The national council represents America's 9, 000-plus judges who exercise jurisdiction over delinquency, abuse, neglect, divorce, custody, support, domestic violence and similar cases throughout the country. Cobb County Superior Court officials nominated Families First in one of seven categories.
Nominations come from all over the country and competition is tough, according to council officials.
To win, a project must be unique and have a positive outcome in dealing with relevant problems. Past winners have included court systems, a youth ranch and the Girl Scouts of America. Each year in the United States, more than one million children under the age of 18 experience the divorce of their parents. For children, the divorce process is particularly harmful because of a prolonged disruption of parenting. Through a network of more than 180 jurisdictions in 39 states, as well as Bahrain, the Bahamas, Germany, Japan and South Korea, this program has served more than one million divorcing parents.