Courts Offer Parenting Classes for Parents Involved in a Divorce

nstructor Linda Arrossa wrote the schedule for the night on a whiteboard as participants arrived and filled out forms. She has been teaching classes for nearly 20 years.

Parents are ordered by judges to attend a series of three parenting classes — for a total of nine hours — if they’re involved with certain civil court cases, such as divorce or child custody issues.

“The reason I (teach) is that it’s one of the most difficult processes to go through,” Arrossa said.

The Fifth Judicial District — which covers south-central Idaho’s eight counties — hosts parenting classes in Twin Falls, Minidoka, Jerome and Blaine counties.

Anita Jones, family court services coordinator for the Fifth Judicial District, said participants are sometimes resistive to the classes at first.

But by the end of the three-class series, Jones said participants usually write on evaluation forms that the information was useful.

Read More: Magic Valley