Missouri members of the Massachusetts-based National Parents Organization say an appeals court ruling last month ignored a 2016 law that reformed family court operations.
That law, included in House Bill 1550, was signed by then-Gov. Jay Nixon and took effect Aug. 28, 2016.
Among its provisions, the new law encourages courts to “maximize to the highest degree the amount of time the child may spend with each parent.”
But the ruling by a three-judge Western District panel upheld “the lower court decision to limit a fit, loving and involved father’s parenting time to one night a week and every other weekend (and) made no mention of” the new law, the NPO said in a news release.
“As a Missouri mother, grandmother and someone who worked tirelessly last year on behalf of our children to make this law a reality, I urge all state lawmakers and citizens to join me in condemning the disregard for the law,” Linda Reutzel, chair of the national group’s Missouri chapter, said.