IAALS: Out-of-Court Model for Separating and Divorcing Families
Background on the out-of-court divorce model associated with the Denver project and broader family-justice reform work.
Family Law
Keeping Children's Needs Central to Legal Proceedings
Family-law-related interventions and scholarship focused on child-centered dispute resolution, parenting plans, overnight decision tools, and developmental practice inside and outside the adversarial system.
Dr. Kline Pruett is involved in the design and evaluation of dispute resolution services that help families resolve disputes amicably and in a child-centered manner, inside and outside of the adversarial system. She has been a key consultant in the development and evaluation of the Out-of-Court Divorce program in Denver, Colorado, and the Family Resolutions Specialty Court in Hampshire County, Massachusetts.
In collaborative ventures with colleagues, she designed a grid for decision-making about young children and overnights and a step-up template for increasing parenting time across the age spectrum. These tools are used extensively throughout North America and abroad, and she has written about their utility and purpose in articles and book chapters.
Key projects and tools
- Out-of-Court Divorce program, Denver, Colorado
- Family Resolutions Specialty Court, Hampshire County, Massachusetts
- Decision-making grid for young children and overnights
- Step-up templates for increasing parenting time across the age spectrum
- Austin, W.G., Fieldstone, L., & Pruett, M.K. (2013). Bench book for assessing parental gatekeeping in parenting disputes: Understanding the dynamics of gate closing and opening for the best interests of children. Journal of Child Custody, 10(1), 1-16.
Representative contributions
- Design and evaluation of dispute-resolution services intended to help families resolve disputes amicably and in a child-centered manner.
- Key consulting and evaluative work for the Out-of-Court Divorce program in Denver and the Family Resolutions Specialty Court in Hampshire County, Massachusetts.
- Decision-making tools for young children, overnights, and step-up templates for increasing parenting time across developmental stages.
- Scholarship on the utility and purpose of these tools in family law practice.
Recognition
Her model continuum of effective and cost-efficient coparenting services in the Connecticut courts, father involvement, and parenting plans for young children earned the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts Stanley Cohen Award for Distinguished Research.
Related projects
Mass.gov: Family Resolutions Specialty Court
Official Massachusetts overview of the Hampshire County Family Resolutions Specialty Court and its problem-solving family-court model.
Boston Bar Journal: Family Resolutions Specialty Court
Professional overview of the FRSC model, its court structure, and community-based approach to family conflict.
Selected publications and references
Evaluation of the University of Denver’s Center for Separating and Divorcing Families
Article connected to the Denver out-of-court divorce model and evaluation work.
Critical Aspects of Parenting Plans for Young Children
Family Court Review article on parenting plans for young children and the role of developmental evidence in overnight debates.
Parenting Plans following Separation/Divorce: Developmental Considerations
A concise developmental overview of parenting plans following separation and divorce.
AFCC Stanley Cohen Award page
Association of Family and Conciliation Courts recognition tied to this body of work.