Category: Press Releases

NATIONAL PARENTS ORGANIZATION

PRESS RELEASE

June 15, 2017

BOSTON – This Father’s Day, National Parents Organization would like to recognize the millions of fathers who are fighting for shared parenting – the right to continue to be active and loving dads after separation or divorce.

“It is not just about your ‘rights,’ although there is no reason a good father should not have the same rights as a good mother. It is also about what is best for your children, since over 50 research studies from numerous countries show that children with shared parenting on average have much better lives than the millions of children in the sole custody of one parent,” said Ned Holstein, MD, National Parents Organization’s Founder and Board Chair.

Dr. Holstein’s message to dads lands at a time when U.S. Census data shows our family courts still favor sole custody to mom more than 80 percent of the time, despite the similarity of gender roles in modern couples.

“I know the battle for legal equality in family court feels like a frustrating and uphill battle. But dads, don’t give up. For the sake of one-third of our nation’s children – that’s how many kids are now affected by child custody issues – I encourage you to keep up this good fight,” Dr. Holstein said.

Holstein encourages fathers to stay the course for many reasons including these three:

1. Shared parenting advocates are slowly winning. Although shared parenting remains uncommon in the United States, it is increasing steadily. Arizona, Alaska, Utah and Wisconsin already have good-enough laws. In just the last six months, Missouri enacted a shared parenting bill, and the Kentucky legislature unanimously passed a bill mandating shared parenting in temporary orders. Plus, about 25 U.S. states have proposed laws in recent years to implement it, according to The Wall Street Journal. Overseas, shared parenting has been the norm in Sweden and Australia for years, and research presented last month at the 2017 International Conference on Shared Parenting in Boston showed it is working well.

2. Scientific evidence overwhelmingly shows that shared parenting — a flexible arrangement where children spend as close to equal time with each parent as possible — is in the best interest of most children when their parents split.

Last month, more than 35 child development experts representing more than 18 countries and 40 years of research updated these findings during the conference in Boston. Previous findings included:

·         In a 150,000-person study published in The Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, researchers concluded that shared parenting is in the best interest of children’s health because the arrangement lowers their stress levels.

·         32 family law experts in the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts concluded, “Children’s best interests are furthered by parenting plans that provide for continuing and shared parenting relationships that are safe, secure, and developmentally responsive and that also avoid a template calling for a specific division of time imposed on all families.” 

3. Sole custody more often has devastating impacts on children. Consider that, according to federal statistics from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Census Bureau, children raised by single parents account for:

63 percent of teen suicides;

70 percent of juveniles in state-operated institutions;

71 percent of high school dropouts;

75 percent of children in chemical abuse centers;

85 percent of those in prison;

85 percent of children who exhibit behavioral disorders; and

90 percent of homeless and runaway children.

“So dads, this Sunday, resolve to continue to fight for shared parenting reforms in your state, taking satisfaction in knowing that this is one of the most powerful things you can do as a man for your children and America’s children, and that we are slowly winning this battle,” Dr. Holstein said.

ABOUT NATIONAL PARENTS ORGANIZATION

National Parents Organization, a charitable and educational 501 (c)(3) organization, seeks better lives for children through family law reform that establishes equal rights and responsibilities for fathers and mothers after divorce or separation. The organization is focused on promoting shared parenting and preserving a child’s strong bond with both parents, which is critically important to their emotional, mental, and physical health. In 2014, National Parents Organization released the Shared Parenting Report Card, the first study to rank the states on child custody laws. Visit the National Parents Organization website at www.nationalparentsorganization.org

NATIONAL PARENTS ORGANIZATION
PRESS RELEASE

June 8, 2017

BOSTON – For two days, attendees from 24 countries, ranging from China to the Middle East to Europe and North America, converged in Boston to hear child development experts throughout the world present more than 35 studies on what’s best for children when parents divorce or separate.

“The scientific evidence was crystal clear: Children with shared parenting after parental separation or divorce show better grades in school, better social adjustment, less drug and alcohol use, less truancy and delinquency, and better overall health. They desperately want and need both parents. Only rarely do we find that a simple change in the law can have so many positive effects for children, and at no cost to the taxpayer,” said National Parents Organization’s Founder and Board Chair, Ned Holstein, MD.

The 2017 International Conference on Shared Parenting, hosted by Boston-based National Parents Organization and European-based International Council on Shared Parenting, was held at the Westin Copley Place Hotel in downtown Boston.

Shared parenting refers to a flexible parenting arrangement after separation or divorce in which the child spends at least one third of the time, and as close to equal time as possible, with each parent, assuming both parents are fit and there has been no domestic violence. While shared parenting remains uncommon in the United States, it has been the norm in Sweden and Australia for years, and about 25 states have proposed laws in recent years to implement it, according to The Wall Street Journal. In just the last six months, for example, Missouri enacted a shared parenting bill, and the Kentucky legislature unanimously passed a bill mandating shared parenting in temporary orders.

The conference occurred at a time when the devastating effects of family fragmentation affect at least one-third of all children.

 “On the one hand, we have a grave societal crisis in that our family courts deprive so many children of the love and care of both parents. On the other hand, the rock stars of shared parenting research agree that shared parenting is part of the solution,” Dr. Holstein said. “Finally, we are able to apply science instead of guesswork in determining what is in the best interest of tens of millions of children. Based on the research presented at this conference, I hope that legislatures from coast to coast will reshape custody laws to encourage shared parenting, so that we can align our laws with what’s best for children.”

RECENT RESEARCH: SHARED PARENTING VERSUS SINGLE PARENTING

Shared Parenting Data

·  In December, 2016, The American Psychological Association published research by William V. Fabricius of Arizona State University in the journal Psychology, Public Policy and Law titled, “Should Infants and Toddlers Have Frequent Overnight Parenting Time With Fathers? The Policy Debate and New Data.” Prof Fabricius’ findings provide “… strong support for policies to encourage frequent overnight parenting time [up to and including 50/50 overnights –Ed] for infants and toddlers [even younger than one year –Ed], because the benefits [for children-Ed] associated with overnights also held for parents who initially agreed about overnights as well as for those who disagreed and had the overnight parenting plan imposed over 1 parent’s objections.” Fabricius will share details on his findings during the International Conference on Shared Parenting 2017, a May 29-30, 2017 event in Boston, Mass., hosted by National Parents Organization and the International Council on Shared Parenting.

·  The Journal of the American Psychological Association published a paper titled “Social Science and Parenting Plans for Young Children: A Consensus Report” in 2014, and the conclusions were endorsed by 110 eminent authorities around the world. Authored by Dr. Richard Warshak at the University of Texas, the paper concluded, “… shared parenting should be the norm for parenting plans for children of all ages, including very young children.”

·  In 2016, Dr. Warshak wrote, “Two years after its publication, the conclusions and recommendations of the Warshak consensus report remain supported by science.” He also wrote, “The paper has been translated into at least eighteen languages and has informed legislative deliberations throughout the U.S. and parliamentary deliberations in several countries including the United Kingdom, Canada, Israel, Finland, Romania, Croatia, and Sweden. Two years after its publication, the consensus report continues to be one of the most downloaded papers from the journal’s website.” He added, “The list of endorsers and their stature and accomplishments reflect the field’s general acceptance of the consensus report’s findings as rooted in settled science from more than four decades of research directly relevant to this topic, including seminal studies by many of the endorsers.”

