
Michigan courts often require parents who are divorcing/separating or going through a custody case to take a parenting class. Children in Between Online is accepted throughout the state as an online parenting course option.
*To see the counties our course is accepted in, please see the list at the bottom of the page

The divorce/separation of one’s parents is a major event in the life of a child. Children in Between Online ensures that the accompanying stress is minimized, the long-term psychological burden is eased, and the whole process is made more understandable and manageable for the parents so that children will benefit.


No other class has validated and documented studies to show the positive results that Children in Between Online can produce. None of the other major advertised parenting classes do the research to prove the value of their class for the children.
CONVENIENT ONLINE COURSE
Watch to learn more!

Award Winning Class developed by noted psychologist, Donald A. Gordon, PhD
Take at home, not in a classroom
Complete the course 100% online
Accessible 24/7 on computers, smartphones, and tablets
Only 4 hours to complete
30 days access. Log in and out as needed.
What Parents are saying about
our class:
Counties in the State are listed below. If your county is listed in red, please contact the court to see if you can take this course online.
Keweenaw County
Lake County
Lapeer County
Leelanau County
Lenawee County
Livingston County
Luce County
Mackinac County
Macomb County
Manistee County
Marquette County
Mason County
Mecosta County
Menominee County
Midland County
Missaukee County
Monroe County
Montcalm County
Montmorency County
Muskegon County
Newaygo County
Oakland County
Oceana County
Ogemaw County
Ontonagon County
Osceola County
Oscoda County
Otsego County
Ottawa County
Presque Isle County
Roscommon County
Saginaw County
St. Clair County
St. Joseph County
Sanilac County
Schoolcraft County
Shiawassee County
Tuscola County
Van Buren County
Washtenaw County
Wayne County
Wexford County
Since 1991, The Center for Divorce Education has been dedicated to helping parents and children deal with the difficult process of divorce and separation. Over this period our parenting program has evolved based on continuing research in the field. Today tens of thousands of divorcing/separating parents make use of our highly effective interactive parenting class “Children in Between Online” for reducing the stress of divorce and separation.
Our interactive, skills-based approach has been recognized by experts among the top programs being offered today. Donald A. Gordon, Ph.D., the Executive Director of CDE, is also our program/curriculum developer. Dr. Gordon is a clinical psychologist with an expertise targeting the reduction and prevention of delinquency. During his forty plus years of working with families, Dr. Gordon has studied the effects that different strategies have on reducing conflict within a family, both with parents and children.
In the early 1980’s, Dr. Gordon and his colleagues at Ohio University noticed a common characteristic among the youth with whom they were working -- namely that many of them came from homes where their parents were divorced, divorcing, or never- married parents living apart. After doing some further investigation in the literature, Dr. Gordon and his colleagues confirmed that divorce is among the key risk factors for delinquency. From there, Dr. Gordon and his colleagues shifted their energy and research focus to try and identify specific strategies that could help reduce parental conflict. The goal became to change the behavior of parents who unknowingly place their children in the middle of their conflicts that create the most harmful of consequences, loyalty binds.
Based on his research in the early nineties, Dr. Gordon developed a parenting curriculum that could be standardized and offered by social service agencies, mental health agencies, and private counselors. This class “Children in Between” was purchased by hundreds of providers who, in turn, presented the curriculum to divorcing/separating parents in a classroom setting. While most parents today are taking our online parenting class, there are still more than a hundred agencies who present our material and video content in a live classroom setting.
Following the broad acceptance of our live class, Children in Between, (CIB) co- parenting program, in 2007, Dr. Gordon adapted the material into a highly interactive format that could be offered to parents everywhere via the Internet. Today, over two thousand parents monthly have access to this parenting class on their computers, smartphones, and tablets.
Since 1992, over four hundred fifty thousand parents in all fifty states have either taken our class online (100,000), or in person (approx. 350,000). The online version, Children in Between Online (CIBO), launched in 2008. Over three thousand parents each month are taking the class on their computers and smart phones in forty-five states. In a bid competition with dozens of other online classes, CIBO has been approved as the only accepted provider in some of the largest court systems in the country including: Clark County (Las Vegas) (initially), Cook County (Chicago, IL) Hamilton County (Cincinnati, OH) and Wayne County (Detroit). We are one of only two approved providers in Maricopa County (Phoenix, AZ) as well. Today, the course has been accepted in more than two hundred and fifty judicial districts.
The research evidence on Children in Between (CIB) resulted in the program's being listed on the National Registry of Evidence-Based Programs and Practices. The ratings of numerous controlled studies on CIB were above average in quality of the research and the findings. CIB is one of only two parenting classes listed on NREPP for co-parenting or divorce education.
CIB was also selected as a Model Program for SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration). This selection was based upon a review of all of the research for CIB, and the program's readiness for dissemination nationally. Only 52 programs were designated Model Programs, out of over 400 submissions.
Today, we continue to improve and revise the program based on feedback from parents, agencies, and courts. The class was completely re-filmed and revised as of late 2018 and won a Telly Award and W3 Award for content.
Although many parents do not want to complete a parenting class, 9 out of 10 parents who take our course say they would recommend it to other parents. Our class is online, it is easy to understand, and it can be taken on any internet-connected device. We are proud of the work that we have done so far and will continue to do our best to help parents and their children.
The Center for Divorce Education
877-874-1365
staff@divorce-education.com
© 2020 The Center for Divorce Education

CDE's Children in Between is a skills based program that helps children and parents deal with the children's reactions to divorce.
The program is based on research that identifies the most common and stressful loyalty conflicts experienced by children of divorce.