, and resolving differences amicably, the
children often have difficulty with social interactions outside the
family.30 For example, studies have found a similarity of
conflict styles between parents and their children, with children
of conflictual parents adopting an avoidant or aggressive
interactional style when dealing with peers.31
Emotionally insecure children are more
likely to perceive their social environments as unpredictable and
uncontrollable. These perceptions and beliefs may interfere
with a young adult�s ability to form satisfying, stable social
relationships outside the family. Indeed, research has shown
that parents� marital conflict is associated with lowered social
competence, fewer friendships, and more loneliness among children
and adolescents.32
Divorce, in and of itself, does not
necessarily lead to poorer social integration. Children of
divorce tend to have lower scores on measures of social adjustment
than do children whose parents remain married.33 However, it
appears that the level of parental conflict that precedes and
follows the divorce is the best predictor of relationship problems
for the children.34 Amato and Booth found that children whose
parents had a high level of marital conflict were actually better
off if their parents divorced. In a marriage that is
relatively low in conflict, however, children whose parents divorce
may experience considerably more stress and, consequently, may be
worse off than those whose parents remain married.
1.4 The Impact of Parental Conflict and
Divorce on Educational and Occupational Success of the
Children
The educational and occupational attainment
of children is a topic of great interest, partly because it is a
key measuring stick of success in our society. In addition to
conferring income and status, well-educated individuals (compared
to poorly educated individuals), report more stimulating and
enjoyable experiences at home and work.35 Education provides
people with skills and information that help them cope with
stressful circumstances36 , increase their sense of control37, and
avoid depression.38 Education and income also are correlated
with greater longevity and better health.39
On a societal level, high educational
attainment among the population is essential to develop
technologically and to compete in a global economy.
Well-educated parents are better able to provide for their
children�s financial needs and are motivated to seek out and
assimilate information on effective child-rearing techniques, thus
enhancing the well-being and competence of the next
generation. For those reasons educational advancement is not
only a vehicle for promoting the success of particular individuals
but also a necessary investment in the well-being of the
community.
Family of origin characteristics can
affect socioeconomic attainment in a variety of ways.
Unfortunately, research examining the effects of parents� marital
quality on children�s educational and occupational success is
scarce. One longitudinal study found that parents� marital
commitment was positively associated with daughters� (but not
sons�) later educational and occupational
attainment.40 More research directly examining
this relationship is needed.
Although direct evidence is not available,
parents� marital quality certainly affects aspects of life that
have the potential for jeopardizing success in school and on the
job. As discussed earlier, unresolved parental conflict is a
source of stress for children because it threatens feelings of
attachment to both parents and generally decreases the quality of
the parent-child relationship. Poor parenting results in
children who are more antisocial, anxious and depressed, and who
experience difficulty in concentrating - all factors known to
influence performance at school.
Research does show that, in general,
parental divorce increases economic adversity for children, while
lowering their educational achievement and occupational status as
adults.41 Children whose parents divorce, compared with those
whose parents remain married, complete one-half year less of
education. Since each year of education raises annual income
by approximately $4,000, the annual gap in income associated with
one-half-year of education multiplied by the number of years that a
person is in the workforce amounts to a substantial lifetime
difference in earnings ?? approximately $100,000 in present value
terms for a someone who is in the workforce from age 22 to age
70.42
1.5 Effect of
Parental Conflict and Divorce on Children�s Psychological
Well-Being
Marital conflict has short- and long-term
negative consequences for children. Observational studies
show that children witnessing conflict between parents react with
fear, anger, or the inhibition of normal behavior.43
Preschool children (who developmentally tend to be egocentric) may
blame themselves for marital conflict, resulting in feelings of
guilt and lowered self-esteem.44
Children exposed to persistent conflict
become insecure about the continued emotional and physical
availability of parents. Emotional insecurity, in turn,
decreases children�s ability to regulate their emotions and
behavior, lowers their effectiveness in coping with stress, and
decreases their sense of control.45 In general, when
children are drawn into conflict between parents, the result is a
deterioration in the parent-child relationship.