·  The Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health published a 150,000-person study titled “Fifty moves a year: Is there an association between joint physical custody and psychosomatic problems in children?” in 2015 that concluded shared parenting after divorce or separation is in the best interest of children’s health because the arrangement lowers their stress levels.

·  The Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (AFCC) published the recommendations of 32 family law experts in 2014, and the group concluded, “Children’s best interests are furthered by parenting plans that provide for continuing and shared parenting relationships that are safe, secure, and developmentally responsive and that also avoid a template calling for a specific division of time imposed on all families.”

Single Parenting Data

According to federal statistics from sources including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Census Bureau, children raised by single parents account for:

•       63% of teen suicides;

•       70% of juveniles in state-operated institutions;

•       71% of high school drop-outs;

•       75% of children in chemical abuse centers;

•       85% of those in prison;

•       85% of children who exhibit behavioral disorders; and

•       90% of homeless and runaway children.

MEDIA SOURCE

Ned Holstein, M.D., M.S.

A regular contributor to local and national media, Dr. Holstein is Founder and Chair of the Board of National Parents Organization. Dr. Holstein was appointed by the Governor of Massachusetts to the Massachusetts Working Group on Child-Centered Family Law, and he was previously appointed by a Massachusetts Chief Justice to a task force charged with reviewing and revising the state’s child support guidelines.

A graduate of Harvard College, Holstein also earned a Master’s degree in psychology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His medical degree is from Mount Sinai School of Medicine, where he later served on the faculty as a teacher and researcher. 

ABOUT NATIONAL PARENTS ORGANIZATION

National Parents Organization, a charitable and educational 501 (c)(3) organization, seeks better lives for children through family law reform that establishes equal rights and responsibilities for fathers and mothers after divorce or separation. The organization is focused on promoting shared parenting and preserving a child’s strong bond with both parents, which is critically important to their emotional, mental, and physical health. In 2014, National Parents Organization released the Shared Parenting Report Card, the first study to rank the states on child custody laws. Visit the National Parents Organization website at www.nationalparentsorganization.org

NATIONAL PARENTS ORGANIZATION
PRESS RELEASE

2017 International Conference on Shared Parenting Advances Family Court Reform Efforts

National Parents Organization Co-Hosted Landmark Event

BOSTON – For two days, attendees from 24 countries, ranging from China to the Middle East to Europe and North America, converged in Boston to hear child development experts throughout the world present more than 35 studies on what’s best for children when parents divorce or separate.

“The scientific evidence was crystal clear: Children with shared parenting after parental separation or divorce show better grades in school, better social adjustment, less drug and alcohol use, less truancy and delinquency, and better overall health. They desperately want and need both parents. Only rarely do we find that a simple change in the law can have so many positive effects for children, and at no cost to the taxpayer,” said National Parents Organization’s Founder and Board Chair, Ned Holstein, MD.

The 2017 International Conference on Shared Parenting, hosted by Boston-based National Parents Organization and European-based International Council on Shared Parenting, was held at the Westin Copley Place Hotel in downtown Boston.

Shared parenting refers to a flexible parenting arrangement after separation or divorce in which the child spends at least one third of the time, and as close to equal time as possible, with each parent, assuming both parents are fit and there has been no domestic violence. While shared parenting remains uncommon in the United States, it has been the norm in Sweden and Australia for years, and about 25 states have proposed laws in recent years to implement it, according to The Wall Street Journal. In just the last six months, for example, Missouri enacted a shared parenting bill, and the Kentucky legislature unanimously passed a bill mandating shared parenting in temporary orders.

The conference occurred at a time when the devastating effects of family fragmentation affect at least one-third of all children.

 “On the one hand, we have a grave societal crisis in that our family courts deprive so many children of the love and care of both parents. On the other hand, the rock stars of shared parenting research agree that shared parenting is part of the solution,” Dr. Holstein said. “Finally, we are able to apply science instead of guesswork in determining what is in the best interest of tens of millions of children. Based on the research presented at this conference, I hope that legislatures from coast to coast will reshape custody laws to encourage shared parenting, so that we can align our laws with what’s best for children.”

RECENT RESEARCH: SHARED PARENTING VERSUS SINGLE PARENTING

Shared Parenting Data

·  In December, 2016, The American Psychological Association published research by William V. Fabricius of Arizona State University in the journal Psychology, Public Policy and Law titled, “Should Infants and Toddlers Have Frequent Overnight Parenting Time With Fathers? The Policy Debate and New Data.” Prof Fabricius’ findings provide “… strong support for policies to encourage frequent overnight parenting time [up to and including 50/50 overnights –Ed] for infants and toddlers [even younger than one year –Ed], because the benefits [for children-Ed] associated with overnights also held for parents who initially agreed about overnights as well as for those who disagreed and had the overnight parenting plan imposed over 1 parent’s objections.” Fabricius will share details on his findings during the International Conference on Shared Parenting 2017, a May 29-30, 2017 event in Boston, Mass., hosted by National Parents Organization and the International Council on Shared Parenting.

·  The Journal of the American Psychological Association published a paper titled “Social Science and Parenting Plans for Young Children: A Consensus Report” in 2014, and the conclusions were endorsed by 110 eminent authorities around the world. Authored by Dr. Richard Warshak at the University of Texas, the paper concluded, “… shared parenting should be the norm for parenting plans for children of all ages, including very young children.”

·  In 2016, Dr. Warshak wrote, “Two years after its publication, the conclusions and recommendations of the Warshak consensus report remain supported by science.” He also wrote, “The paper has been translated into at least eighteen languages and has informed legislative deliberations throughout the U.S. and parliamentary deliberations in several countries including the United Kingdom, Canada, Israel, Finland, Romania, Croatia, and Sweden. Two years after its publication, the consensus report continues to be one of the most downloaded papers from the journal’s website.” He added, “The list of endorsers and their stature and accomplishments reflect the field’s general acceptance of the consensus report’s findings as rooted in settled science from more than four decades of research directly relevant to this topic, including seminal studies by many of the endorsers.”

·  The Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health published a 150,000-person study titled “Fifty moves a year: Is there an association between joint physical custody and psychosomatic problems in children?” in 2015 that concluded shared parenting after divorce or separation is in the best interest of children’s health because the arrangement lowers their stress levels.

·  The Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (AFCC) published the recommendations of 32 family law experts in 2014, and the group concluded, “Children’s best interests are furthered by parenting plans that provide for continuing and shared parenting relationships that are safe, secure, and developmentally responsive and that also avoid a template calling for a specific division of time imposed on all families.”

Single Parenting Data

According to federal statistics from sources including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Census Bureau, children raised by single parents account for:

•       63% of teen suicides;

•       70% of juveniles in state-operated institutions;

•       71% of high school drop-outs;

•       75% of children in chemical abuse centers;

•       85% of those in prison;

•       85% of children who exhibit behavioral disorders; and

•       90% of homeless and runaway children.

MEDIA SOURCE

Ned Holstein, M.D., M.S.

A regular contributor to local and national media, Dr. Holstein is Founder and Chair of the Board of National Parents Organization. Dr. Holstein was appointed by the Governor of Massachusetts to the Massachusetts Working Group on Child-Centered Family Law, and he was previously appointed by a Massachusetts Chief Justice to a task force charged with reviewing and revising the state’s child support guidelines.

