Category: Press Releases

NATIONAL PARENTS ORGANIZATION
PRESS RELEASE
April 11, 2017

FRANKFORT, KENTUCKY – Kentucky Governor Bevin signed a family court reform bill into law on Monday, April 10, bringing Kentucky a step closer to making shared parenting in instances of divorce the norm in the state. 

The bill, House Bill 492, received unanimous support in both the House (voted 97-0) and Senate (38-0), signaling a long overdue change in our family court’s approach to awarding custody in instances of divorce. The new law is also supported by an overwhelming amount of research showing it is in a child’s best interest to have as close to equal time with both parents in instances of divorce, particularly early on in the process. 

“Children are now more likely to see both parents regularly after a divorce, which is a huge win for the children of Kentucky considering research consistently shows shared parenting is in the best interest of children when their parents divorce,” said Matt Hale, Chair of National Parents Organization of Kentucky. “Plus, parents are no longer in the high-conflict winner win all and loser lose all situation.”

HB 492 was initiated by National Parents Organization and sponsored by Speaker Pro Tem David Osborne (R-Prospect) and Representatives Jason Petrie (R-Elkton) and Robby Mills (R-Henderson). Petrie; Hale and Dr. Ryan Schroeder, University of Louisville Sociology department chair, testified supporting the law.

The new law amends KRS 403.280, allowing a court to adopt a prior parental temporary custody agreement as the court’s temporary custody order. However, the agreement must be mutually agreed upon while adequately providing for the child’s welfare. The new law also creates a temporary joint custody and equal parenting time presumption provided each parent files an affidavit requesting his or her portion. The equal parenting time presumption does not apply if it creates a likelihood of abuse or neglect.

The law takes effect July 1^st, 2017. Existing child custody arrangements are not affected.

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.

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
April 10, 2017

Lawmakers across the country have the opportunity to advance children’s educational achievements, decrease their use of drugs, and improve their overall health and social adjustment without any cost to the taxpayer. All this can be accomplished by simply following the North Dakota Senate’s lead and passing shared parenting into law.

North Dakota’s Senate passed a bill last week that supports shared parenting and defines it as providing each parent with as close as 50 percent of the time as possible based on individual circumstances. The statute requires that, if a parent asks for shared parenting, the court must articulate in its decision the rationale for either awarding or denying the request. The bill now heads to the state’s House of Representatives.

Bills in 24 additional states embrace parental equality if both parents are fit and there has been no domestic violence. Shared parenting legislation has been introduced in Alabama, Arizona, Connecticut, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine,Maryland,  Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

“Passage of these bills will work to ensure children receive the consistent love and care of not one but both parents after separation or divorce,” said Dr. Ned Holstein, Founder and Board Chair of National Parents Organization. “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. Thank you to the state legislators who recognized this pressing need by sponsoring this crucial legislation.”

In Missouri, state Senators heard testimony for a shared parenting bill last week. Linda Reutzel, a Missouri grandmother and Chair of National Parents Organization of Missouri, testified in support of SB 377.

“The bill offers a common-sense solution for all. It doesn’t favor women. It’s not partial to men. Instead, it would benefit hundreds of thousands of Missouri children by proposing a rebuttable presumption that child custody arrangements awarding equal parenting time are in the best interest of the child,” Reutzel said. “Without this legislation, the children of Missouri will continue to suffer as a result of the broken, outdated family court system.”

With countless benefits for children in mind, National Parents Organization urges state lawmakers to swiftly move shared parenting proposals into law.

“Instead of setting up parents for a bitter and unnecessary custody battle, these bills will allow families to heal from the pain of divorce and separation from a position of parental equality,” Holstein said. “Most importantly, shared parenting puts children first, recognizing that they desperately want and need ample time with both parents.”

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
March 27, 2017

BOSTON – Rarely does a scientific conference raise the possibility of dramatically changing the lives of tens of millions of families. National Parents Organization is honored to announce it will co-host a landmark event this spring: for the first time in many years, the most renowned child development experts 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 event – the International Conference on Shared Parenting 2017 – will be co-hosted by the European-based International Council on Shared Parenting, and will be held at the Westin Copley Place Hotel in downtown Boston, Massachusetts, on May 29-30, 2017.

With the current intense interest in the devastating effects of family fragmentation affecting about one-third of all children, this timely 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. 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.

