SPECIAL ISSUE ON PREVENTION:

• Author: Irwin N. Sandler,Sharlene A. Wolchik,JoAnne L. Pedro‐Carroll
• Date: 01 January 2005
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-1617.2005.00004.x
• Published date: 01 January 2005

FAMILY COURT REVIEW, Vol. 43 No. 1, January 2005 18–21

© 2005 Association of Family and Conciliation Courts

Blackwell Publishing, Ltd.Oxford, UKFCREFamily Court Review1531-2445© Association of Family and Conciliation Courts, 2004431

GUEST EDITORIAL NOTES

Pedro-Carroll et al. / GUEST EDITORIAL NOTES

FAMILY COURT REVIEW

SPECIAL ISSUE ON PREVENTION:

Research, Policy, and Evidence-Based Practice

FORGING INTERDISCIPLINARY PARTNERSHIPS IN THE COURTS TO

PROMOTE PREVENTION INITIATIVES FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES

As professionals working with families in the process of a divorce, the difficulties that

they face are all too familiar. Being caught in the crossfire of ongoing conflict, struggles

over custody, strained parent–child relationships, and diminished capacity to parent all take

a toll on children’s well-being. The risks associated with parental divorce for children are

well documented. Kelly and Emery (2003) summarize an extensive literature which finds

that children of divorce are more likely to experience a wide range of problems than

children in continuously married families, including mental health problems, substance

use, social adaptation, and academic problems. “The extent of risk is at least twice that of

children in continuously married families” (Kelly & Emery, 2003, p. 355). Although these

risks are cause for concern, children’s long-term problems are

not

inevitable. While almost

all children experience considerable distress, the majority do not suffer serious long-term

adjustment problems following their parents’ divorce. Much depends on the extent to which

children’s needs are kept a top priority by their parents and the powerful systems (legal,

judicial, educational, family, community) that affect their lives.

This special issue is a call for action to reduce the risks for children and foster their

resilience in the midst of family changes following a separation or divorce. Collectively,

the articles in this issue demonstrate an impressive set of evidence concerning what

can

be done on behalf of families, and provide a challenge of how to translate this promising

vision into a better reality for the millions of children whose parents will dissolve their

marital relationship in the coming years. There are two levels to this challenge, collaborative

partnerships to bring evidence-based prevention services to the courts, and careful evalu-

ation to assess whether these services are well-implemented and actually achieve the

desired positive outcomes.

A central question for practitioners, researchers, policy makers, and the courts is what

evidence-based preventive measures can be systematically taken to reduce threats to

children’s healthy development in the aftermath of divorce. Systematic outreach to all

families

early in the process of a separation

is needed to link families with an array of edu-

cational, legal, and therapeutic services tailored to their diverse needs. The interdisciplinary

partnerships of legal, judicial, and mental health professionals and researchers are essential

steps toward the goals of systematic preventive outreach to families and evidence-based

practice. Collaborative partnerships between courts, researchers, and community organiza-

tions are an essential link to providing personnel and resources to carry out programs and

initiatives such as those described in this special issue. These partnerships require an on-

going commitment to the hard work of identifying programs with demonstrated efficacy

that fit the needs of both the courts and communities.