A graduate of Harvard College, Holstein also earned a Master’s degree in psychology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His medical degree is from Mount Sinai School of Medicine, where he later served on the faculty as a teacher and researcher. 

ABOUT NATIONAL PARENTS ORGANIZATION

National Parents Organization, a charitable and educational 501 (c)(3) organization, seeks better lives for children through family law reform that establishes equal rights and responsibilities for fathers and mothers after divorce or separation. The organization is focused on promoting shared parenting and preserving a child’s strong bond with both parents, which is critically important to their emotional, mental, and physical health. In 2014, National Parents Organization released the Shared Parenting Report Card, the first study to rank the states on child custody laws. Visit the National Parents Organization website at www.nationalparentsorganization.org

NATIONAL PARENTS ORGANIZATION
PRESS RELEASE
June 12, 2017

Michigan lawmakers have the opportunity to improve children’s educational achievements, decrease their use of drugs, and improve their overall health and adjustment without any cost to the taxpayer by passing shared parenting into law. With these benefits to hundreds of thousands of Michigan children in mind, National Parents Organization urges the Judiciary Committee of the Michigan House of Representatives to pass House Bill 4691 when it votes on the bill this Thursday, June 15, at 8:30 a.m.

The legislation embraces parental equality and shared parenting – a flexible arrangement where children spend as close to equal time as possible with each parent after divorce or separation. Specifically, the bill proposes a rebuttable presumption of shared parenting when parents divorce or separate, meaning the conversation begins with the two-parent solution.

“Passage of this bill will work to ensure that children receive the consistent love and care of not one, but both parents after separation or divorce,” said Linda Wright, a Michigan mother who’s taking an active role in working to pass this legislation. “We can’t afford to allow our broken family court system to continue with the sole custody status quo – our children can’t be deprived of either parent any longer.”

The bill had had multiple hearings in the past two months and is sponsored by Rep. Jim Runestad with co-sponsorship from Rep. Tim Kelly, Rep. Scott VanSingel, Rep. Peter Lucido, Rep. Roger Hauck. Rep. Tristen Cole and Rep. Jim Tedder.


While shared parenting remains unusual, a trend toward shared parenting has developed in recent years. It has been the usual arrangement for several years in Sweden and Australia, and research there has shown much better outcomes for children. A handful of states in the U.S. have benefited from laws supportive of this arrangement for several years. Plus, in the last year alone, more than 20 states have considered the reform, and states including Kentucky have passed bills supportive of shared parenting in recent months. At the same time, research continues to show that shared parenting is in the best interest of children when their parents divorce or separate.

“It is wonderful that Michigan has this historic opportunity to move child custody laws in line with gender equality as well as the overwhelming body of research showing that most children desperately want and need shared parenting after divorce or separation,” said Ned Holstein, MD, Founder and Board Chair of National Parents Organization. “I urge Michigan lawmakers to swiftly move this proposal into law. Instead of setting up parents for a bitter and unnecessary custody battle, the bill will allow families to heal from the pain of divorce and separation from a position of equality and co-parenting.”

HOUSE BILL 4691: COMMENTS FROM LEGISLATIVE HEARINGS

Rep. Runestad said: “It is in the best interest of children to be raised by two-loving parents whenever possible. Divorce between two parents is not a good reason for the system to profit by pitting parents against each other in an ugly competition over who is the better parent. A child needs and wants both parents, and nothing is more important to people than their right to take care of their child. Parents can come to agreements about what is best for the child when there is a presumption that parenting time should be shared between parties. This legislation is for children, and there are provisions in the bill to protect children from an unfit parent and in domestic violence situations.”

Family law attorney David Helms said: “The Shared Custody Act will safeguard children’s rights and access to both parents. It will start both parties on the same footing and maintain the continuity necessary for a healthy, happy, well-adjusted and stable child.”

RECENT RESEARCH: SHARED PARENTING VERSUS SINGLE PARENTING

Shared Parenting Data

·  The Journal of the American Psychological Association published a paper titled “Social Science and Parenting Plans for Young Children: A Consensus Report” in 2014, and the conclusions were endorsed by 110 eminent authorities around the world. Authored by Dr. Richard Warshak at the University of Texas, the paper concluded, “… shared parenting should be the norm for parenting plans for children of all ages, including very young children.”

·  In 2016, Dr. Warshak wrote, “Two years after its publication, the conclusions and recommendations of the Warshak consensus report remain supported by science.” He also wrote, “The paper has been translated into at least eighteen languages and has informed legislative deliberations throughout the U.S. and parliamentary deliberations in several countries including the United Kingdom, Canada, Israel, Finland, Romania, Croatia, and Sweden. Two years after its publication, the consensus report continues to be one of the most downloaded papers from the journal’s website.” He added, “The list of endorsers and their stature and accomplishments reflect the field’s general acceptance of the consensus report’s findings as rooted in settled science from more than four decades of research directly relevant to this topic, including seminal studies by many of the endorsers.”

·  The Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health published a 150,000-person study titled “Fifty moves a year: Is there an association between joint physical custody and psychosomatic problems in children?” in May 2015 that concluded shared parenting after divorce or separation is in the best interest of children’s health because the arrangement lowers their stress levels.

·  The Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (AFCC) published the recommendations of 32 family law experts in 2014, and the group concluded, “Children’s best interests are furthered by parenting plans that provide for continuing and shared parenting relationships that are safe, secure, and developmentally responsive and that also avoid a template calling for a specific division of time imposed on all families.”

·  In December, 2016, The American Psychological Association published research by William V. Fabricius of Arizona State University in the journal Psychology, Public Policy and Law entitled, “Should Infants and Toddlers Have Frequent Overnight Parenting Time With Fathers? The Policy Debate and New Data.” Prof Fabricius’ findings provide “… strong support for policies to encourage frequent overnight parenting time [up to and including 50/50 overnights –Ed] for infants and toddlers [even younger than one year –Ed], because the benefits [for children-Ed] associated with overnights also held for parents who initially agreed about overnights as well as for those who disagreed and had the overnight parenting plan imposed over 1 parent’s objections.” Fabricius will share details on his findings during the International Conference on Shared Parenting 2017, a May 29-30, 2017 event in Boston, Massachusetts hosted by National Parents Organization and the International Council on Shared Parenting.

Single Parenting Data

According to federal statistics from sources including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Census Bureau, children raised by single parents account for:

•       63% of teen suicides;

•       70% of juveniles in state-operated institutions;

•       71% of high school drop-outs;

•       75% of children in chemical abuse centers;

•       85% of those in prison;

•       85% of children who exhibit behavioral disorders; and

•       90% of homeless and runaway children.

ABOUT NATIONAL PARENTS ORGANIZATION

National Parents Organization, a charitable and educational 501 (c)(3) organization, seeks better lives for children through family law reform that establishes equal rights and responsibilities for fathers and mothers after divorce or separation. The organization is focused on promoting shared parenting and preserving a child’s strong bond with both parents, which is critically important to their emotional, mental, and physical health. In 2014, National Parents Organization released the Shared Parenting Report Card, the first study to rank the states on child custody laws. Visit the National Parents Organization website at www.nationalparentsorganization.org

NATIONAL PARENTS ORGANIZATION
PRESS RELEASE

May 22, 2017

BOSTON – An upcoming scientific conference will explore whether judges and parents have been misled for decades about what custody arrangements are best for children when parents do not live together. The International Conference on Shared Parenting 2017 will convene May 29 and 30. Most of the leading researchers in the world will explore over 30 years of research on this topic, which affects over one-third of all children in the U.S.

