Co‐Parent Court: A Problem‐Solving Court Model for Supporting Unmarried Parents

Co-Parent Court is an innovative problem solving court in Hennepin County, Minnesota, which seeks to better meet the needs of unmarried co-parents who are establishing paternity. A 3 year, mixed method quasi-experimental design evaluation study was conducted on the outcomes of participation in Co-Parent Court with data collected at pre, post and follow-up. Outcomes examined for this article included child support payments and measures assessing attitudes about the importance of the role of fathers in a child's life. Findings included that child-support payments across groups was connected to a father's ability to pay at pre-survey and that a majority of both fathers and mothers reported that a father's involvement in the lives of his children went beyond an ability to pay child support.