“Millions of children have been assumed to do best after parental divorce or separation in a sole custody arrangement, usually with the mother. But this tradition was established by attorneys and judges with no training in child development, and never established by empirical research,” said Dr. Ned Holstein, Founder and Board Chair of National Parents Organization. “The Conference will 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. With this accumulation of research, the Conference theme raises the timely question ‘Shared Parenting Research: A Watershed in Understanding Children’s Best Interest?’ said Dr. Holstein.

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 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.

“On the one hand, we have a grave societal crisis in that our family courts deprive so many children of the love and care they desperately need and want from both parents, and on the other hand, we have hope: the rock stars of shared parenting research will all be at the same place at the same time, all focused on identifying what’s best for kids,” Dr. Holstein said. “Finally, we will apply science instead of guesswork in determining what is in the best interest of tens of millions of children.”

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

National Parents Organization

Press Release

March 27, 2017

BOSTON – Rarely does a scientific conference raise the possibility of dramatically changing the lives of tens of millions of families. National Parents Organization is honored to announce it will co-host a landmark event this spring: for the first time in many years, the most renowned child development experts 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 event – the International Conference on Shared Parenting 2017 – will be co-hosted by the European-based International Council on Shared Parenting, and will be held at the Westin Copley Place Hotel in downtown Boston, Massachusetts, on May 29-30, 2017.

With the current intense interest in the devastating effects of family fragmentation affecting about one-third of all children, this timely 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. 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.

“Millions of children have been assumed to do best after parental divorce or separation in a sole custody arrangement, usually with the mother. But this tradition was established by attorneys and judges with no training in child development, and never established by empirical research,” said Dr. Ned Holstein, Founder and Board Chair of National Parents Organization. “The Conference will 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. With this accumulation of research, the Conference theme raises the timely question ‘Shared Parenting Research: A Watershed in Understanding Children’s Best Interest?’ said Dr. Holstein.

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 20 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 reform in Florida traveled all the way to the Governor’s desk.

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 formerly head of the U.S. 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.

“On the one hand, we have a grave societal crisis in that our family courts deprive so many children of the love and care they desperately need and want from both parents, and on the other hand, we have hope: the rock stars of shared parenting research will all be at the same place at the same time, all focused on identifying what’s best for kids,” Dr. Holstein said. “Finally, we will apply science instead of guesswork in determining what is in the best interest of tens of millions of children.”

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

NATIONAL PARENTS ORGANIZATION
PRESS RELEASE
March 21, 2017

Lawmakers across the country have the opportunity to improve children’s educational achievements, decrease their use of drugs, and improve their overall health and social adjustment without any cost to the taxpayer. All this can be done simply: by passing shared parenting into law. With these benefits to hundreds of thousands of children in mind, National Parents Organization urges legislators in states with active shared parenting bills – this encompasses half of the states in the U.S. – to move the reform forward. These states include:

·         Alabama

·         Arizona

·         Connecticut

·         Indiana

·         Iowa

·         Kentucky

·         Maine

·         Maryland

·         Massachusetts

·         Michigan

·         Mississippi

·         Missouri

·         Montana

·         New Hampshire

·         New York

·         North Dakota

·         Oregon

·         South Carolina

·         South Dakota

·         Texas

·         Vermont

·         Washington

·         West Virginia

·         Wisconsin

·         Wyoming

Legislation introduced in these statesembraces 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, if both parents are fit and there has been no domestic violence.

“Passage of these bills will work to ensure children receive the consistent love and care of not one, but both parents after separation or divorce,” said Dr. Ned Holstein, Founder and Board Chair of National Parents Organization. “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. Thank you to the state legislators who recognized this pressing need by sponsoring this crucial legislation.”

While shared parenting remains unusual in the United States due to the sole custody tradition, 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. In addition, a handful of states in the U.S. have had shared parenting laws in place for several years. Plus, in the last year alone, Missouri passed a bill viewed as good first step on the road toward shared parenting, and reform in Florida made it all the way to the Governor’s desk. These changes are supported by a swelling body of research showing that shared parenting is in the best interest of children when their parents divorce or separate.

“Shared parenting legislation kills several birds with one stone. It eliminates toxic custody battles, which in turn preserves tens of thousands of dollars that can be used for children instead of lawyers. It supports gender equality for men, and frees up women to help close the pay gap. Most important, it serves the best interest of children in most cases, recognizing that children desperately want and need ample time with both beloved parents,” Holstein said. “I urge state lawmakers to swiftly move these proposals into law. Instead of setting up parents for a bitter and unnecessary custody battle, these bills will allow families to heal from the pain of divorce and separation from a position of parental equality.”

