Professor Bill Doherty, Department of Family Social Science, is championing a legislative bill that would provide better counseling support to couples considering divorce. Minnesota Public Radio interviewed Doherty about his support for the Couples on the Brink bill.
The bill would add a $5 tax to marriage licenses in Minnesota, and use the money to provide better training to marriage counselors and clergy who assist couples, especially those wavering between divorce and reconciliation.
Doherty’s research, which surveyed over 2,400 divorcing parents in 2008 and 2009, is cited, showing that in about one third of the cases, one party was unsure about proceeding with the divorce.