“For decades, judges and parents have been taught that children need one home, one decision-maker, one bed, and one place to put down their schoolbooks when parents are apart,” said Dr. Ned Holstein, Founder and Chair of the Board of National Parents Organization. For instance,judicial training in Nebraska taught just that, based on documents finally disclosed after a several-year freedom-of-information battle. According to Dr. Holstein, co-host of the conference, “Recent publications by the most eminent researchers suggest the upcoming conference may turn this accepted wisdom on its head. If so, millions of children may be affected.”

The conference, hosted by the Boston-based National Parents Organization and the European-based International Council on Shared Parenting, takes place at the Westin Copley Place Hotel in downtown Boston. The scientific program includes researchers from18 countries, including from Sweden and Australia, where powerful research is possible because shared parenting has been the norm there for years.

Controversial topics will include:

·         Is shared parenting better for children if one parent fights in court for sole custody?

·         Is shared parenting better for infants?

·         What if there is a mild to moderate degree of parental conflict?

·         What if one parent has been the predominant breadwinner and the other has been the predominant caretaker?

·         Is shared parenting simply a way to get reduced child support payments?

·         What about same-sex parents?

Shared parenting refers to a flexible parenting arrangement after separation or divorce in which the child spends at least one third of the time, and as close to equal time as possible, with each parent, assuming both parents are fit and there has been no domestic violence. While shared parenting remains uncommon in the United States, it has been the norm in Sweden and Australia for years, and about 25 states have proposed laws in recent years to implement it, according to The Wall Street Journal. In just the last six months, for example, Missouri enacted a shared parenting bill, and the Kentucky legislature unanimously passed a bill mandating shared parenting in temporary orders.

Review the complete program here, and learn more about the conference at  npo-icsp2017.org.

MEDIA SOURCE

Ned Holstein, M.D., M.S.

A regular contributor to local and national media, Dr. Holstein is Founder and Chair of the Board of National Parents Organization. Dr. Holstein was appointed by the Governor of Massachusetts to the Massachusetts Working Group on Child-Centered Family Law, and he was previously appointed by a Massachusetts Chief Justice to a task force charged with reviewing and revising the state’s child support guidelines.

A graduate of Harvard College, Holstein also earned a Master’s degree in psychology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His medical degree is from Mount Sinai School of Medicine, where he later served on the faculty as a teacher and researcher. 

ABOUT NATIONAL PARENTS ORGANIZATION

National Parents Organization, a charitable and educational 501 (c)(3) organization, seeks better lives for children through family law reform that establishes equal rights and responsibilities for fathers and mothers after divorce or separation. The organization is focused on promoting shared parenting and preserving a child’s strong bond with both parents, which is critically important to their emotional, mental, and physical health. In 2014, National Parents Organization released the Shared Parenting Report Card, the first study to rank the states on child custody laws. Visit the National Parents Organization website at www.nationalparentsorganization.org

NATIONAL PARENTS ORGANIZATION
PRESS RELEASE

May 22, 2017

BOSTON – An upcoming scientific conference will explore whether judges and parents have been misled for decades about what custody arrangements are best for children when parents do not live together. The International Conference on Shared Parenting 2017 will convene May 29 and 30. Most of the leading researchers in the world will explore over 30 years of research on this topic, which affects over one-third of all children in the U.S.

“For decades, judges and parents have been taught that children need one home, one decision-maker, one bed, and one place to put down their schoolbooks when parents are apart,” said Dr. Ned Holstein, Founder and Chair of the Board of National Parents Organization. For instance,judicial training in Nebraska taught just that, based on documents finally disclosed after a several-year freedom-of-information battle. According to Dr. Holstein, co-host of the conference, “Recent publications by the most eminent researchers suggest the upcoming conference may turn this accepted wisdom on its head. If so, millions of children may be affected.”

The conference, hosted by the Boston-based National Parents Organization and the European-based International Council on Shared Parenting, takes place at the Westin Copley Place Hotel in downtown Boston. The scientific program includes researchers from18 countries, including from Sweden and Australia, where powerful research is possible because shared parenting has been the norm there for years.

Controversial topics will include:

·         Is shared parenting better for children if one parent fights in court for sole custody?

·         Is shared parenting better for infants?

·         What if there is a mild to moderate degree of parental conflict?

·         What if one parent has been the predominant breadwinner and the other has been the predominant caretaker?

·         Is shared parenting simply a way to get reduced child support payments?

·         What about same-sex parents?

Shared parenting refers to a flexible parenting arrangement after separation or divorce in which the child spends at least one third of the time, and as close to equal time as possible, with each parent, assuming both parents are fit and there has been no domestic violence. While shared parenting remains uncommon in the United States, it has been the norm in Sweden and Australia for years, and about 25 states have proposed laws in recent years to implement it, according to The Wall Street Journal. In just the last six months, for example, Missouri enacted a shared parenting bill, and the Kentucky legislature unanimously passed a bill mandating shared parenting in temporary orders.

Review the complete program here, and learn more about the conference at  npo-icsp2017.org.

MEDIA SOURCE

Ned Holstein, M.D., M.S.

A regular contributor to local and national media, Dr. Holstein is Founder and Chair of the Board of National Parents Organization. Dr. Holstein was appointed by the Governor of Massachusetts to the Massachusetts Working Group on Child-Centered Family Law, and he was previously appointed by a Massachusetts Chief Justice to a task force charged with reviewing and revising the state’s child support guidelines.

A graduate of Harvard College, Holstein also earned a Master’s degree in psychology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His medical degree is from Mount Sinai School of Medicine, where he later served on the faculty as a teacher and researcher. 

ABOUT NATIONAL PARENTS ORGANIZATION

National Parents Organization, a charitable and educational 501 (c)(3) organization, seeks better lives for children through family law reform that establishes equal rights and responsibilities for fathers and mothers after divorce or separation. The organization is focused on promoting shared parenting and preserving a child’s strong bond with both parents, which is critically important to their emotional, mental, and physical health. In 2014, National Parents Organization released the Shared Parenting Report Card, the first study to rank the states on child custody laws. Visit the National Parents Organization website at www.nationalparentsorganization.org

National Parents Organization
Press Release 

May 11, 2017

Contact: Nancy Rigdon, nancyrigdon@nationalparentsorganization.org

BOSTON – The National Parents Organization applauds actors Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie for recognizing that shared parenting is best for their children, as that’s what research has proven is best for kids.

In a recent interview with GQ, Pitt said he and Jolie have agreed to “work together” on shared custody of their six children because it’s “very jarring for the kids, to suddenly have their family ripped apart.”

Scientific evidence agrees. Over 50 peer-reviewed studies indicate that shared parenting — where children spend as much time as possible with each parent — following divorce or separation better serves children. Here are just a couple of examples of the growing consensus supporting shared parenting:

·         In a 150,000-person study published in The Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, researchers concluded that shared parenting is in the best interest of children’s health because the arrangement lowers their stress levels.