Divorce is also associated with a number
of difficulties among children, including low self-esteem, behavior
problems, and psychological distress.46 The
parental conflict that often precedes and sometimes follows divorce
can be devastating to a child. In fact, a number of prospective
studies show that child psychological problems can be present years
prior to a divorce.47 Another factor contributing to the
stress children feel when parents divorce is conflict between
parents over custody and visitation, often negatively affects a
child�s sense of security and well-being.48
Divorce can be psychologically beneficial
for children when it removes them from a high conflict marriage;
however, divorce can be problematic for children when it removes
them from a low conflict marriage.49
1.6 Summary
Amato and Booth have provided data
demonstrating that the long-term consequences of parental conflict
are pervasive and consistent for children. In particular,
poor marital quality is associated with problematic relationships
for children with their mothers and fathers, more difficulties
achieving and maintaining intimate relationships, a greater
probability of relationship dissolution, lower social integration,
less education, and a lack of psychological well-being.
Although divorce clearly has negative
consequences for children, it is not as influential as the effects
of the parents� overall marital quality. Simply stated,
parents� unhappiness and marital discord have a broad negative
effect on virtually every dimension of a child�s
well-being.
Embedded in the research on the negative
effects of divorce are (1) the degree to which parental conflict
continues during and after divorce and (2) whether the father (or
non-custodial parent) maintains support and contact with his
children. Amato and Booth agree with marriage and family
therapists that it is vital to help conflicted and/or divorcing
couples look at the effect of their behavior on the children.
Amato and Booth argue that it makes the most sense to develop
policies that support and strengthen marriage. Such policies
would include initiatives to help prospective spouses understand
marriage and its responsibilities and rewards, learn skills to
resolve differences and reduce conflict, and be aware of the
resources available help strengthen marriage or prevent
divorce.
For these and other reasons, Amato and
Booth recommend that governments, community organizations,
employers, courts, and churches work together to ensure that all
unhappily married couples have access to therapy that is both
affordable and child-centered. In the end, family policies
should be based on creating incentives for parents to act in the
best interests of their children.
2.0 Reducing the Costs of
Divorce
Research clearly shows that parents�
unhappiness and marital conflict have broad negative effects on
virtually every dimension of children�s well-being. However,
the inverse is also true. A reduction in conflict is
beneficial in a variety of ways. In addition to the more
obvious emotional and psychological implications, reduced conflict
has positive economic and fiscal consequences, especially in the
context of divorce.
The fiscal impact of family dissolution is
well documented; the sudden drop in income often experienced by the
child�s custodial parent following a separation or divorce can
foster a host of problems, financial and otherwise. As a
result, the issue of child support has received considerable
attention in recent years, and an enormous volume of energy and
resources are spent in an effort to enforce
compliance.
The results are discouraging.
The Texas Attorney General�s Office
reports that, during fiscal 1994, a total of $2.2 billion in child
support was owed in Texas, of which slightly less than half (49
percent) actually was collected. Perhaps even more telling,
only 246,800 of the total of 607,600 child support cases were in
compliance that year, meaning that 59 percent of those who owed
child support were not paying it.
A variety of reasons contribute to this
poor performance, with economic distress (typically through the
loss of steady employment) the most prevalent. Interestingly,
almost as significant is the nature of the arrangements made for
child support that accompany the divorce, which in many ways
reflects the level of conflict between parents.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the
payment of child support is heavily dependent on an agreement being
in place, which is true in only 58 percent of all cases.50 Of
those cases, how the agreement was reached and how the payments are
made directly relate to whether the custodial parent actually
receives the payment in a regular manner.
The figures show that among cases where
agreements are reached voluntarily, there is a considerably greater
likelihood of compliance (93 percent versus 72 percent), probably
reflecting a more amicable divorce. Similarly, those women
whose payments come directly from the father are more likely to
receive support (82 percent) than those whose payments are
structured to flow through the courts (75 percent) or through a
state welfare agency (56 percent). The following table summarizes
the results.
The financial consequences of increasing
the number of voluntary agreements would also be substantial for
the state. The figures in the table above show that the
immediate effect of a ten-percent increase in voluntary child
support agreements would exceed $3.6 million dollars per year; if
all agreements were to become voluntary, the present value of
additional child support paid over the twelve years from 1998-2010
would exceed $0.5 billion.
