The Australian government has just committed to spending $17 million on programs to help traumatized children from divorced families, and it's about time.

This new initiative is part of a divorce related spending spree, and the government has agreed to spend nearly $40 million over the next four years. Money will go to programs for the children themselves, as well as programs to teach divorced spouses how to parent after the split.

I'm cautiously optimistic about this. The commitment to spend this kind of money is clearly an indication that the government of Australia is concerned about the welfare of the children involved.

On the other hand, while that's a lot of money, there are a lot of children being affected, and one wonders how far the money's going to go. A parenting class here and there certainly won't hurt, but I hope the money won't be spent for nothing.

The good news is that Australia has had the biggest single year drop in divorce rates this year, down six percent from 2007. Marriages are also on the rise, spurring some commentators to say that the country is experiencing a "marriage renaissance".

Hopefully, between an influx of funding to help children of the divorced and the rates of separation on the way down, the money will end up helping the kids who need it most.