A state Senate committee is studying the impact of divorce on children in Oklahoma and how best to reduce the rate.
Senate Health and Human Services Committee Vice Chairman Sen. Rob Standridge says he requested the interim study because the state continues to land near the top of state rankings for rates of divorce. He says recent data shows that states spend hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars each year to deal with the impact of divorce.
Standridge already is sponsoring a bill that would require parents with children to take a co-parenting class before a divorce. He says he may expand that to include some kind of education component aimed at helping couples reconcile before they can file for divorce.