·         32 family law experts in the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts concluded, “Children’s best interests are furthered by parenting plans that provide for continuing and shared parenting relationships that are safe, secure, and developmentally responsive and that also avoid a template calling for a specific division of time imposed on all families.”

“It’s refreshing to see two high-powered celebrities resolving to put their differences on the shelf and do what is best for their children. It didn’t start well, with Angelina making charges of abusive fathering that didn’t hold up. Now we can hope that Brad and Angelina are recognizing what research confirms: that children desperately need and want the continued love and care of not just one, but both, of their parents,” said Ned Holstein, MD, Founder and Board Chair of National Parents Organization.

Despite the research, the sole custody tradition persists in our nation’s family courts more than 80 percent of the time, according to Census data.

“The family court default setting of winner-take-all-battles is devastating for families. We must change our broken family courts to encourage parents to work together instead of encouraging a devastating custody battle from which only the lawyers profit, ” Holstein said.

Pitt agrees that the system is in need of repair. In the GQ article, Pitt said: “I heard one lawyer say, ‘No one wins in court — it’s just a matter of who gets hurt worse.’ And it seems to be true, you spend a year just focused on building a case to prove your point and why you’re right and why they’re wrong, and it’s just an investment in vitriolic hatred. I just refuse. And fortunately my partner in this agrees.”

While shared parenting remains unusual, lawmakers nationwide are considering legislation that works to turn the custody arrangement from the exception to the norm. About 25 states have proposed laws in recent years to implement it, according to The Wall Street Journal. In just the last six months, for example, National Parents Organization played key roles in Missouri, which  enacted a shared parenting bill, and in Kentucky, where the legislature unanimously passed a bill mandating shared parenting in temporary orders.

MEDIA SOURCE

Ned Holstein, M.D., M.S.

A regular contributor to local and national media, Dr. Holstein is Founder and Chair of the Board of National Parents Organization. Dr. Holstein was appointed by the Governor of Massachusetts to the Massachusetts Working Group on Child-Centered Family Law, and he was previously appointed by a Massachusetts Chief Justice to a task force charged with reviewing and revising the state’s child support guidelines.

A graduate of Harvard College, Holstein also earned a Master’s degree in psychology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His medical degree is from Mount Sinai School of Medicine, where he later served on the faculty as a teacher and researcher. 

ABOUT NATIONAL PARENTS ORGANIZATION

National Parents Organization, a charitable and educational 501 (c)(3) organization, seeks better lives for children through family law reform that establishes equal rights and responsibilities for fathers and mothers after divorce or separation. The organization is focused on promoting shared parenting and preserving a child’s strong bond with both parents, which is critically important to their emotional, mental, and physical health. In 2014, National Parents Organization released the Shared Parenting Report Card, the first study to rank the states on child custody laws. Visit the National Parents Organization website at www.nationalparentsorganization.org

National Parents Organization
Press Release

May 11, 2017 

BOSTON – The most renowned child development experts in the world will converge in less than three weeks in Boston at a landmark event to identify what’s best for children in post-divorce parenting arrangements. During the International Conference on Shared Parenting 2017, nearly 50 scientists from 18 countries, ranging from China to Australia to the Middle East to Europe to North American, will have the opportunity to review 40 years of careful research by social scientists to examine whether children actually do better with a shared parenting arrangement in which the child spends ample time with each parent.

“Rarely does a scientific conference hold out the possibility of helping millions of children within a year or two at no cost to anyone, with just a slight change in the law,” said Dr. Ned Holstein, founder and chair of National Parents Organization. “For decades, our family courts have encouraged custody battles with the outcome of choosing one parent to have sole custody. Is it possible that this has been damaging to tens of millions of children, and that by restoring both parents to them they will do better in school, have less substance abuse, feel better about themselves and get in less trouble with the law? Finally, at this conference, we will apply science instead of guesswork in determining what is in the best interest of tens of millions of children.”

Shared parenting refers to a flexible parenting arrangement after separation or divorce in which the child spends at least 35% of the time, and as close to equal time as possible, with each parent, assuming both parents are fit and there has been no domestic violence. While shared parenting remains uncommon in the United States, it has been the norm in Sweden and Australia for years. About 25 states have proposed laws in recent years to implement it, according to The Wall Street Journal. In just the last six months, for example, National Parents Organization played a key role in Missouri, which enacted a shared parenting bill, and in Kentucky, where the  legislature unanimously passed a bill mandating shared parenting in temporary orders.

“With the current intense interest in the devastating effects of family fragmentation affecting about one-third of all children, this conference offers a faculty who are widely considered to include almost all of the leading scholars in the world on the subject of optimal post-divorce parenting arrangements,” Dr. Holstein said. “This group of eminent scholars may never before, and perhaps may never again, be brought together from all parts of the developed world in the same conference.”

Headliners for the May 29-30 conference include:

• Malin Bergström – Sweden. Bergström is with the renowned Karolinska Institute and possesses a unique research database due to the fact that shared parenting is the norm in Sweden. She is a clinical child psychologist with 20 years of clinical experience. Bergström has written several books about child development, attachment theory and parenting. Her research focuses on children’s health and welfare in shared parenting arrangements. After having conducted mainly epidemiological studies on school-aged children and adolescents, she is now studying preschool children and infants in shared parenting settings and conducting longitudinal studies on children in different family types.

• Sanford Braver – United States. Braver is professor emeritus at Arizona State University, where he served in the psychology department for 41 years. He was the recipient of 18 competitively reviewed, primarily federal, research grants, totaling over $28 million. His work has been published in nearly 130 peer-reviewed professional articles and chapters, and he is the author of three books, including Divorced Dads: Shattering the Myths.

• William Fabricius – United States. Fabricius is an associate professor of developmental psychology at Arizona State University. He is an expert on children’s cognitive and social-emotional development and on the role fathers play in promoting adolescents’ and young adults’ mental and behavioral health. His research in these areas has been supported by grants from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, and his findings have been published in top journals in the field.

• Edward Kruk – Canada. Kruk is associate professor of social work at the University of British Columbia, specializing in child and family policy, with over 40 years of clinical and community work experience in child and family social work. He is the author of the books Divorce and Disengagement: Patterns of Fatherhood Within and Beyond Marriage, Divorced Fathers: Children’s Needs and Parental Responsibilities and The Equal Parent Presumption. His work is published widely in a variety of academic and professional journals as well. He is recognized as Canada’s leading authority on parenting after divorce and is the recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for research and service contributions. He also serves as president of the International Council on Shared Parenting.

• Hildegund Sünderhauf – Germany. Sünderhauf has been professor of family law and youth welfare law at Lutheran University of Applied Sciences in Nuremberg for 17 years. She is the author of the first and only monograph about shared parenting in Germany and co-founder of the International Council on Shared Parenting. She was the initiator of Resolution 2079 of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe entitled “Equality and Shared Parental Responsibility: the Role of Fathers” that calls on the member states to “introduce into their laws the principle of shared residence following a separation.”

