Parental separation and divorce are painful experiences for your children and will create many changes in their lives. Your children will likely experience feelings such as guilt, anger, embarrassment, disbelief, fear and grief. Your children will have many divorce-related questions:

• "Why are you getting a divorce?"
• "Will I ever see Dad (or Mom) again?"
• "Is this my fault?"
• "What will happen to us?"
• "What should I tell my friends?"

Your children will need answers to these and many other questions. Separation and divorce require you to adapt to rapid change, and there are a number of things you can do to make the inevitable disruption easier for your children. When you and your spouse are able to work cooperatively to meet the needs of your children, you decrease the likelihood of returning to court to resolve your differences. For this reason, an educational program to support you and your children has been established in Jefferson County, as well as in other Kentucky counties.

The Jefferson County Family Court features an innovative program known as "Families in Transition", which is a mandatory divorce education program for all divorcing adults and their minor children between ages 5-18.

FIT classes are currently offered in the following counties:  Anderson, Barren, Boone, Boyd, Bracken, Bullitt, Campbell, Carter, Clay, Clinton, Cumberland, Elliott, Estill, Fleming, Franklin, Gallatin, Green, Harrison, Hart, Henderson, Henry, Jefferson, LaRue, Lee, Lewis, Lincoln, Marion, Mason, Metcalfe, Monroe, Morgan, McCracken, Nelson, Nicholas, Oldham, Owsley, Pendleton, Perry, Pike, Pulaski, Robertson, Rockcastle, Shelby, Spencer, Taylor, Trimble, Warren and Washington.

Other Kentucky counties also have "Divorce Education" programs which are known by a variety of names such as Parents Education Clinic, Divorced and Divorcing Parents, Cooperative Parenting and Divorce and Parents Achieving with Collaborative Teams ("PACT").

The Jefferson Family Courts hope to assist you and your children in coping more effectively with problems that result from divorce by requiring you to complete the Families in Transition Program ("FIT"). If your case is filed in Jefferson County Family Court, you and your children aged 5 to 18 must complete the entire 6-hour program.

The program is designed for both spouses and their children to help them cope more effectively with problems that result from divorce.

Outside of Jefferson County, other Kentucky courts may require you, your spouse and your children to attend divorce education classes.

You are required to preregister for classes and the contact information is listed along with class schedules in a standard Order entered in every new divorce case. The fee for the Families in Transition Program in Jefferson County is $100 per family ($50.00 per parent). Stipends to reduce this cost may be available with verification of income.

Click here for the current Jefferson Family Courts FIT class schedule

Each parent will each be personally responsible for calling the site of your choice and scheduling your attendance within 30 days of the filing or service date of the divorce petition.

In Jefferson County, you can call (502) 595-3618 for additional information. If you are outside Jefferson County, your attorney can provide you with the contact phone number.

Return to our main Custody & Visitation page to learn more about child custody, visitation and parenting schedules