By Jake Hornstein & Greg Hill, Our Children Have Rights (OCHR)
How Can Parenting Plans Advance Your Career?
Whether you dream of starting a professional career, or seek to advance one, this educational article is intended to empower a co-parent to take the first step.
Clarity & Stability: A parenting plan outlines co-parent responsibilities on specific dates and times, making it feasible to pursue career goals.
Facilitates Professional Commitments: With a predictable co-parent arrangement, you can confidently commit to an educational program, workforce training, or certificate program knowing that childcare responsibilities are addressed.
Minimizes Conflict & Stress: A parenting plan is signed by a judge, making it court-order. This creates accountability. Accountability reduces conflicts. In other words, if you don’t follow the court order, you’re essentially ignoring the judge.
Realistic Schedule: A well-developed plan that considers work schedules helps safeguard co-parents from potential disputes. Unrealistic expectations can lead to legal issues, which can be time-consuming, costly and derail career development.
Key Factor for a Career-Focused Plan: Clearly outline childcare and contingency plans, especially if you have a demanding job with long hours or travel.
This concept of pairing Parenting Plan Education with Career Development has become a focal point of our program. We took it a step further and formed partnerships with local workforce programs, most notably, the AMSKILLS 2-week Career Discovery Bootcamp (manufacturing) and Evara Health Institute (healthcare education). Unmarried parents are not required to go through a divorce process; therefore, they don’t always learn about parenting plans. Sharing information on local programs provides an extra incentive for unwed co-parents to prioritize a parenting plan, creating career opportunities.
On Aug. 5, we hosted a Co-Parenting Workshop with the Juvenile Welfare Board. “Parenting Plans & Career Development” was a featured topic. We included guest speakers from AMSKILLS and Evara Health Institute. On Aug. 29, 24 days later, a single mother, Erica Gray, who attended our workshop, graduated from the AMSKILLS program. Equipped with five “Snap-On Tools” Credentials and a Florida Ready For Work certification, she secured eight interviews with manufacturing employers who rely on AMSKILLS to meet immediate workforce needs. We attended the graduation ceremony. It was one of the more gratifying experiences for our program since inception. Congratulations, Erica!
OCHR is a 501c3 nonprofit that assists parents with child custody and co-parenting, at no cost to the family. Contact Jake & Greg at info@ourchildrenhaverights.com. Learn more or donate at www.ochr.org.