Category: NPO in the media

Just as it seemed the economy was finally emerging from the grip of the great recession and salaries were rising across the board, along comes the Global Gender Gap Report from the Word Economic Forum showing that the pay gap between men and women has actually widened in the last year and, if current trends continue, it will take 170 years to reach wage parity. But one key to closing that gap is not necessarily in the office.

Begun in 2006, the WEF report studies 144 countries world wide on differences in education, economics, health, and political empowerment. Iceland, Finland, Norway and Sweden showed the smallest gap.” Despite its network of legal support and advocacy, the US came in at number 45 in wage parity – that’s down from number 28 in 2015. Rwanda fared better. Yemen was last.

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In recent years, shared parenting has become the talk-of-the-town in the United States. The reason? Family experts and some legislators strongly advocated that an egalitarian approach to parenting is the most ideal concept for families who are in the middle of divorce or separation.

Not only does it promotes equal sharing of parental duties and responsibilities, shared parenting is also considered the best approach and the commonsense solution as it prioritizes the well-being and best interests of both the parents and the children. Despite some skepticisms, shared parenting has become the recent trend in the United States, wherein several states including Missouri, Nevada, South Dakota, Utah, Minnesota and Arizona have passed their own version of this somewhat controversial child custody concept, with more than 20 U.S. states having the same proposals.

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Grown children leaving home is a normal human transition and one to which most parents eventually adjust.

But what happens when children are removed from their parents’ homes too soon, before either parent or child is ready – when the child is 7 instead of 17? This is the sad reality for many parents following a divorce.

Children also suffer when they’re prevented from seeing one of their parents frequently. Federal statistics show that children raised by single parents are significantly more likely to drop out of school, wind up in prison, abuse alcohol and drugs, develop psychological problems or commit suicide.

Shared parenting – a flexible arrangement in which children spend as close to equal time as possible with each parent after a divorce, if both parents are fit – decreases parental conflict and domestic violence while increasing child support payments, as well as voluntary payments for college.

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When a couple with children divorces or separates, the ensuing custody battle often affects more than just the immediate family. Extended family can be impacted as well – especially grandparents, who typically long to spend as much time with their grandchildren as possible.

Marian McQuade was a housewife from West Virginia who was concerned for the lonely elderly. Marian’s vision was for grandchildren to benefit from the wisdom and heritage of their grandparents, and for grandparents to have meaningful and fulfilling relationships with their grandchildren. She served on the West Virginia Commission on Aging and the Nursing Home Licensing Board, and she also founded National Grandparents Day in 1978.

Today, Marian’s vision of meaningful and fulfilling intergenrational relationships faces a sad impediment. We at National Parents Organization of Virginia support Marian’s vision and are working to help realize it the way she intended.

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When an unmarried couple with children breaks up, it is often a matter of packing boxes, divvying up property, and maybe getting an order for child support from a local court.

Unlike a divorcing couple, their split is not typically guided by legal standards that dictate how much money they owe each other, or how much time they get to spend with their kids once they separate. And, particularly for unmarried fathers, that lack of legal oversight can mean a long fight for custody of their children.

States are starting to more closely examine custody arrangements for children born out of marriage, which have traditionally favored mothers, either by law or default, to give fathers a greater role in raising their children. Studies indicate that consistent paternal involvement can result in more child-support payments, and better mental health and academic results for the children.

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When an unmarried couple with children breaks up, it is often a matter of packing boxes, divvying up property, and maybe getting an order for child support from a local court.

Unlike a divorcing couple, their split is not typically guided by legal standards that dictate how much money they owe each other, or how much time they get to spend with their kids once they separate. And, particularly for unmarried fathers, that lack of legal oversight can mean a long fight for custody of their children.

States are starting to more closely examine custody arrangements for children born out of marriage, which have traditionally favored mothers, either by law or default, to give fathers a greater role in raising their children. Studies indicate that consistent paternal involvement can result in more child-support payments, and better mental health and academic results for the children.

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Nevada has moved from being among the worst states for shared parenting laws to being in the top third. Shared parenting is a flexible arrangement where children spend as close to equal time with each parent as possible after divorce or separation if both parents are fit. It has been shown to be highly beneficial to most children. The changes in the Nevada custody law were brought about by Nevada’s Parental Rights Protection Act of 2015.

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When an unmarried couple with children breaks up, it is often a matter of packing boxes, divvying up property, and maybe getting an order for child support from a local court. 

Unlike a divorcing couple, their split is not typically guided by legal standards that dictate how much money they owe each other, or how much time they get to spend with their kids once they separate. And, particularly for unmarried fathers, that lack of legal oversight can mean a long fight for custody of their children.

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Successful divorces are not an oxymoron. Studies show they are a likely outcome when the best interests of children are the main priority for all concerned. Missouri legislators should take a bow for passing a new law that helps ensure more successful divorces by giving fathers more consideration in divorce custody decisions.

More doesn’t mean more than the mother; it simply means equal to her when it comes time for a judge to decide physical custody.

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Faune Riggin of the KZIM KSIM Morning Meeting, based in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, intervewed Linda Reutzel, National Parents Organization of Missouri member, about the passage of HB 1550, Missouri’s shared parenting bill, which took effect Aug. 28.

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