• Michael Lamb – United Kingdom. Lamb is professor of psychology at the University of Cambridge in the UK. He is perhaps the most respected authority in the world on several topics in developmental psychology, including the role of parent-child relationships in development, and is considered the “father” of fatherhood research. His scholarship has shaped decision-making by family court judges, and his expert testimony in major class actions has helped transform U.S. law. In 1980, he became at 27 the youngest full professor in an American university. Over his 40-year career, Lamb has published nearly 500 professional articles, and he is the author or editor of nearly 50 books, including five editions of The Role of the Father in Child Development. He has received numerous awards, including the American Psychological Association’s (APA) 2014 award for Distinguished Contribution to Developmental Psychology and its 2015 award for Distinguished Scientific Applications of Psychology. He currently edits the APA journal, Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, and is president of APA’s developmental psychology division. He was head of the section on social and emotional development of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the leading agency in the world funding research on best outcomes for children.

• Linda Nielsen – United States. Nielsen is professor of adolescent and educational psychology at Wake Forest University in Winston Salem, NC. She is an internationally recognized expert on shared physical custody research and father-daughter relationships, with a special emphasis on divorced fathers. In addition to her many academic journal articles, she has written three books on father-daughter relationships and three editions of the college textbook, Adolescence: A Contemporary View. She is often invited to present seminars about the shared custody research to family court and mental health professionals and to policy makers in the United States and abroad. Her work has been featured in a PBS documentary, on National Public Radio, and in magazines and newspapers, including the Wall Street Journal and Time magazine.

• Patrick Parkinson – Australia. Parkinson is a professor of law at the University of Sydney, Australia, and was president of the International Society of Family Law from 2011 to 2014. He has had a major role in the development of legislation and practice in family law and child protection in Australia. He served from 2004 to 2007 as chairperson of the Family Law Council, an advisory body to the federal attorney-general. He also chaired a review of the Child Support Scheme in 2004 and 2005, which led to the enactment of major changes to the Child Support Scheme. He led a major review of the state law concerning child protection, which resulted in the enactment of the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998. In 2004, he was instrumental in persuading the Australian prime minister at the time, John Howard, to invest in a national network of Family Relationship Centres, offering mediation and other services to parents going through separation. These have had a major role in assisting parents to resolve parenting issues and to stay out of court.

• Richard Warshak – United States. Warshak is clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and one the world’s most respected authorities on divorce, child custody and the psychology of alienated children. Warshak has had a broad impact on family law as a White House advisor and through his studies on divorce and custody appearing in 14 books and more than 75 articles in 18 languages. His book Divorce Poison: How to Protect Your Family from Bad-mouthing and Brainwashing is the best-selling and highest reviewed book for divorced parents. In 2014, he authored a landmark review of shared parenting research whose conclusions were endorsed by 110 eminent signatories from around the world.

• Jean Zermatten — Switzerland. Jean Zermatten was elected chairman of the United Nations Committee for the Rights of the Child by acclamation of both chambers in 2011. As part of this organization, he has worked tirelessly to improve juvenile justice and strengthen the protection of children. He regularly conducts assessment missions and gives advice to governments on several continents. He has made the rights of the child known by managing bodies and professionals, elevating the status of children in our society. By implementing different levels of training, he has made the rights of the children a field of academic study. Zermatten is also director of the International Institute for the Rights of the Child and was president of the International Association of Magistrates for Youth and Family.

Learn more about the conference by visiting npo-icsp2017.org.

MEDIA SOURCE

Ned Holstein, M.D., M.S.

A regular contributor to local and national media, Dr. Holstein is Founder and Chair of the Board of National Parents Organization. Dr. Holstein was appointed by the Governor of Massachusetts to the Massachusetts Working Group on Child-Centered Family Law, and he was previously appointed by a Massachusetts Chief Justice to a task force charged with reviewing and revising the state’s child support guidelines.

A graduate of Harvard College, Holstein also earned a Master’s degree in psychology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His medical degree is from Mount Sinai School of Medicine, where he later served on the faculty as a teacher and researcher. 

ABOUT NATIONAL PARENTS ORGANIZATION

National Parents Organization, a charitable and educational 501 (c)(3) organization, seeks better lives for children through family law reform that establishes equal rights and responsibilities for fathers and mothers after divorce or separation. The organization is focused on promoting shared parenting and preserving a child’s strong bond with both parents, which is critically important to their emotional, mental, and physical health. In 2014, National Parents Organization released the Shared Parenting Report Card, the first study to rank the states on child custody laws. Visit the National Parents Organization website at www.nationalparentsorganization.org

National Parents Organization
Press Release

May 11, 2017 

BOSTON – The most renowned child development experts in the world will converge in less than three weeks in Boston at a landmark event to identify what’s best for children in post-divorce parenting arrangements. During the International Conference on Shared Parenting 2017, nearly 50 scientists from 18 countries, ranging from China to Australia to the Middle East to Europe to North American, will have the opportunity to review 40 years of careful research by social scientists to examine whether children actually do better with a shared parenting arrangement in which the child spends ample time with each parent.

“Rarely does a scientific conference hold out the possibility of helping millions of children within a year or two at no cost to anyone, with just a slight change in the law,” said Dr. Ned Holstein, founder and chair of National Parents Organization. “For decades, our family courts have encouraged custody battles with the outcome of choosing one parent to have sole custody. Is it possible that this has been damaging to tens of millions of children, and that by restoring both parents to them they will do better in school, have less substance abuse, feel better about themselves and get in less trouble with the law? Finally, at this conference, we will apply science instead of guesswork in determining what is in the best interest of tens of millions of children.”

Shared parenting refers to a flexible parenting arrangement after separation or divorce in which the child spends at least 35% of the time, and as close to equal time as possible, with each parent, assuming both parents are fit and there has been no domestic violence. While shared parenting remains uncommon in the United States, it has been the norm in Sweden and Australia for years. About 25 states have proposed laws in recent years to implement it, according to The Wall Street Journal. In just the last six months, for example, National Parents Organization played a key role in Missouri, which enacted a shared parenting bill, and in Kentucky, where the  legislature unanimously passed a bill mandating shared parenting in temporary orders.

“With the current intense interest in the devastating effects of family fragmentation affecting about one-third of all children, this conference offers a faculty who are widely considered to include almost all of the leading scholars in the world on the subject of optimal post-divorce parenting arrangements,” Dr. Holstein said. “This group of eminent scholars may never before, and perhaps may never again, be brought together from all parts of the developed world in the same conference.”

Headliners for the May29-31 conference include:

• Malin Bergström – Sweden. Bergström is with the renowned Karolinska Institute and possesses a unique research database due to the fact that shared parenting is the norm in Sweden. She is a clinical child psychologist with 20 years of clinical experience. Bergström has written several books about child development, attachment theory and parenting. Her research focuses on children’s health and welfare in shared parenting arrangements. After having conducted mainly epidemiological studies on school-aged children and adolescents, she is now studying preschool children and infants in shared parenting settings and conducting longitudinal studies on children in different family types.

• Sanford Braver – United States. Braver is professor emeritus at Arizona State University, where he served in the psychology department for 41 years. He was the recipient of 18 competitively reviewed, primarily federal, research grants, totaling over $28 million. His work has been published in nearly 130 peer-reviewed professional articles and chapters, and he is the author of three books, including Divorced Dads: Shattering the Myths.