These figures are conservative, in that
they assume no increase in the number of actual child support
agreements, but merely that the character of new arrangements
begins to shift toward voluntary agreements.
As noted earlier in this report, one of
the most effective methods of increasing the number of voluntary
agreements is to provide support at the time of divorce�i.e.,
through education, therapy and mediation. By promoting a more
cooperative relationship between divorcing spouses, these services
can not only facilitate a voluntary divorce agreement, but may well
encourage increased ongoing contact between absent fathers and
their children. This increased contact tends to have a
positive effect on child support payments. Therefore, the
resources needed to provide these services should be viewed as an
upfront investment rather than a cost, since the return to both the
state and individuals involved (in the form of larger child support
payments over time) is considerable.
Specifically, the state should be willing
to spend up to $1,060 per divorce (the difference in expected
voluntary vs. non-voluntary payments spread over the total number
of expected divorces) to increase the number of voluntary
agreements. It is worth noting that the difference between
voluntary and non-voluntary payments grows to $3,342 by the year
2020.
*
As we have seen, Amato and Booth recommend
that governments, community organizations, employers, courts, and
churches work together to ensure that all unhappily married couples
have access to counseling that is both affordable and
child-centered.
This view is echoed by the Census Bureau:
�. . .to think of child support only in terms of awards and
collections is too narrow a perspective. Other measures
should also be considered that would work by positive means and
thereby reduce coercion. For example, any visitation or
custody arrangement that makes contact between the child and the
absent parent more frequent and more ordinary is more likely to
maintain commitment and, therefore, support. Additionally,
services that help the former couples mediate and reduce their
conflict, especially at the time support and custody arrangements
are being worked out, bode well for the payment and levels of
support over the long run.�
The benefits of proactive support are
clearly outlined in both the academic literature and the analysis
above, and a number of states are working to develop public policy
that reflects this awareness. The following section
summarizes a number of the most effective approaches.
3.0 Overview of Recent Public Policy in
Other States
A growing number of states are recognizing
the importance of conflict resolution and its positive effects on
children. Indeed, there has been a nationwide push, within
the last few years, to enact legislation at the state level that
encourages divorcing parents with minor children to seek
educational programs and/or family therapy services from
professionals. Concurrent with these efforts has been a drive
to promote custody and visitation dispute resolution, premarital
education and/or therapy, and educational and support services for
married couples, including better access to family and couple
therapy.
Educational programs for divorcing parents
are now offered at the county level throughout more than 40 states;
in addition, a number of states offer separate courses designed to
help children cope with divorce.51 Individual programs cover
varying material, and are sponsored by differing entities,
including family court offices, public and private mental health
departments, churches, community-based agencies, private therapists
and counselors, and educational institutions. At least 12 states
currently offering parenting programs have enacted legislation
authorizing�and in some cases, mandating�courts to implement
education programs statewide.52 Thus far, preliminary
evaluation of some of the more established programs has been
extremely positive.
Connecticut In Connecticut, where
all separating and divorcing parents can be required to attend a
six-hour parental education classes, exit interviews show that the
vast majority of program participants viewed the course as a
positive experience. The $100 class provides parents
information on child development, the effect of parental separation
on children, dispute resolution and conflict management, guidelines
for visitation, stress reduction in children, and lessons in
cooperative parenting.53 Eighty-nine percent of the
participants in these classes said they would recommend the program
to others, while 79 percent felt that all parents entering the
family court process should be required to attend the
course.54 The state also has created a system of licensing
local providers who conduct parenting classes.55
New York Another program of interest
is New York�s Parent Education and Custody Effectiveness, or
�P.E.A.C.E Program.� Developed by Hofstra University in 1993
under a grant from the New York State Justice Institute,
P.E.A.C.E. is an interdisciplinary program that provides divorcing
parents education in three areas: 1) the legal process for
determining custody and child support; 2) the effects of divorce
and separation on adults; and 3) the effects of divorce and
separation on children�focusing specifically on ways in which
parents can help their children cope with the transition.56
The program�s aim is to �encourage parents to assume responsibility
for creating a post-divorce environment in which their children are
their first priority.� Following a successful pilot study,
the program has been expanded statewide. Each branch of the
P.E.A.C.E. program operates under broad general guidelines, with
local advisory committees responsible for setting policies for
administrating programs within their communities.57
Beyond parent education classes, many
states also have enacted legislation designed to reduce conflict
relating to custody and visitation issues. A number of
states, including California, Wisconsin, and Iowa, mandate either
mediation or court-approved education for all custody and
visitation disputes.58 Other states have moved to increase
the number of couples attending premarital education and/or
premarital therapy. Incentives to encourage participation
include giving couples who complete the course tax credits, reduced
waiting time for marriage licenses, and/or discounts on various
marriage-related fees.
