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                  - Home
                  - Grants                      - Project Grants
                    - Technical Assistance Grants
                    - Curriculum Adaptation & Training Grant
                    - Strategic Initiatives Grants
                    - Education Support Program
                    - Funding Toolkit 
                  - News
                  - Grantee Spotlights
                  - Priority Investment Areas                      - Court Pandemic Response and Recovery Grant Program 
                  - Grant Management
                  - About SJI                      - Board of Directors
                    - Executive Director
                    - Past Members
                    - SJI Budget 

### Supporting the Nation's Judicial System & the Public it Serves

May 1, 2024

## Reducing Conflict with Families in Transition

Judges in family courts handle the complex dynamics of familial conflicts, particularly in cases involving high parental conflict. Parenting education is essential, serving as a vital tool to ensure children’s well-being during parental separations and promote smoother family transitions.

“The Families in Transition (FIT) Parenting Course,” a 1.5-hour online program designed to complement existing parenting education programs, was created in 2023. This course forms part of a broader case management strategy to assist families in high conflict.
> 
“Exposure to parental conflict poses a serious health risk to children and addressing those issues drain resources if the courts.”
-Judge Bruce R. Cohen, the former presiding judge of the family court division of the Maricopa County Superior Court in Arizona

The FIT program, which was conceived by Judge Cohen, recognizes that in many circumstances, parental conflict is a behavioral issue that for many families is resolvable through programs like FIT.  When successful, FIT can free up resources for cases where parental conflict and dysfunction is a byproduct of underlying mental health or domestic violence issues, which need additional support.

A March 2024 study by Arizona State University confirmed FIT’s effectiveness in significantly reducing conflict behaviors. Since its introduction in Arizona in January 2024, nearly 300 referrals have been made to FIT, with about 200 certificates being filed with the court.

Future plans include expanding national access to the program so that FIT can be offered at no cost to parties. Plans include offering FIT in Spanish, and other languages.

The National Center for State Courts (NCSC) is hosting a national “watch party” in mid-May 2024 to convene courts interested in implementing FIT.

For more information or to participate in the watch party, visit the Families in Transition or contact adavis@ncsc.org.

### 

                    - FIT Program  (415 kB)
                    - FIT Program  (357 kB)
                    - Study-AZ-FIT-March-2024-1  (2 MB)
                    - FIT Program  (329 kB)
                    - Study-AZ-FIT-March-2024-1  (177 kB)

#### GET FEATURED

Grantee Spotlight Submission Instructions page

 

#### SJI GRANTEE SPOTLIGHTS

                  -  Update to the Juvenile Delinquency Guidelines – Processing Delinquency Cases in Juvenile Courts
		    	June 1, 2024 					
Read More**

 
                  -  Reducing Conflict with Families in Transition
		    	May 1, 2024 					
Read More**

 
                  -  The Housing Navigator Program
		    	April 1, 2024 					
Read More**

 
                  -  Judicial Innovation Fellowship Program
		    	March 1, 2024 					
Read More**

 

#### LATEST NEWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS

                  -  Sixteen State Courts Participate in Groundbreaking Workshop for Racial Justice Education  Read More**   
                  -  New Resource: The Rural Justice Collaborative Digest for June 2024  Read More**   
                  -  SJI Board Awards FY 2024 Third Quarter Grants  Read More**   
                  -  SJI Executive Director, Jonathan Mattiello, Congressional Briefing Panelist on Capitol Hill  Read More**   

#### CONTACT US

          contact@sji.gov
                       Tel: 703.660.4979

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                       Fairfax, VA 22033         

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