House Community Budget Issue Requests - Tracking Id #2215

Focus on the Children Program

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Requester:

Circuit Judge James Hauser

Organization:

Ninth Judicial Circuit of Florida

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Project Title:

Focus on the Children Program

Date Submitted:

01/28/2000 3:37:07 PM

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

District Member:

Bill Sublette

Service Area:

County

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Counties Affected:

Orange

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Recipient:

Ninth Judicial Circuit

Contact:

Circuit Judge James Hauser

 

425 North Orange Avenue, Suite 1730

Contact Phone:

(407) 836-2036

 

 

Orlando 32801

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Project Description:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Focus on the Children is a structured educational and skills-based group program for post-divorce parents who have demonstrated "high conflict". High conflict is defined as not just an inability to communicate with each other, but divorced parents who are in actual conflict. If funded by the state, Focus on the Children will be expanded to include pre-divorce couples. Virtually every person who has participated in the present Focus on the Children has indicated that they wish the program had been made available to them at the beginning of their divorce . Their reasoning is that at the beginning of the divorce, prior to litigation, the trust factor between the spouses is greater. Eight to ten post-divorce high conflict parent pairs will participate in a nine-week group for two hours each weekly session. Group counseling has dramatically reduced the costs associated with such a program, in addition to proving therapeutically beneficial.  Mental health professionals teach parents to decrease their conflict, so as not to harm their children, by teaching them effective communication, conflict resolution and negotiation skills. This is accomplished by  lectures, handouts, discussion, activities and facilitation of participant roleplays to build skills.  At the beginning of the program, the parties are divided into three groups. One group consists of four men and four women. Their former spouses will be in the second group. The third group consists of the parents' children. Social workers and psychologists gather information from the children on how their parents fighting has effected them. After a couple of sessions, the children's group is disbanded. The information obtained by them, however, is provided to their parents in the fifth session, so that the parents will be able to comprehend the devastating impact of their fighting on their children. During the second  week, outside the presence of their children and their former spouse,  parent participate in an activity designed to help them understand the impact of conflict on their children and about how they use conflict.  Starting the third week, the parent groups are combined.  Role plays are conducted during the third, fourth and fifth weeks between non-former partners.   Depending on group size, parents may do role plays in break out groups with non-former partners.   We have learned that individuals speak and listen differently. Participants learn that the former husband is not uniquely " insensitive" or that the former wife is not "crazy." Parents are encouraged and  afforded  opportunities to bring real life issues to class, and with the support and direction of the mental health professional facilitator, make progress and potentially resolve the issue.  In the last fourweeks the former spouses work with each other to practice and learn better negotiation techniques. Focus on the Children facilitators utilize and incorporate the techniques of education, skills training and therapeutic support to increase awareness about the impact of conflict on children and choices available to parents at an impasse; to increase the ability and opportunity to expand conflict resolution and negotiation tools; and to offer information and interventions in a supportive and directive setting as skills and knowledge are developed in a group setting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Services Provided/Benefit to State:

 

 

 

 

 

Reduced Time in Court/ Less Need for Judges:

Parents will recognize that "going to court" will not only not solve most of their problems, but will probably make it worse. Instead of fighting in court, it finally dawns on the parents that it is better to resolve their problems between themselves and that intervention by a third party, a court, will usually not be satisfactory. However, if parents do choose a third party, they are encouraged to  contact a therapist or mediator where they could both continue to have input in their decision making with an objective helper.

            Less Conflict Between Parents/ Less Need for Police:

It is expected that parents will gain greater self-reliance and confidence in resolving conflict between themselves.  Their decreased animosity, suspiciousness and desire to punish each other will reduce calls to local police departments for domestic violence and false allegations of abuse.  Additionally, the high conflict pattern lends toward an increased incidence of stress-related illness, diminished work performance, diminished mental, emotional and psychological well being as well as an increased incidence of behavioral and emotional difficulties in children.   For adults, the benefits of the improvement in the level of conflict with their children's other parent may extend to the workplace and social services that become taxed when mentally, emotionally, or psychologically unstable individuals continue to rely on judicial or legal means to address their conflict resolution needs.

            Children Benefit from Parents Who Stop Fighting and Start Parenting.

It is expected that a number of children caught between high-conflict parents will experience decreased stress, improved adjustment, stable self-identity,  decreased probability and susceptibility to high-risk behaviors, particularly  in adolescence.   Conflicts in which children are caught in the middle while parents denigrate each other, precipitate loyalty conflicts, communicate through the children, or fight about the children, such as in high conflict couples, are most destructive to children's well-being (Buchanan, Maccoby & Dornbusch, 1991; Maccoby et al., 1993; Maccoby & Mnookin, 1992).  Children who are the subject of chronic post-separation disputes between their parents have now been identified as one of the most "at risk" groups among the divorcing population (Johnston & Roseby, 1998).  With that, it is anticipated that the Juvenile Justice system may be relieved of children in the system who have succumbed to participation in high risk or criminal activities.

 

Money has been set aside in our budget to teach other programs statewide. If, as expected, the program reduces conflict within families, this will reduce court time. There is no reason that this program can not work almost anywhere in the State of Florida.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Measurable Outcome Anticipated:

 

 

 

 

 

Parents will demonstrate increased awareness of the impact of post-divorce high conflict on their children.  Parents will also demonstrate through role play and follow up surveys increased effective communication, improved conflict resolution and negotiation skills.  Behavioral problems related to high conflict will be reduced in children by parent report. Focus on the Children has established multiple outcome measures of the program effectiveness in its course evaluations.  Pre and post-tests regarding co-parenting relationships and self-reported surveys about parenting are conducted with each parent.  Following each session, parents complete tests to assess the knowledge gained from educational materials presented.  Parents also complete satisfaction surveys for each session and for the course overall.  A 6-month and 12-month post test that assesses parenting attitudes, behaviors and children's behaviors are also sent to parents. The proposed budget for Focus on the Children includes a ninth session, 6 months after the eight week program has been completed. This will not only allow the participants to practice their skills, but also allow  Focus on the Children to gather information as to how well the program has worked.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Amount requested from the State for this project this year:

$164,389

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total cost of the project:

$164,389

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Request has been made to fund:

Operations

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Is there Local Government or Private match for this request?

 

Unknown

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Was this project previously funded by the State?

 

No

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Is future-year funding likely to be requested?

 

Yes

 

 

Amount:

$164,389

 

 

 

 

 

 

Purpose for future year funding:

 

Recurring Operations

 

 

Will this be an annual request?

 

 

Yes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Was this project included in an Agency's Budget Request?

 

Yes

 

 

Agency:

State Court System

Was this project included in the Governor's Recommended Budget?

Yes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Is there a documented need for this project?

 

Yes

 

 

Documentation:

Comprehensive Plan (documentation will be sent to committee).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Was this project request heard before a publicly noticed meeting of a body of elected officials (municipal, county, or state)?

Unknown