Following divorce, mothers must find support for their parenting efforts. This study investigates confidant support from friends, family, and intimate partners, along with maternal distress, as predictors of effective parenting practices for divorced women. In a multimethod study of 138 mothers and their support confidants, we employed a measure of observed support that was proximal to the parenting outcome; confidant support included emotional support, advice/guidance, and supportive behaviors scored from problem solving discussions of the mother’s personal and parenting problems. Our main hypothesis was supported: controlling for maternal distress and confidant negativity, observed confidant support predicted higher levels of effective parenting practices. As expected, maternal distress had a direct effect on parenting adjustment, while confidant negativity had an indirect association with parenting by predicting lower levels of observed support. Overall, 38% of the variance in parenting practices and 21% of the variance in observed support was explained in a multimethod SEM model specified with minimal overlap.