Children Come First: A Process Evaluation of the Nassau County Model Custody

This report presents a process evaluation of the Children Come First (CCF) Program, a problem solving matrimonial court piloted in Nassau County, New York. The program seeks to provide a more effective and child-centered response to high conflict divorce cases involving custody issues. Research suggests that traditional adversarial methods for resolving these cases may increase stress and vulnerability for parents and children alike, and may have negative effects on children’s educational outcomes and emotional and behavioral functioning (Ayoub, Deutsch and Maraganore 1999). CCF attempts to alleviate these problems by separating and resolving the custody components of the divorce prior to addressing the financial issues. By dedicating a specially trained judge and two specialized staff to implement early screening, triage, conflict resolution, and service linkages, CCF aims to reduce animosity, maintain the well-being of children and parents, and move cases to resolution within a faster, child-focused timeframe. Findings from this evaluation indicate that CCF has been successful in meeting these goals and has mitigated conflict between litigants, expedited custody resolutions and led to satisfactory outcomes for litigants, attorneys and stakeholders

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