Category: NPO in the media

National Parents Organization is pleased to announce that its Founder and Board Chair, Dr. Ned Holstein, has been selected to speak at the International Conference on Shared Parenting 2015 in Bonn, Germany, Dec. 9-11.

The second annual conference, hosted by the International Council on Shared Parenting (ICSP), will feature research scientists and experts from the family professions and civil society throughout the world. The experts will gather at the Gustav-Stresemann-Institut (GSI) in Bonn to present their research and discuss best practices for legislative and psycho-social implementation of shared parenting as a viable and beneficial solution for children whose parents are living apart.

Dr. Holstein, who serves on the Board of Directors of the ICSP, will present at 12 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 11, during a session titled, “Implementation of Shared Parenting in Different Legal Systems.” During his presentation, Dr. Holstein will share data on whether shared parenting undermines the legal concept of “best interest of the child,” as is often claimed by its opponents.

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National Parents Organization is pleased to announce that its Founder and Board Chair, Dr. Ned Holstein, has been selected to speak at the International Conference on Shared Parenting 2015 in Bonn, Germany, Dec. 9-11.

The second annual conference, hosted by the International Council on Shared Parenting (ICSP), will feature research scientists and experts from the family professions and civil society throughout the world. The experts will gather at the Gustav-Stresemann-Institut (GSI) in Bonn to present their research and discuss best practices for legislative and psycho-social implementation of shared parenting as a viable and beneficial solution for children whose parents are living apart.

Read more

National Parents Organization is pleased to announce that its Founder and Board Chair, Dr. Ned Holstein, has been selected to speak at the International Conference on Shared Parenting 2015 in Bonn, Germany, Dec. 9-11.

The second annual conference, hosted by the International Council on Shared Parenting (ICSP), will feature research scientists and experts from the family professions and civil society throughout the world. The experts will gather at the Gustav-Stresemann-Institut (GSI) in Bonn to present their research and discuss best practices for legislative and psycho-social implementation of shared parenting as a viable and beneficial solution for children whose parents are living apart.

Dr. Holstein, who serves on the Board of Directors of the ICSP, will present at 12 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 11, during a session titled, “Implementation of Shared Parenting in Different Legal Systems.” During his presentation, Dr. Holstein will share data on whether shared parenting undermines the legal concept of “best interest of the child,” as is often claimed by its opponents.

Read more

A bill before the Massachusetts Legislature (SB834 and HB1207) urges Massachusetts courts to act in the best interest of children by ordering shared parenting for children in most cases after parents separate or divorce. The legislation proposes a significant change, because, contrary to popular belief, most divorces currently result in sole physical custody to one parent. The Massachusetts Joint Committee on the Judiciary, which includes Senator Cynthia S. Creem, D-Newton, will have an important vote on this bill very soon.

Like all great ideas – all people are created equal, freedom of speech, gender equality – the shared parenting idea is simple. Children love both parents, learn from both parents, are protected by both parents, and long for both parents. Plus, research shows that shared parenting is in the best interest of children in most cases, so our courts should allow them to have both parents in most cases after separation or divorce.

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It started months ago: the positioning, the “talk,” the traveling around the country to small towns and big cities and everywhere in between, speaking at town hall meetings, through cellphone video sound bites, or via super-efficient 140-character tweets.

What presidential candidates actually are talking about and what they should be talking about are two very different things.  Certainly, any polls would show that big issues are being missed by all candidates on both sides of the aisle.  One of those largely overlooked key issues for not only Virginia families but also mothers, fathers and children throughout the nation is improving the well-being of our children when parents divorce or separate. Considering nearly 20 states this year proposed child custody law changes that support shared parenting, rather than sole custody, after divorce, it’s time Presidential candidates join the effort to bring family court reform to the forefront.

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Legislation designed to add a presumption to custody disputes that joint physical custody with equal parenting time is in the best interest of the child has been introduced in various forms over the years but has never gained much traction in the General Assembly. But shared parenting proponents are once again advocating for change and hope

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“Our family courts continue to incentivize divorce in custody battles by routinely positioning one parent as the winner – the one who receives more time with the children and carries more financial support – while the other parent falls into a role of visitor in the child’s life,” said Dr. Ned Holstein, Founder and Board Chair of National Parents Organization. “If both parents were facing a reality in which they each equally share child rearing following a divorce – both in terms of time and financial support – more parents would be encouraged to preserve the marriage and share the responsibilities of the family.”

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With nearly half of marriages ending in divorce, we here in the Working Dad corner join the National Parents Organization in encouraging state legislatures to explore family court reform as a proven solution to curbing a national trend that continues to have a devastating impact on our modern families.

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Recently, I got an interesting press release from the National Parents Organization, which said the organization believes “… that a powerful measure to reduce the number of mass shootings is going unexplored.”

That sentence caught my attention and I read on: According to the Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, “The most reliable indicator of violent crime in a community is the proportion of fatherless families. Fatherless families, in turn, are caused in part by family courts that exclude fathers from post-divorce parenting. By instituting shared parenting after divorce or separation, fathers would be allowed to continue to show their sons the right way to grow into manhood.”

It has always baffled me that the bulk of the parenting seems to be placed on the mother whenever there is a divorce or separation. Many women who go through this trying time, must raise their children with a cut in income and/or a change in their lifestyle. Many, who had never worked outside the home, find themselves in the job market when often their only skills have been as stay-at-home moms. It is a rude awakening when this happens to a family — especially where there are male children involved.

A bill before the Massachusetts Legislature (SB834 and HB1207) urges Massachusetts courts to act in the best interest of children by ordering shared parenting for children in most cases after parents separate or divorce. The legislation proposes a significant change, because, contrary to popular belief, most divorces currently result in sole physical custody to one parent. Local state Rep. Carole Fiola, D-Fall River, should be applauded for co-sponsoring the bill, and legislators on the Massachusetts Joint Committee on the Judiciary will have an important vote on this bill very soon.

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