Helping kids face divorce

By David Kassis
The Collegian

A marital divorce can be a difficult and painful experience for any child to go through, but a campus program in its fourth year is aimed at helping families cope with the ordeal.

Kids’ Turn of Fresno County is a non-profit program that is offered by the Child, Family and Consumer Sciences Department at Fresno State. With almost one out of every two American marriages ending in divorce, and one million children affected each year by the problems between parents, the program is here for children of Fresno County as a place to deal with the stresses of having their parents separated.

Program director Gary Malone, a faculty member within the department, feels the divorce workshops help children identify and express their feelings to their parents. “Frankly, they [kids] don’t express to their parents about what is really happening,” Malone said. Some methods the program uses to help children express their emotions are the use of art therapy or puppetry.

Kids’ Turn began more than 12 years ago when San Francisco Family Law Judge Ina Levin Gyemant recognized the absence of support for children during the divorce process. “He [Gyemant] felt that kids were not getting their needs met,” Malone said. “Child therapists and educators came together to help put this program together.”

Through a grant from the Children and Families Commission of Fresno County, the Child, Family and Consumer Sciences department at Fresno State became affiliated with Kids’ Turn. “Five or six years ago, Dr. Richard Berrett received a grant to bring this program to Fresno,” Malone said. Berrett is the founder and executive director of the program in Fresno. “The Superior Court just gave us a grant to expand the program from twice to four times a year.”

The main goals of Kids’ Turn are to discuss family changes, go over the basic concepts about the legal process of divorce and custody, and problem-solve methods for dealing with the stress. Separately, parents are taught how to help their children cope, and also develop better parenting skills.

Although Malone says that some parents are skeptical about the Kids’ Turn program at first, many of them finish the session wishing for more. “It [Kids’ Turn] offers really good evaluations,” Malone said.

“The court came to us for the good of children in Fresno.”

Each workshop is made up of 30 parents and 30 kids, with much of the help for the program coming from Fresno State students. Some of those involved include graduate students from the marriage and family therapy program, along with child development, psychology, social work, and liberal arts majors.

“Around 13 to 15 students get involved with the experience to help the kids and volunteer their time,” Malone said. “This program is very child-focused.” Mental health professionals are also on hand to help.

The 90-minute divorce workshops, which are aimed at children aged four through 17 and their parents, are offered on a quarterly basis. Classes start in February, April, July and October, and running over six consecutive Saturday mornings. More information about the program can be found at www.kidsturn.org

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