Spare the Child

Thanks to a generous grant from the Virginia Law Foundation, the Virginia State Bar’s Family Law Section Board of Governors has produced an important video project to help families spare their children from the trauma of divorce.  Virginia has approximately 30,000 divorces yearly.  Giving parents a compass for navigating family dissolution, Spare the Child guides parents and families through the difficult and often overwhelming task of restructuring a family. The documentary-style, conversational video uses everyday language and gives examples from experienced interviewees. The video is used by individuals, educators, churches, and community groups for use in education, parenting programs, and law school curricula.  Its running time is nineteen minutes, is closed captioned, and is available in both English and Spanish.    

The 2010 edition of Spare the Child was filmed and produced by the Park Group of Richmond, and is now available to watch on the following pages:


Individual DVDs are also available from the State Bar, and have been assembled and are ready for mailing upon request.  The DVD will be promoted nationally through the National Association of Bar Executives and the American Bar Association, and will be submitted for several national competitions.

Most importantly, the DVD has already been distributed to courts throughout Virginia for use in mandatory litigant-education and parent-education programs required by law under Section 16.1-278.15 of the Code of Virginia, which requires parents and/or all other parties involved in a contested custody, visitation, or child support petition to attend a parent education class. DVDs are available to the public for a shipping fee.

Spare the Child is a tool to help lawyers, counselors, judges, pastors, teachers and parents understand that the effects of divorce last a lifetime, not just for the marriage partners, but for their children most of all. View it today at http://www.vsb.org/site/sections/family/view/spare-the-child/ to get a better grasp of what part you can play toward family restoration.