Couples going through separation and divorce will now have access to a new pilot program aimed at making the transition easier and less expensive.
The three-year pilot project is already in place in Saskatoon and Prince Albert.
It will be expanded to Regina and Moose Jaw in April of 2015 and become province wide a year later.
The program’s director Robbie Behr says in addition to providing couples with information and guidance on things like child custody and parenting plans, the program is designed to lessen the impact of divorce on families and in particular children.
“If we can ease the stress then the negative effects on the family and children are shortened so they can heal faster,” he says.
The program is being funded by a $1.3 million dollar grant from the Law Foundation of Saskatchewan.
The foundation’s executive director Bob Watt is optimistic the program will become a permanent fixture after its three-year trial run.
“Part of the program will be an evaluation of the program which will be undertaken by the government itself and we are certainly hopeful that longer term it will be a program that will be sustained by government,” he says.
The program is called “Family Matters” and it is the first of its kind in Canada.