Sparing children the trauma of divorce could save Oregon taxpayers millions of dollars each year. A cost-effective program designed to educate parents about preventative measures they can take during divorce to protect their children could diminish the juvenile justice annual tax burden on Oregonians by $10 - 20 million dollars.

Children who endure high-conflict divorces and custody battles between their parents are two to three times more likely to manifest destructive behavioral issues later in life, such as drug abuse, educational under-achievement, teen pregnancy, suicide, juvenile delinquency and persona divorces as adults. In absolute terms, 20-25 percent of these at-risk children will exhibit these behaviors. Now, approximately 30-50 percent of divorce and custody battles qualify as "high-conflict". With about 14,809 children in Oregon feeling the effects of a fresh divorce each year in Oregon, anywhere between 4,500 and 7,500 kids are at an increased risk of this destructive -- and ultimately expensive -- misbehavior.

According to some estimates, Oregon spends over $120 million dollars per year on juvenile justice programs, $100 million of which is related to substance abuse. With approximately 11,000 juvenile offenders per year, Oregonians pay an average of $11,200 in taxes per offender. Multiply that figure by the 4,500-7,500 Oregonian children likely to engage in juvenile delinquency or drug abuse, and you've got a staggering figure of $10 - 20 million dollars that taxpayers will incur. Sparing just one child from the harmful effects of divorce could save the state as much as $11,000. Consider, too, that this figure only accounts for the costs of juvenile delinquency and drug abuse; it doesn't account for the adverse costs of harder-to-quantify behaviors like poor school performance and teen pregnancy, or the unquantifiable costs of suicide.

An educational booklet titled "Putting Children First During Family Conflicts" designed for divorcing parents who lack legal representation for themselves or their children could help parents mitigate these adverse consequences of divorce. This booklet contains proven-effective information and can be distributed for as little as a dollar per book. A targeted distribution program through schools and courthouses could get this information into the hands of every divorcing parent in Oregon and curtail the costly trauma of divorce on children before it begins.