Consider the Children

This 4-hour parenting class provides information and support for parents or parental custodians who are undergoing a divorce, paternity action, or parenting plan modification.  Classes are provided twice monthly in Thurston, Lewis, and Pierce County locations.  At the end of each class participants will be provided with a certificate which they can then file with the court to document that they have taken the class.   Click on the following bullets for more information on the class and how to register. 

• Registration

• Fees

• Brochures

• Outline of Seminar

• More information

Registration

There are three ways to register:
Online Registration:

OR

Call Family Education and Support Services at 360-754-7629

Toll Free  1-877-813-2828

OR

Register and pay in person at the Administration Office
1202 Black Lake Blvd #B
Olympia, WA 98502

Fees

A fee of $50 will be charged to participants. Discounts are provided to those individuals who indicate they are low-income and unable to afford the full fee. To receive the reduction in fee attendees are asked to provide proof of low-income status. 

Payment can be made with a money order or certified check or with Visa or Mastercard number taken over the phone, or by PayPal.  Personal checks are not accepted.  Money orders should be sent to Family Education and Support Services, 1202 Black Lake Blvd #B Olympia, WA 98502.  Please do not send payment until we have confirmed your registration. 

PAYMENT MUST BE RECEIVED 5 DAYS BEFORE THE CLASS IN ORDER TO SECURE YOUR REGISTRATION SPOT.  CLASSES ARE OFTEN FULL; REGISTRANTS WHO HAVE NOT PREPAID MAY BE DENIED A SPOT IN THE CLASS.

Brochures:  to download a PDF version of the Consider the Children brochure, click on the applicable county below. 

• Thurston

• Lewis

• Pierce

Outline of Seminar

The Consider the Children program is designed to lessen the impact of separation and divorce on children by providing parents, or parental custodians, with information on the importance of considering the best interests of their children during difficult transition periods such as those associated with divorce, or separation from one or both parents.  Parents will gain information on the range of issues children are often faced with when their parents divorce, separate or are no longer able to care for them. 

• Introduction / Acknowledge of emotion

• The Grief & Loss Process

• Stress for adults and for children

• The developmental stages of childhood and developmental stress indicators in children;

• Setting age appropriate expectations of children;

• The impact of parental conflict on children;

• The importance of a child’s relationships with both parents, and with extended family

• Communication skills for parents;

• Practical skills for working together

• The impact on children when step-parents and blended families enter their lives;

• Fostering healthy relationships with your children even though parents may be living apart

• Blended Families

• Co-Parenting

Community and other resources

In the seminars, trained instructors use a variety of techniques to engage participants in focusing on the best interests of their children.   Instructors guide parents through interactive discussions, role-playing exercises, video presentations, and informational lectures that help them recognize how to make decision based on the best interest of their children.  The objectives of the seminars are to educate and sensitize parents to the stresses which family change can cause in children, and to provide information to enable parents to minimize those stresses.

Background:

The Census Bureau estimates that over one million divorce decrees are granted annually in the U.S.  Half of all marriages performed today will end in divorce.  This figure is all the more astonishing when taking note that in 1960, divorce was expected in only one-sixth of all marriages.  This trend is evident in Thurston County, where households with married couples have decreased from 83 percent in 1960 to 53 percent in 2000.  While these figures suggest tremendous disruptions for those with troubled relationships, the pain and stress are not limited to adults. About 60 percent of divorces involve children. For many children, this will initiate a series of economic changes that will significantly alter their day-to-day lives.  The curriculum for Consider the Children (originally called Helping Children Through Divorce) was based on a successful program offered through Miami-Dade Community College in Florida called “Children of Divorcing Parents.”  With  permission from, and consultation with, Mark Burns, co-creator of the Florida program, and with input from local mental health professionals, a Thurston County core curriculum was developed and implemented in January of 1995.  The curriculum has been modified and enhanced over the past ten years.  Some of the changes reflect comments from participants others were made to incorporate more recent data, and to create a more diversified, culturally competent presentation.