Child-focused programme for divorce cases to be made permanent
TODAY file photo
SINGAPORE — During a consultation with a youth whose parents were undergoing a divorce, court counsellor Sylvia Tan learned that the boy had witnessed violence at home and was therefore reluctant to spend time with his father. “There was a lot of anger from the child, who felt abandoned,” she recounted.
The father, on the other hand, believed that his son had been “brainwashed” by his mother. After talking to the child, the counsellor found that it was not so much about the negative things the mother had said, but the child’s own perception of what had happened between his parents.
The father later apologised to his family, and both he and the son were recommended for further counselling.
Ms Tan, an assistant director of counselling and psychological services at the Family Justice Courts, is one of two court counsellors involved in the Family Justice Courts’ Child Inclusive Dispute Resolution pilot programme, which started last year.
The courts have decided to make the scheme permanent after seeing a 75 per cent success rate, with 15 cases reaching consensual resolutions.
Announcing this at the Family Justice Courts Workplan on Wednesday, Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon said the welfare of children remains a “paramount consideration” for the courts.
He gave details on how they are taking further steps to reduce the acrimony of divorce proceedings on the back of rising divorce rates, even as another 10 counsellors are now undergoing training to become child consultants.
Taking mediation and counselling services further, counsellors will first consult the child to understand his or her experience and perspectives of the conflict between the parents, followed by a therapeutic feedback conversation with the parents.
He said: “The intention is to re-align co-parenting efforts by drawing the focus of the parents to the experiences of and consequences upon their children.
“Our hope is that in this way, we might be more successful in effecting behavioural change, than if we were to rely on just a negotiated agreement or an imposed order.”
In the next half of the year, the Family Justice Courts will start a six-month pilot programme, with 24 lawyers acting as court-appointed parenting coordinators. They will work with parents to iron out post-divorce transition issues.
“With high-conflict parenting situations, disagreements frequently arise over how access is to be carried out by the parent who does not have care and control of the child,” Chief Justice Menon said.
Knotty issues may include agreeing on the location to meet the child, and when to hand over the child to the parent who is the caregiver.
The courts will work with relevant ministries to design the payable scheme, which is also available in Hong Kong and the United States. The second phase of the pilot will involve social science and mental-health professionals coming on board.
In February, Minister for Social and Family Development Tan Chuan-Jin announced in Parliament that his ministry was working with the courts to appoint maintenance record officers (MROs). This initiative will be introduced in the second half of the year.
The Chief Justice said: “Where a respondent raises an inability to pay (maintenance), the MROs will be asked to investigate the respondent’s, or for that matter, both parents’ financial circumstances and submit the findings to the judge.”
