'Kids of Divorce' program.........

[Kitty C.]

July 20, 2009


Kids of divorce get new program

Rob Daniel
Iowa City Press-Citizen
Children caught up in the middle of their parents' divorce now have a place to go to vent their thoughts and feelings.  United Action for Youth in Iowa City has started providing the Kids First Divorce Workshops for children whose parents are divorcing. People who have filed for divorce in Johnson County since May 26 now will be ordered by the courts to enroll their children in the 2.5-hour workshop at UAY.

Kate Moreland, UAY's development director, said children often are left to fend for themselves by parents working through their own issues as the divorce proceedings continue. She said the free workshop provides a place for those youth, who are grouped with other kids their age, to express what they are thinking and feeling.

"Kids process information differently at different age," Moreland said. "It serves as a support group, too. It allows them to vent feelings so they're not alone in the process."  The program is based on a divorce workshop developed by the Kids First Law Center in Linn County, where the program has been in place and ordered by the courts for the last two years, she said. The workshops are designed to be educational and interactive using artwork, games, videos, discussions and role-plays. In addition, the older children can ask questions about the divorce proceedings with an attorney.

"It empowers kids a little to have a voice and tell their parents what they're feeling," said Moreland, a former divorce attorney who expects 220 to 240 children to go through the program each year.  We see a lot of kids who don't get a lot of information," she said.

Moreland said the Rotary Club of Iowa City Downtown and the Iowa Organization of Women Attorneys have provided some funding for the program and that additional grants are being sought.

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I find it interesting that the Iowa Org. of Women Attys. is actually providing funding for this.  But what concerns me is how much information they are actually giving the kids about the divorce process.  And it doesn't say who is facilitating this, whether it's social workers, therapists..........or others in the divorce industry who have a stake in the outcome. 

[MixedBag]

Interesting.....can you ask those questions and get answers?

[Kitty C.]

I can ask........but that doesn't mean they'll give me an answer.

[Davy]

My view is that the bigger issue is that this is just another way for government operatives to intrude in the family and to parent our children.  Court ordered attendance is over-reaching and is because they realize this forced requirement will be against the will of most people and their children.   Guess who would be glad to be in contempt.