Colorado Divorce and
Parenting (“Parental Education”) Classes
Colorado Family Law and Policy
Promoting Parenting Education
Colorado divorce laws officially recognize that
parenting research convincingly
-
 documents the negative impact divorce
and separation can have on children,
- establishes that children in such cases
often exhibit a decreased ability to function academically,
socially and psychologically because of stress, and
- demonstrates that divorce process and co-parenting
education can effectively assist parents to help support
their children during the family's divorce transition.
This Colorado parenting law
(the “Parental Education” law) extols programs which
1) educate parents about the divorce
process and its impact on adults and children, and 2) teach co-parenting skills and strategies so that parents may continue to parent their children in a cooperative manner.
Such divorce and parenting education
programs are declared to be in the best interests of children,
as a matter of official Colorado family law public policy.
Colorado Court Orders
Accordingly, the legislature authorizes Colorado
courts to
order parents with minor children (the Colorado law refers
to parents with children “under eighteen years of age”) to
attend co-parenting education programs, in:
- dissolution of marriage (“divorce”)
and legal separation proceedings,
- allocation of parental
responsibilities (“child custody”) proceedings,
- parenting time (“visitation”) proceedings, and
- any other post decree (after
divorce) parenting proceedings.
The language of Colorado's Parental
Education Law is permissive (“A court may order a
parent…”), not mandatory, but
nearly all Colorado judicial districts now require proof of
parents’ completion of such parenting education classes, as
a prerequisite to domestic relations court orders, especially decrees of
dissolution of marriage or of legal separation.
Colorado Divorce and Parenting Education
Programs
There are many fine divorce and
parenting education providers in Colorado.
In the
metropolitan Denver, Colorado area, we consistently hear
high praise from our clients for, and we have great respect for many of the regular instructors
of, two
parenting education class providers and their programs:
-
 Parenting After Divorce (“PAD”)’s
“Co-Parenting After Divorce" classes, and
-
 Parenting Education Partners’ “In the Best Interests of the
Children” course.
Parenting After Divorce was the first co-parenting
education provider in Colorado. PAD's classes are held at
locations throughout the
Metro Denver area (including presently Arapahoe County, Aurora,
Denver, Glendale, Lakewood, and Parker), and include a
Spanish class. Parenting
Education Partners’ programs are presently conducted in Golden and Highlands Ranch.
On-Line and Long-Distance Divorce and
Parenting Education Providers’ Courses
Colorado's Parenting Education Partners
(see immediately
above) also offers a “Distance Learning”
home-study course with a manual and audio tape, and with
correspondence through mail and email.
 Alternatively,
Positive Parenting Through Divorce provides an on-line course with workbook and course
materials addressing co-parenting issues, children’s
developmental stages, new relationships, step-family issues,
and healthy communication as well as some legal issues. (Developed
by a Florida marriage & family therapist and educator, the
course guarantees its materials and certificate of
completion satisfy all courts' divorce and parenting
education class requirements.)
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