Program gives divorced dads ways to stay connected with kids

Research has shown that maintaining a strong father-child relationship after a divorce is important for the child’s well-being both while growing up and as an adult. But about 50 percent of all marriages end in divorce, and mothers receive primary child custody 80 percent of the time. As a result, divorced dads often feel disconnected from their children and struggle to maintain a close relationship.

The University of Wisconsin currently is evaluating the effectiveness of an online intervention program that provides non-custodial fathers with strategies for remaining connected with their kids and for managing their relationships with their ex-wives. The program, called Apart, Not Broken: Learn, Connect, and Create, lets fathers learn from the experiences of other dads using a combination of videos and other online resources.

In Wisconsin, if parents do not agree on a mutual agreement on where their child is to live following divorce, also known as physical placement, the court decides based on what is deemed to be in the best interests of the child. Once physical placement has been determined by court order, a visitation schedule, also known as a parenting plan, is created to determine the time the child will spend with the other parent.

After physical placement has been determined by court order, it can be difficult to modify. Accordingly, it is important to seek help from an experienced child custody attorney up front. An attorney can work to make sure child custody and visitation issues are addressed in a manner that protects the child’s best interests and preserves critical parent-child relationships.

Source: The Northwestern, “Children of divorce benefit from relationship with both of their parents,” Chris Kniep, Nov. 27, 2012