Florida One of the more
comprehensive pieces of legislation to date, Florida�s �Marriage
Preparation and Preservation Act� (House Bill 1019), was signed
into law in May 1998. A more detailed summary of the Florida
law is attached. The Act addresses the need for conflict
management and for improved relationship skills on several
fronts:
� Required High School Course:
Florida law already mandated all high school graduates to complete
a life management skills course, worth one half-credit of course
work. The new law specifies that the course must include
marriage and relationship-building education.
� Premarital Preparation Class:
Couples attending a four-hour, court-approved premarital
preparation class are eligible to receive a marriage license
discount of $32.50. To receive the discount, they also must
read a handbook prepared by the Florida Bar summarizing the legal
rights and responsibilities of marital partners during marriage and
upon dissolution. If the course is not completed, the
marriage license effective date is delayed three days. In
addition, all couples filing for marriage licenses are given a
confidential questionnaire developed by Florida State University�s
(FSU) Center for Marriage and Family. The questionnaire will
be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the educational
programs.
� Divorce Fees and Parental
Education Courses: The Act adds an additional $32.50 to all divorce
filing fees, and requires that all parents of minor children attend
a court-approved parent education and family stabilization course
prior to divorce. In addition, couples filing for dissolution
of a marriage must complete an anonymous FSU questionnaire.
The questionnaire will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the
parental education courses.
4.0 Current Texas Public Policy and
Services
While family therapy, educational programs,
and mediation in states such as Florida are centrally administered
and available statewide, the level of development of such programs
in Texas is difficult to ascertain, largely because their
administration has been fragmented among the 254 counties and
numerous district courts. An overview of several noteworthy
divorce-related programs in Texas follows:
4.1 Classes for Divorcing
Parents
Although divorce therapy and divorce
education classes are not required by law for all divorcing
parents, Texas courts have the authority to mandate them by
court order, based on the discretion of individual judges.
Senate Bill 1384, sponsored by Senator Tom Haywood and enacted
during the 1997 legislative session, provides that such counseling,
if ordered by the courts, must include a discussion of issues
confronting children of divorce.
One of the most successful divorce
education programs in Texas is �For Kids� Sake,� a one-time,
four-hour course now available in 37 counties across the
state. Developed by a team of legal, mental health, child
development, parent education and law enforcement professionals,
the program was started in 1993 by Practical Parent Education, a
non-profit organization based in Plano, Texas and funded by the
Texas Bar Foundation. Topics covered in the For Kids� Sake
Seminar include �How Divorce Affects Children,� �Recognizing
Children At Risk,� �Common Areas of Conflict in Divorced Families,�
and �Building a Co-Parent Relationship.� The program is
available in both Spanish and English, and includes a 50-page
handbook for parents.59
Participants in the For Kids Sake
course usually are ordered to attend by the court, although 10-15
percent of the attendees come to the class voluntarily. In
the Plano For Kids� Sake program, 92 percent of the participants
over a four-year period have consistently rated the program as
either extremely helpful or very helpful�a trend that seems to be
repeating itself in preliminary evaluations of similar programs
throughout the state. Many attendees go on to seek further
professional help.60
4.2 Mediation
Mediation is often used to resolve issues of
child custody, visitation, and child support. The service is
available in a number of Texas counties, although its use varies
tremendously from court to court, even within those counties.
In Collin County, for instance, judges in some courts regularly
order mediation and counseling, while other judges rarely do
so. In nearby Tarrant County, long-standing county policy
dictates that all visitation (though not child support) cases are
to be mediated through the domestic relations office.
