Healthier homes, one relationship at a time.
Free relational health education for families in high-conflict divorce and custody cases. Built on the evidence, for the parents who can least afford it.
of U.S. adults grew up through parental separation or divorce.
CDC, 2023Adults with six or more adverse childhood experiences died 18.5 years earlier on average (60.6 vs 79.1) in one large study.
Brown et al., 2009Children who do well despite serious hardship have had at least one stable, committed relationship with a supportive adult.
Harvard, 201501 · How we can help
Ready to help make it real.
38 ways we can help, from the website and the course to grants, outreach and proof. Tap for one idea at a time, or see them all.
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02 · The gap
The classes families are told to take cost money they don't have.
In custody cases, parents are often ordered, or strongly encouraged, to complete parenting or co-parenting classes. Florida requires one in every divorce with minor children. Many California courts can order them too.
Those classes are usually paid out of pocket, and fee waivers vary from county to county. The parents under the most strain, and the children caught in the middle, are the least likely to get the help. Steadier Homes would offer it free.
It matters because childhood adversity adds up. Abuse, neglect, a parent's addiction or incarceration, witnessing violence between parents and parental separation all count as adverse childhood experiences. Without a steady relationship to buffer it, that stress becomes toxic stress, which can disrupt a developing brain. Pediatricians call the protection relational health: safe, stable, nurturing relationships.
03 · Draft modules
What families would learn.
First audience: parents in high-conflict divorce and custody cases. Other families who need it come next.
Talking without escalating
Communication skills for co-parents who can barely be in the same room.
Co-parenting through conflict
Keeping children out of the middle, and out of the fight.
How stress shapes a child
Adverse childhood experiences, toxic stress and what protects against them, in plain language.
One steady adult
Building the stable relationship that research ties to resilience.
Proof of completion
A certificate of completion, working toward acceptance by family courts.
Where there is abuse, the goal is safety, not contact.
04 · The aim
You may not make the family perfect again. But you can save some of the pieces, and build a more stable home for the kids.
A steadier home means less stress for the children living in it, and the research ties that stress to their health decades later.
05 · One possible path
From an idea to the first family.
Form the nonprofit
Name, board and 501(c)(3) status.
Build the course
From the founder's own research library, or by adapting a tested program such as New Beginnings.
Pilot with one family court
Start small and measure what changes for parents and children.
Earn acceptance and funding
Court acceptance, grants such as federal Access and Visitation funds, then more courts and more families.
06 · Evidence library
The research this work builds on.
Why it matters
The ACE Study (Felitti et al., 1998)
Of more than 9,500 adults, those with four or more adverse childhood experiences had 4 to 12 times the risk of alcoholism, drug abuse, depression and suicide attempts.
ACEs and premature death (Brown et al., 2009)
People with six or more ACEs died at 60.6 on average, compared with 79.1 for people with none. The study shows association, not proof of cause.
How common ACEs are (2023 report)
63.9% of U.S. adults reported at least one ACE and 28.4% grew up through parental separation or divorce, from 2011 to 2020 survey data.
What protects children
Preventing toxic stress by promoting relational health (2021)
Policy statement: safe, stable, nurturing relationships buffer childhood adversity and should guide prevention.
Toxic stress and serve and return
Prolonged stress without supportive relationships disrupts brain development. Back-and-forth interaction with a caring adult builds it.
Working Paper 13: the foundations of resilience (2015)
Children who do well despite serious hardship have had at least one stable and committed relationship with a supportive adult.
What works for divorcing families
New Beginnings Program
A 10-session program for divorcing parents, tested in three randomized trials and followed for 15 years.
Court-affiliated divorce education (Fackrell et al., 2011)
A meta-analysis of 19 studies found a positive effect for court-affiliated parent education programs (d = .39).
Child-Parent Psychotherapy
A relationship-based treatment for young children exposed to trauma, tested in randomized trials including preschoolers exposed to violence between parents.
Sources are linked for reference only. Citation does not imply any affiliation with or endorsement by the institutions named.
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