PARENT RESOURCES

The court-sponsored Parent Education and Awareness Program is designed to educate divorcing or separating parents about the impact of their breakup on their children. The primary goal is to teach parents ways they can reduce the stress of family changes and protect their children from the negative effects of ongoing parental conflict in order to foster and promote their children's healthy adjustment and development. These parenting strategies are detailed in the Parent's Handbook.

If you have parenting or financial issues to work out, you may want to consider alternative dispute resolution (ADR) processes like divorce mediation or collaborative family law. These out-of-court processes often save time and money, reduce stress, and even improve relationships between parents and their children after divorce. ADR may not be appropriate in cases involving domestic violence, child abuse, or where one spouse cannot locate the other.

• Child Custody & Visitation
  Custody is a parent’s legal right to control his or her child’s upbringing. It may also be referred to as parenting. A parent who does not have custody will still likely be entitled to visitation, also known as spending time with the child(ren). Both parents have a legal right to ask for custody and visitation in a divorce proceeding.
• Child Support
  Child support may be awarded by the Supreme Court as part of a divorce, or in Family Court as part of a child support proceeding.
• Orders of Protection
  If you or your children are the victims of Domestic Violence, you can apply to the court for an Order of Protection. Please also visit the courts' Domestic Violence web page for additional domestic violence information and resources.