Service providers also vary. While
Tarrant County courts often utilize staff therapists, social
workers and attorneys61 , mediators at the Bexar County dispute
resolution center are likely to be volunteers from the community
who have taken a mediation training course.62
A particularly successful mediation
program is the �Friend of the Court Program,� established in 1989
through sections 14.91 - 14.96 of the Texas Family Code.
Where implemented, the program requires caseworkers to monitor
court orders for child support payment and for visitation.
When problems are detected, disputes are resolved through mediation
whenever possible.63 According to the Harris County domestic
relations office, appointment of a Friend of the Court has resulted
in compliance with the court�s order for child support payment in
their ten participating courts 93 percent to 100 percent of the
cases.64 This compliance rate compares to a national average of
approximately 30 percent.65
4.3 Family Therapy
Family therapy is increasingly being
recognized as a means of supporting the transition process of
divorcing families as they restructure emotionally and
legally. As an example, the Houston FIT (Families in
Transition) Project has been a collaboration between Harris County
family court judges, a marriage and family therapy professional
association, and a local academic institution to develop creative
solutions to meet two fundamental goals: 1) support family
functioning by minimizing the trauma of involvement in the legal
system; and 2) develop an assessment model for family mental health
practitioners involved in this process. Although more
research is needed, preliminary results from this pilot program
suggest that these kinds of collaborative efforts can have positive
effects on divorcing families.
4.4 Other Visitation
Programs
In Texas, visitation orders are often
enforced by an individual county court�s child support enforcement
office. As with child support cases, visitation is often a
source of considerable conflict, frustration, and relitigation
between divorced parents. In fact, according to a 1995 survey of
non-custodial parents� child support compliance by Southwest Texas
University professor Kimberly Folse, 41 percent of non-custodial
parents interviewed only see their children two to three times a
year or not at all.66
Several Texas counties are developing
specialized visitation pilot programs through a grant from the
Texas Attorney General�s Office.67 In Tarrant County, the
pilot program will allow parents to utilize on-staff mediators and
therapists to assist them with modifications and visitation
plans.68 In Travis County, the grant will be used to provide
parenting classes, to offer free legal advice when parents have
agreed on a modification of their order, and to offer access to
Kids Exchange, a neutral site for divorced parents to drop off and
pick up their children.69
4.5 Future Directions
While Texas, particularly at the county
level, has a number of programs specializing in family conflict
resolution, divorce education or mediation, there is no
comprehensive and coordinated system to provide these services
statewide. The current programs are often voluntary, and,
unfortunately, some of the parents who could benefit most choose
not to attend. At present, the effort is fragmented at best;
some counties receive top-notch services, while others receive
marginal service, and still others have no services at
all.
If Texas, like Florida and New York, is to
�encourage parents to assume responsibility for creating a
post-divorce environment in which their children are their first
priority,�70 it would seem appropriate to consider statewide
legislation that:
� requires that family therapy, education,
and mediation are provided at the most appropriate time in the
divorce process;
� establishes a financial base for such
services that is self-sustaining;
� creates a service delivery system that is
statewide and of high-quality; and
� legitimizes the authority of the courts to
encourage or mandate participation in family therapy, educational
programs, and mediation.
5.0
Conclusion/Recommendations
Given the dramatic changes that have occurred
in the American family over the last three decades, particularly
with respect to the nature of marriage and family structure, it is
not surprising that debates continue over how these changes have
affected the lives of children. This is an issue that should be of
concern to society at-large, since children who are negatively
affected by a stressful family environment grow into adults who are
less able, psychologically, emotionally, and even financially, to
become productive citizens and effective parents in their own
right.
A growing number of states are recognizing
the importance of initiating policies and programs that promote
marriage preparation and conflict resolution. In light of
this information, it would seem appropriate for Texas legislators
to create policies and laws that support and help maintain
marriages, and policies and laws that would mitigate the harmful
effects of marital conflict and divorce when divorce does
occur.
Aside from the obvious psychological and
social impact, such laws and policies help create economic and
fiscal benefits, such as increased child support. It follows
then that a proactive approach to public policy that helps improve
marital quality and reduce conflict is not only the right thing to
do, but makes sense from an economic and fiscal perspective.
The following general recommendations are designed to reinforce
this premise.
