Interim Study Looks At OK Divorce Requirements
Okla. senator eyes divorce counseling requirement
By SEAN MURPHY, Associated Press
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A Republican state senator who wants to reduce Oklahoma’s high divorce rate said Tuesday he’s mulling a plan to require mandatory counseling before a couple can file for divorce in the state.
Sen. Rob Standridge, R-Norman, the vice chairman of the Health and Human Services Committee, held an interim study on the topic because the state continues to land near the top of U.S. rankings for its divorce rate, which costs states hundreds of millions of dollars each year in societal costs.
Although divorce rates nationwide have fallen steadily over the past two decades, Oklahoma’s rate — 5.2 per 1,000 residents — outpaced all but three other states in 2011, the latest data available, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics.
The Senate panel heard from several experts on marriage and divorce, including University of Minnesota professor William Doherty, who testified via video teleconference about a 2010 law in Minnesota that requires a four-hour class for all couples with minor children before a divorce is granted. The course, which can be taken face to face or online, is funded through a $5 surcharge on marriage licenses.