Please help - Marriage Skills and the Courts - 5/22/07

[Smartmarriages]

Diane,

"Marriage Skills Education and the Courts" - the workshop I'm doing at the
Association of Family and Conciliation Courts along with Bill Coffin and
Fred DeJong, here in D.C. on May 31 -- is less than two weeks away.

I still wish I could hear from more people out there who know of marriage
education or counseling programs that are connected with the courts in some
way. Just as importantly, I would like to know of any studies, or even
hearsay anecdotal reports, about how these programs are working in practice.
If anyone knows anything else about this topic, they need to speak now or
forever hold their peace.

Here are the topics covered in my workshop outline currently.  There is
information about all of them on the interactive blog I have set up,
"Marriage and Family Courts", at
http://familylaw.typepad.com/marriagefamilycourt/
People can post additional relevant information directly onto the blog, or
contact me at crouch at patriot.net.
-------------
Marriage Skills Education and the Courts

By John Crouch, Arlington, Virginia
703-528-6700, crouch at patriot.net
AFCC 2007 Annual Conference, Washington, D.C.

1. Conciliation Courts and the History of No-Fault Divorce Laws
-- The idea, and at times the reality, of divorce courts helping save
marriages played a crucial role in the development of modern no-fault
divorce laws and procedures.

2. Current U.S. And European Law and Practice on Reconciliation Counseling
in Divorce Court
-- Marital Mediation and Reconcilitation in Malta's Family Courts
-- Alabama judge diverts couples to in-court marriage counselor, reduces
county's divorce rate.
-- Conciliation court services for marriages still advertised by Arizona
courts
-- other than that, existing laws are generally no longer used for this
purpose, from what I could find.

3. Integrating Relationship Education Into Divorce Education/Custody
Education
-- Including the new divorce education law just passed in Utah

4. Taiwan requires premarital classes
-- law passed in 2003

5. Governmental and legal marriage handbooks/workbooks
-- Texas courts give couples a manual and a quiz with their marriage license
-- The American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers's "Making Marriage Last" and
"Focus on Forever"
-- marriage handbooks from British Columbia, Florida, Colorado and Alabama
on smartmarriages web site

6. Premarital education legislation: economic incentives and covenant
marriage laws
-- Pros and cons, implementation problems
-- alternative proposals: legislation encouraging courts and government
agencies to distribute information on marriage education and counseling;
revenue-neutral tax credits as a simpler and larger form of "incentive";
"Early Warning and Prevention" Notices before divorce.

7. Michigan's courthouse weddings marriage education program
-- to be covered in Fred DeJong's presentation and materials.

8. Australia¹s New Family Relationship Centres and Referral System
-- Good information from Australian government web sites about this
ambitious, comprehensive new program, but no reports on implementation,
public acceptance, success, failure, etc.



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