Parenting Program

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Co-Parenting Skills Enhancement Program (P.E.A.C.E.)

Welcome to the P.E.A.C.E Program of the Montgomery County Circuit Court.

Location: Room 220

Phone: (240)777-9065

The Family Division of Montgomery County Circuit Court is committed to helping families of separation and divorce develop positive, working relationships for the benefit of their children. Therefore, in order to help separating, and divorcing parents appropriately proceed through the process, the Court has developed an in-house co-parenting skills enhancement program. This program is modeled after the P.E.A.C.E. program of New York. With their permission the Court has modified the program to meet the needs of our County residents.

THE P.E.A.C.E. PROGRAM OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY

P.E.A.C.E. (Parent Education And Custody Effectiveness) is an educational program for divorcing and separating parents. It informs parents about the emotional, economic, and educational problems their children may experience as a result of divorce and separation and how prolonged parental conflict can increase their anxiety. It encourages parents to assume responsibility for creating a post divorce/separation environment in which their children are their first priority.

The parent class provides information about three topics: (1) the court process involved in custody and visitation in Montgomery County, Maryland. (2) the effects of divorce and separation on adults, and (3) the effects of divorce and separation on children and, specifically, how parents can help children cope with this difficult transition in their lives.

Being a parent while trying to establish a new way of life is a task for which few adults are prepared. Participation in P.E.A.C.E. helps divorcing, separating or unmarried parents create an effective co-parenting relationship for their children including:

Providing parents with helpful information about the court system their own and their children’s responses to divorce/separation, and how to alleviate resulting problems with the help of community resources.
A Guide to parents to develop skills to promote the healthy adjustment of children.
Reminding them that their children’s needs are primary.
Encouraging them to develop a workable post divorce or separation parenting plan rather than having the court impose one on them.
Noting the impact that divorce has on children of different ages.
Teaching ways of communicating with greater skill.
Successful methods of solving problems and conflicts.

Who is eligible: Anyone who is ordered by the Circuit Court for Montgomery County to attend co-parenting skills enhancement sessions for divorcing and separating parents. Montgomery County residents who have been ordered by another Circuit Court to attend parenting classes.

Where it is being held: Judicial Center, 50 Maryland Avenue, Rockville, MD, in the Grand Jury Room on the Fourth Floor.