� Effective Relationship & Marriage
Skills Classes: Healthy parenting invariably begins with
emotionally healthy parents. To encourage people to establish
effective relationships, classes on relationship and marriage
skills should be incorporated into high school curricula and be a
requirement to graduate.
� Premarital Education: Premarital
education should become a prerequisite for obtaining a marriage
license in the state of Texas. As noted earlier in this
report, Florida has developed a handbook for couples acquiring a
marriage license; the State Bar of Texas could develop a similar
guide.
� Divorce Education/Therapy/Mediation:
When a couple with minor children decides to divorce, education,
therapy or mediation should be required. Or, incentives for
therapy could be given in the form of reduced divorce filing
fees. Judges should be given the authority to require these
services when appropriate, either when a couple is initially
divorcing or when filing for modification to an original
agreement. If a non-custodial parent is delinquent with child
support payments, judges could require parenting education classes
in lieu of jail time.
� Tax Incentives & Accountability:
State resources could be allocated to provide tax incentives to
promote research and encourage the development of healthy
families. For example, a reduced corporate franchise tax
could be offered to companies that include marital therapy as part
of their employee benefit programs or EAPs. For
accountability purposes, funds should be allocated for an ongoing
monitoring of state programs to ensure they are effective and
remain true to their mission.
� Ongoing Research: More research
regarding interventions and proactive programs to improve marital
quality would facilitate the development of effective public
policy. In particular, future research efforts should be
focused in two broad areas: the development of a database of pilot
studies and programs from across the nation, and primary research
using Texas-specific data.
Summary of Florida HB 1019�
The Marriage Preparation and Preservation
Act
(May 1998)
MARRIAGE PREPARATION
� Provides for the creation of a
half-credit life management skills course to be required for high
school graduation in Florida. An integral component of the course
will be �marriage and relationship skill-based
education�
� Parties applying for a marriage license
have the option to complete a marriage preparation course of not
less than four hours.
� Course content shall include, but not be
limited to:
� review of rights, responsibilities and
requirements under Florida law
� conflict management
� communications skills
� financial responsibilities
� children and parenting
responsibilities
� typical problems during marriage and
suggested solutions
� The course shall be conducted by one or
more of the following:
� a licensed psychologist
� a licensed clinical social
worker
� a licensed marriage and family
therapist
� a licensed mental health
counselor
� an official representative of a religious
institution
� Provides for the creation of a handbook
containing sections of the Florida law pertaining to rights and
responsibilities of marital partners to each other and any children
of the marriage. Provides for review and updating of the manual.
Before receiving a marriage license all couples must sign a
statement that they have read the handbook and whether or not
they
� Parties signing an affidavit that they
have both completed the marriage preparation course and read the
handbook will receive a marriage license fee reduction of $32.50.
Parties not completing this requirement will have their marriage
license effective date delayed three days.
� All couples filing for a marriage
license will be given an anonymous questionnaire developed by
Florida State University Center for Marriage and Family.
� FSU will be given $75,000 to create and
research premarital preparation pilot programs
MARRIAGE PRESERVATION
� An additional $32.50 fee will be added
to all divorce filing fees.
� Within 60 days of filing for a
dissolution of marriage or when seeking a modification of a final
judgment action involving shared parental responsibilities, custody
or visitation, all parents of minor children shall complete a
court-approved parent education and family stabilization course.
The course is a minimum of four hours. The course must not provide
therapy or legal services.
� The course shall be conducted by at
least two of the following:
� a licensed psychologist
� a licensed clinical social
worker
� a licensed marriage and family
therapist
� a licensed mental health
counselor
� an official representative of a religious
institution
� Course content shall include, but not be
limited to:
� ways to assist in stabilizing a
family
� using mediation and/or counseling to solve
marital problems
� the effects of divorce on
children
� the effects of divorce on men
� the effects of divorce on
women
� the effects of divorce on
society
� ways to rebuild family relationships and
resolve disputes
� the economic effects of divorce on the
parties and any children
� Couples filing for dissolution of a
marriage must complete an anonymous questionnaire designed by
Florida State University
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67. Fran Markowski.
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68. Fultz, 1998.
69. Markowski,
1998.
70. Florida State Legislature,
n.d.