General Family Law Resources
The Florida Bar Family Law Section provides helpful information for individuals involved in family law litigation.
The Florida Department of Revenue provides child support services, collecting, disbursing, and enforcing child support payments throughout Florida.
The Florida Department of Children and Families advocates for the welfare and best interests of children. They have several programs for the benefit of Florida families, and offer a connection to local resources.
The state of Florida provides Family Law Forms for pro-se individuals (see also below). The Florida Courts also provide a concise location for the Family Law Rules and Opinions.
The Pinellas County Clerk of Court has a Self-Help Center. This collaborative center offers affordable legal services to the citizens of Pinellas County.
Community Action Stops Abuse provides support, shelter, and other assistance to survivors of domestic violence and abuse in St. Petersburg.
Adverse Childhood Experiences General Information
There are 10 types of childhood trauma measured in the CDC-Kaiser Permanente Adverse Childhood Experiences Study, one of which is relates to the separation or divorce of parents. More than 2/3s of Americans have an ACES score of at least one.
Dr. Nadine Burke Harris: "How childhood trauma affects health across a lifetime"
"Childhood trauma isn’t something you just get over as you grow up. Pediatrician Nadine Burke Harris explains that the repeated stress of abuse, neglect and parents struggling with mental health or substance abuse issues has real, tangible effects on the development of the brain. This unfolds across a lifetime, to the point where those who’ve experienced high levels of trauma are at triple the risk for heart disease and lung cancer. An impassioned plea for pediatric medicine to confront the prevention and treatment of trauma, head-on."
Watch this Ted Talk from Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, to introduce your family to ACES.
Read more from the CDC and check out CDC Resources
Aces Too High is a thorough source that reports on research about positive and adverse childhood experiences, including development in various consequences of toxic stress, and how people and communities are implementing practices and policies based on the research.
Their affiliate, PACEs Connection and their resources empower communities and individuals to build resilience and combat the negative impact of potential ACEs.
Florida Courts Family Law Resources & Forms
