A. Except as provided in subsection B of this section, in all actions for divorce, separate maintenance, guardianship, paternity, custody or visitation, including modifications or enforcements of a prior court order, where the interest of a child under eighteen (18) years of age is involved, the court may require all adult parties to attend an educational program concerning, as appropriate, the impact of separate parenting and coparenting on children, the implications for visitation and conflict management, development of children, separate financial responsibility for children and such other instruction as deemed necessary by the court. The program shall be educational in nature and not designed for individual therapy.

B. In actions for divorce based upon incompatibility filed on or after November 1, 2014, where the interest of a child under eighteen (18) years of age is involved, the adult parties shall attend, either separately or together, an educational program concerning the impact of divorce on children. The program shall include the following components:

1. Short-term and longitudinal effects of divorce on child well-being;

2. Reconciliation as an optional outcome;

3. Effects of family violence;

4. Potential child behaviors and emotional states during and after divorce including information on how to respond to the child's needs;

5. Communication strategies to reduce conflict and facilitate cooperative coparenting; and

6. Area resources, including but not limited to nonprofit organizations or religious entities available to address issues of substance abuse or other addictions, family violence, behavioral health, individual and couples counseling, and financial planning.

Program attendees shall be required to pay a fee of not less than Ten Dollars ($10.00) and not more than Sixty Dollars ($60.00) to the program provider to offset the costs of the program. The fee may be waived by the court if an attendee uses a qualified program that is provided free of charge. Nothing in this paragraph shall prohibit a third party from paying the fee to the program provider for an attendee. A certificate of completion shall be issued upon satisfying the attendance and fee requirements of the program, and the certificate of completion shall be filed with the court. The program provider shall carry general liability insurance and maintain an accurate accounting of all business transactions and funds received in relation to the program. The program shall be completed prior to the temporary order or within forty-five (45) days of receiving a temporary order. However, and in all events, a final disposition of child custody shall not be granted until the parties complete the program required by this subsection. The court may waive attendance of the program for good cause shown which shall include, but not be limited to, where domestic violence, stalking or harassment as defined by paragraph 2 of subsection I of Section 109 of this title occurred during the marriage.

C. Each judicial district may adopt its own local rules governing the programs.

D. The Administrative Office of the Courts may enter into a memorandum of understanding with a state entity or other organization in order to compile data including but not limited to the number of actions for divorce that were dismissed after participating in the program, the number of programs that were completed and the number of program participants for each fiscal year. The report shall include data collected from each judicial district. The report shall be published on the Administrative Office of the Courts website and distributed to the Governor, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, President Pro Tempore of the Senate and Minority Leader of the Senate.

Added by Laws 1996, c. 131, § 8, eff. Jan. 1, 1997. Amended by Laws 2014, c. 428, § 2, eff. Nov. 1, 2014; Laws 2015, c. 385, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 2015.