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This article describes a court‐community model program for high conflict divorced families that is designed to reduce the level of inter‐parental conflict including: a) child exposure to inter‐parental conflict; and b) the frequency of re‐litigation over residential arrangements and parenting plans. The six‐session (16‐hour) program combines conflict resolution and group/community support. The program provides a “Personal Support Team” and “Personal Plan of Action” to help each parent control emotions and maintain agreement. The results of research conducted to explore the effect of the program on level of triangulation and inter‐parental conflict, as well as the frequency of re‐litigation over parenting plans, residential arrangements, and parenting time are reported.

The article focuses on a quantitative evaluation of Families In Transition (FIT), a court-mandated divorce education program. ln this evaluation, the operationalization of the impact of FIT on its participants is guided by a social psychology theory. Findings indicate that parents view FiT as a valuable experience, and they gain in their attitude toward and likelihood to engage in child-centered divorce adjustment behaviors from pre-to post-FIT. Factors are highlighted, such as counseling and confiict status of the parents that affect the degree of influence of FIT. Implications for evaluations of these programs and for the structure of these programs are discussed.A growing practice among judicial and mental health professionals is teaching parents and children about the effects of divorce and providing needed support and assistance to prevent posible psychological and behavioral problems in children. Although court systems around the country are establishing policy, there is insufficient information that documents the effectiveness of these programs.The purpose of this article is to report on research on the effectiveness of the Families In Transition (FIT) program using a modified version of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) (Ajzen & Madden, 1986; Madden, Ellen, & Ajzen, 1992). The program evaluation sought to determine the impact of FIT on (a) parents' attitudes toward the program, (b) parents' favorable ratings of child-centered divorce adjustment behaviors, and (c) parents' likelihood of being able to enact these child-centered divorce adjustment behaviors. This research also included an exploratory analysis of factors that may mediate the predicted impact of the FIT program. FIT PROGRAM: BACKGROUND AND PROGRAM DESCRIPTIONFIT is a divorce adjustment program for parents and their children and is designed to help them cope more effectively with problems that result from divorce. FIT has been cited as one of the three most comprehensive divorce education programs in the country (DiBias, 1996) and is currently operating in nine family courts in Kentucky, twenty-four metropolitan areas, Authors' Note: The authors wouid like to thank the Administrution OBce of the Courts, Jefferson County Family Court, and thr staff of Families In Transition for their suppori and ussistunce in evaluating this program. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Pamela A. Yankeelov, Kent School ofSocial Work, Wiiiversity of Louisville,