Oklahoma § 43-107.2 - Actions where minor child involved - Court-ordered

§ 43-107.2. Actions where minor child involved - Court-ordered

educational program.

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 43. Marriage and Family

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

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 43. Marriage and Family

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.