• William Fabricius – United States. Fabricius is an associate professor of developmental psychology at Arizona State University. He is an expert on children’s cognitive and social-emotional development and on the role fathers play in promoting adolescents’ and young adults’ mental and behavioral health. His research in these areas has been supported by grants from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, and his findings have been published in top journals in the field.

• Edward Kruk – Canada. Kruk is associate professor of social work at the University of British Columbia, specializing in child and family policy, with over 40 years of clinical and community work experience in child and family social work. He is the author of the books Divorce and Disengagement: Patterns of Fatherhood Within and Beyond Marriage, Divorced Fathers: Children’s Needs and Parental Responsibilities and The Equal Parent Presumption. His work is published widely in a variety of academic and professional journals as well. He is recognized as Canada’s leading authority on parenting after divorce and is the recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for research and service contributions. He also serves as president of the International Council on Shared Parenting.

• Hildegund Sünderhauf – Germany. Sünderhauf has been professor of family law and youth welfare law at Lutheran University of Applied Sciences in Nuremberg for 17 years. She is the author of the first and only monograph about shared parenting in Germany and co-founder of the International Council on Shared Parenting. She was the initiator of Resolution 2079 of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe entitled “Equality and Shared Parental Responsibility: the Role of Fathers” that calls on the member states to “introduce into their laws the principle of shared residence following a separation.”

• Michael Lamb – United Kingdom. Lamb is professor of psychology at the University of Cambridge in the UK. He is perhaps the most respected authority in the world on several topics in developmental psychology, including the role of parent-child relationships in development, and is considered the “father” of fatherhood research. His scholarship has shaped decision-making by family court judges, and his expert testimony in major class actions has helped transform U.S. law. In 1980, he became at 27 the youngest full professor in an American university. Over his 40-year career, Lamb has published nearly 500 professional articles, and he is the author or editor of nearly 50 books, including five editions of The Role of the Father in Child Development. He has received numerous awards, including the American Psychological Association’s (APA) 2014 award for Distinguished Contribution to Developmental Psychology and its 2015 award for Distinguished Scientific Applications of Psychology. He currently edits the APA journal, Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, and is president of APA’s developmental psychology division. He was head of the section on social and emotional development of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the leading agency in the world funding research on best outcomes for children.

• Linda Nielsen – United States. Nielsen is professor of adolescent and educational psychology at Wake Forest University in Winston Salem, NC. She is an internationally recognized expert on shared physical custody research and father-daughter relationships, with a special emphasis on divorced fathers. In addition to her many academic journal articles, she has written three books on father-daughter relationships and three editions of the college textbook, Adolescence: A Contemporary View. She is often invited to present seminars about the shared custody research to family court and mental health professionals and to policy makers in the United States and abroad. Her work has been featured in a PBS documentary, on National Public Radio, and in magazines and newspapers, including the Wall Street Journal and Time magazine.

• Patrick Parkinson – Australia. Parkinson is a professor of law at the University of Sydney, Australia, and was president of the International Society of Family Law from 2011 to 2014. He has had a major role in the development of legislation and practice in family law and child protection in Australia. He served from 2004 to 2007 as chairperson of the Family Law Council, an advisory body to the federal attorney-general. He also chaired a review of the Child Support Scheme in 2004 and 2005, which led to the enactment of major changes to the Child Support Scheme. He led a major review of the state law concerning child protection, which resulted in the enactment of the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998. In 2004, he was instrumental in persuading the Australian prime minister at the time, John Howard, to invest in a national network of Family Relationship Centres, offering mediation and other services to parents going through separation. These have had a major role in assisting parents to resolve parenting issues and to stay out of court.

• Richard Warshak – United States. Warshak is clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and one the world’s most respected authorities on divorce, child custody and the psychology of alienated children. Warshak has had a broad impact on family law as a White House advisor and through his studies on divorce and custody appearing in 14 books and more than 75 articles in 18 languages. His book Divorce Poison: How to Protect Your Family from Bad-mouthing and Brainwashing is the best-selling and highest reviewed book for divorced parents. In 2014, he authored a landmark review of shared parenting research whose conclusions were endorsed by 110 eminent signatories from around the world.

• Jean Zermatten — Switzerland. Jean Zermatten was elected chairman of the United Nations Committee for the Rights of the Child by acclamation of both chambers in 2011. As part of this organization, he has worked tirelessly to improve juvenile justice and strengthen the protection of children. He regularly conducts assessment missions and gives advice to governments on several continents. He has made the rights of the child known by managing bodies and professionals, elevating the status of children in our society. By implementing different levels of training, he has made the rights of the children a field of academic study. Zermatten is also director of the International Institute for the Rights of the Child and was president of the International Association of Magistrates for Youth and Family.

Learn more about the conference by visiting npo-icsp2017.org.

MEDIA SOURCE

Ned Holstein, M.D., M.S.

A regular contributor to local and national media, Dr. Holstein is Founder and Chair of the Board of National Parents Organization. Dr. Holstein was appointed by the Governor of Massachusetts to the Massachusetts Working Group on Child-Centered Family Law, and he was previously appointed by a Massachusetts Chief Justice to a task force charged with reviewing and revising the state’s child support guidelines.

A graduate of Harvard College, Holstein also earned a Master’s degree in psychology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His medical degree is from Mount Sinai School of Medicine, where he later served on the faculty as a teacher and researcher. 

ABOUT NATIONAL PARENTS ORGANIZATION

National Parents Organization, a charitable and educational 501 (c)(3) organization, seeks better lives for children through family law reform that establishes equal rights and responsibilities for fathers and mothers after divorce or separation. The organization is focused on promoting shared parenting and preserving a child’s strong bond with both parents, which is critically important to their emotional, mental, and physical health. In 2014, National Parents Organization released the Shared Parenting Report Card, the first study to rank the states on child custody laws. Visit the National Parents Organization website at www.nationalparentsorganization.org 

NATIONAL PARENTS ORGANIZATION
MEDIA ALERT
April 19, 2017

WHO: National Parents Organization and the European-based International Council on Shared Parenting serve as hosts.

WHAT: The most renowned scholars in the world on post-divorce parenting arrangements will converge in Boston to present research results on how shared parenting after divorce or separation affects children. This could be a watershed moment, in which longstanding practices affecting millions of children could be questioned. The Conference Theme: “Shared Parenting Research: A Watershed in Understanding Children’s Best Interest?”

WHEN: May 29-30, 2017

WHERE: Westin Copley Place Hotel in downtown Boston, 10 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA, 02116.

WHY: Separated and divorced families have a serious impact on the welfare of children. “Millions of children have been assumed to do best in a sole custody arrangement. But this tradition was established by attorneys and judges with no training in child development and without empirical research,” said Dr. Ned Holstein, Founder and Board Chair of National Parents Organization.

THE CONFERENCE: The International Conference on Shared Parenting will review 40 years of research to examine whether children do better with a shared parenting arrangement, in which the child spends ample time with each parent. This conference offers a faculty of the leading scholars in the world on custody arrangements. Coming from all parts of the developed world, this group has never been brought together in the same conference.

