The Collaborative Professionals Group of Louisiana has been in
existence for almost three years now. In addition to the original
group formed in 2002 here in Central Louisiana, there are now
Chapters in Lafayette, Monroe, Hammond/Covington, and the
Greater New Orleans area, with over 200 members statewide.

CPG is not promoting divorce. However, divorce is an unfortu-
nate fact of life in our society. CPG is here to offer a better way
to obtain a divorce, without going to court, without fighting, and
with the best interest of the children as the main goal.

The Collaborative Professionals Group is made up of specially
trained mental health "divorce coaches", attorneys, financial
specialists, and child specialists, all of whom make up the
divorce "team" which helps to structure the transition of the
family. A generous grant from the Rapides Foundation enabled
these professionals to undergo extensive training as well as pro-
vide for public education about this process.

As many of you know, recently retired Judge Ross Foote was
instrumental in bringing this team concept to Louisiana. In fact,
his reason for leaving the bench was to pursue and promote the
Collaborative Practice process. Through his efforts and those of
many key individuals around the state. Louisiana has, for once,
become the cutting-edge leader in an extremely advanced
and important world-wide movement. The IACP (International)
Academy of Collaborative Professionals) is looking to our state to
lead the way in changing the culture of divorce (with all of the
pain, resentment, and, especially, damage to the children) by
virtually removing it from the family court system.