WHAT IS SHARED PARENTING? Shared parenting refers to a flexible parenting arrangement after separation or divorce in which a child spends at least one third of the time, and as close to equal time as possible, with each parent, assuming both parents are fit and there has been no domestic violence. While shared parenting remains uncommon in the United States, it has been the norm in Sweden and Australia for years. About 25 states have proposed laws in recent years to implement shared parenting according to The Wall Street Journal. In just the last six months, for example, Missourienacted a shared parenting bill, and Kentucky passed a law mandating shared parenting in temporary orders earlier this month.

THE COURT SYSTEM

The current family court system operates from outdated paradigms that still favor sole custody arrangements. “The court system needs reform,” Dr. Holstein said. “Finally, we will apply science instead of guesswork to determine what is in the best interest of millions of children.” 

MORE INFORMATION:

FEATURED SCIENTISTS

The Conference will present almost 50 scientists from 18 countries ranging from China to Australia to the Middle East to Europe to North America. Headliners include:

·         Malin Bergström – Sweden. Prof. Bergström is with the renowned Karolinska Institute, and possesses a unique research database due to the fact that shared parenting is the norm in Sweden. She is a clinical child psychologist with 20 years experience of clinical experience. Malin has written several books about child development, attachment theory and parenting. Her research focuses on children’s health and welfare in shared parenting arrangements. After having conducted mainly epidemiological studies on schoolaged children and adolescents, she is now studying preschool children and infants in shared parenting settings, and conducting longitudinal studies on children in different family types. 

·         Sanford Braver – USA. Sanford Braver is Professor Emeritus at Arizona State University, where he served in the Psychology Department for 41 years. He was the recipient of 18 competitively reviewed, primarily federal, research grants, totaling over $28 million. His work has been published in nearly 130 peer-reviewed professional articles and chapters, and he is author of 3 books including Divorced Dads: Shattering the Myths. 

·         William Fabricius – USA. Prof. Fabricius is an Associate Professor of Developmental Psychology at Arizona State University. He is an expert on children’s cognitive and social-emotional development, and on the role fathers play in promoting adolescents’ and young adults’ mental and behavioral health. His research in these areas has been supported by grants from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, and the findings have been published in top journals in the field. 

·         Edward Kruk – Canada. Prof. Kruk is Associate Professor of Social Work at the University of British Columbia, specializing in child and family policy, with over forty years of clinical and community work experience in child and family social work. He is author of the books “Divorce and Disengagement: Patterns of Fatherhood Within and Beyond Marriage”, “Divorced Fathers: Children’s Needs and Parental Responsibilities”, and “The Equal Parent Presumption”, and has published widely in a variety of academic and professional journals. He is the recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for research and service contributions, is Canada’s leading authority on parenting after divorce, and is President of the International Council on Shared Parenting. 

·         Hildegund Sünderhauf – Germany. Prof. Sünderhauf has been Professor of Family Law and Youth Welfare Law at the Lutheran University of Applied Sciences in Nuremberg for 17 years. She is the author of the first and only monograph about Shared Parenting in Germany and co-founder of the International Council on Shared Parenting. She was initiator of Resolution 2079 of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe entitled “Equality and shared parental responsibility: the role of fathers”, that calls on the member states to “introduce into their laws the principle of shared residence following a separation”. 

·         Michael Lamb – UK. Prof. Lamb is Professor of Psychology at the University of Cambridge in the UK. He is perhaps the most respected authority in the world on several topics in developmental psychology, including the role of parent- child relationships in development and is considered the “father” of fatherhood research. His scholarship has shaped decision making by family court judges, and his expert testimony in major class actions has helped transform U.S. law. In 1980, he became at 27 the youngest full professor in an American university. Over his 40-year career, Lamb has published nearly 500 professional articles and he is the author or editor of nearly 50 books, including 5 editions of The Role of the Father in Child Development. He has received numerous awards including, from the American Psychological Association (APA), its 2014 for Distinguished Contribution to Developmental Psychology, and its 2015 Award for Distinguished Scientific Applications of Psychology. He currently edits the APA journal, Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, and is President of APA’s Division 7 (Developmental Psychology). He was Head of the Section on Social and Emotional Development of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the leading agency in the world funding research on best outcomes for children.

·         Linda Nielsen – USA. Linda Nielsen is Professor of Adolescent and Educational Psychology at Wake Forest University in Winston Salem, NC. She is an internationally recognized expert on shared physical custody research and father-daughter relationships, with a special emphasis on divorced fathers. In addition to her many academic journal articles, she has written three books on father-daughter relationships and three editions of the college textbook, Adolescence: A Contemporary View. She is often invited to present seminars about the shared custody research to family court and mental health professionals and to policy makers in the U.S. and abroad. Her work has been featured in a PBS documentary, on National Public Radio, and in magazines and newspapers including the Wall Street Journal and Time magazine. 

·         Patrick Parkinson – Australia. Prof. Parkinson is a professor of law at the University of Sydney, Australia, and was President of the International Society of Family Law from 2011-2014. He has had a major role in the development of legislation and practice in family law and child protection in Australia. He served from 2004-2007 as Chairperson of the Family Law Council, an advisory body to the federal Attorney-General, and also chaired a review of the Child Support Scheme in 2004-05 which led to the enactment of major changes to the Child Support Scheme. He was also Chairperson of a major review of the state law concerning child protection which led to the enactment of the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998. In 2004, he was instrumental in persuading the Australian Prime Minister of the time, John Howard, to invest in a national network of Family Relationship Centers, offering mediation and other services to parents going through separation. These have had a major role in assisting parents to resolve parenting issues and to stay out of court. 

·         Richard Warshak – USA. Prof. Warshak is Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and one the world’s most respected authorities on divorce, child custody, and the psychology of alienated children. As a White House advisor, and through his studies on divorce and custody appearing in 14 books and more than 75 articles in eighteen languages, Dr. Warshak has had a broad impact on family law. His book, Divorce Poison: How to Protect Your Family from Bad-mouthing and Brainwashing is the best-selling and highest reviewed book for divorced parents. In 2014, he authored a landmark review of shared parenting research whose conclusions were endorsed by 110 eminent signatories from around the world.

·         Jean Zermatten — Switzerland. Jean Zermatten was elected Chairman of the UN Committee for the Rights of the Child by acclamation of both chambers in 2011. As part of this organization, he has worked tirelessly to improve juvenile justice and strengthen the protection of children. He regularly conducts assessment missions and gives advice to governments on several continents. He has made the rights of the child known by managing bodies and professionals, elevating the status of children in our society. By implementing different levels of training, he has made the Rights of the Children a field of academic study. Zermatten is also Director of the International Institute for the Rights of the Child, and was president of the International Association of Magistrates for Youth and Family. 

MEDIA SOURCE

Ned Holstein, M.D., M.S.

A regular contributor to local and national media, Dr. Holstein is Founder and Chair of the Board of National Parents Organization. Dr. Holstein was appointed by the Governor of Massachusetts to the Massachusetts Working Group on Child-Centered Family Law, and he was previously appointed by a Massachusetts Chief Justice to a task force charged with reviewing and revising the state’s child support guidelines.

A graduate of Harvard College, Holstein also earned a Master’s degree in psychology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His medical degree is from Mount Sinai School of Medicine, where he later served on the faculty as a teacher and researcher. 

FIND US ONLINE

Learn more about the conference by visiting npo-icsp2017.org.

CONTACT:

If you’d like to attend the conference or would like additional details, please contact Burton Taylor at btaylor@proventusconsulting.com.