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
March 17, 2017

BOSTON, MA – National Parents Organizationurges citizens and legislators nationwide to recognize National Single Parent Day on Tuesday, March 21, by supporting shared parenting legislation across the country.

“Right now, most children of divorce have just one single parent, plus one ‘visitor.’ With shared parenting, they get not just one, but two single parents – two for the price of one,” said Dr. Ned Holstein, Founder and Board Chair of National Parents Organization.

In 1984, President Ronald Reagan issued a proclamation for the day, and in doing so stated that “with the active interest and support of friends, relatives and local communities,” single parents “can do even more to raise their children in the best possible environment.”

“Today, the evidence showing shared parenting is in the best interest of children when parents divorce or separate is overwhelming. With this in mind, backing family law reform that seeks to move shared parenting from rare to common in courtrooms is a terrific way to support ‘the best possible environment’ for children,” Dr. Holstein said. 


While shared parenting – a flexible arrangement where children spend as close to equal time as possible with each parent – is unusual, efforts to turn it from the exception to the norm within family courts are growing. A few states have implemented reform, and numerous states – including Massachusetts, Missouri, North Dakota, Texas, Washington and West Virginia – are currently considering shared parenting legislation. Additionally, shared parenting has received high-profile endorsements, including support from the Catholic Church as well as the International Conference on Shared Parenting and the Council of Europe.

“Millions of American children are suffering from the outmoded practices of the family courts of awarding custody to just one parent, with only a few days per month of parenting time with the other parent. This custody model is not in the best interest of most children. It causes heartache for children, who ardently desire the love and guidance of both parents. And such children have higher rates of substance abuse, teen suicide, teen pregnancy and trouble with the law and do more poorly in school and are more likely to drop out,” Dr. Holstein said. “This National Single Parent Day, let’s work together to help give children of single parents what they most want and need – the constant love and support of both parents.”

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.

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
March 2, 2017

Texas 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 Texas children in mind, National Parents Organization urges legislators to move House Bill 453 forward by immediately scheduling a hearing for the bill in the House Juvenile Justice & Family Issues Committee.

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. 

 “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 Robert Franklin, who chairs National Parents Organization’s Texas affiliate and also serves on the organization’s national board. “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. Thank you to Rep. James White, for recognizing this pressing need by sponsoring this crucial legislation.”


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, Missouri passed a bill supportive of shared parenting, and reform in Florida made it all the way to the Governor’s desk. Additionally, Washington, Texas, North Dakota, Massachusetts, West Virginia and others have joined Texas in considering shared parenting this year. 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 Texas 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,” Dr. Ned Holstein, Founder and Board Chair of National Parents Organization, said. “I urge Texas 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.”

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
February 21, 2017

Missouri 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 SB 377 and HB 724 into law. With these benefits to hundreds of thousands of Missouri children in mind, National Parents Organization urges legislators to immediately schedule hearings for the proposal with the House Judiciary Committee and the Senate Seniors, Families and Children Committee.

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. Last year, Missouri passed a bill supportive of shared parenting, and this year’s bill builds on the new law by proposing a rebuttable presumption that child custody arrangements awarding equal parenting time are in the best interest of the child, with exceptions if a parent is unfit or there has been domestic violence.

 “While the law enacted last year was a good start, passage of the new bill would go further in helping to ensure that children receive the consistent love and care of not one, but both parents after separation or divorce,” said Linda Reutzel, a Missouri grandmother and chair of National Parents Organization of Missouri. “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. Thank you to Rep. Kathy Swan and Sen. Wayne Wallingford for recognizing this pressing need by sponsoring this crucial legislation.”

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, shared parenting reform in Florida made it all the way to the Governor’s desk, and Washington, Texas, North Dakota, Massachusetts, West Virginia and others have joined Missouri in considering shared parenting this year. 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 Missouri 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,” Dr. Ned Holstein, Founder and Board Chair of National Parents Organization, said. “I urge Missouri 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.”

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.” 

 
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

February 10, 2017

Olympia, Washington – With the deadline to schedule Washington State legislative committee hearings landing on Friday, Feb. 17, National Parents Organization urges state lawmakers to prioritize the best interests of children and schedule a House Judiciary Committee hearing on a proposal seeking to move shared parenting after divorce from the exception to the norm.

The bill, HB1554, 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.

 “This bill is vitally important to thousands of families in Washington State, and with that in mind, we urge House Judiciary Committee Chair Rep. Laurie Jinkins to waste no time in scheduling a committee hearing on the bill,” said Branden Durst, Chair of National Parents Organization of Washington. “The statistics – especially as it relates to our African American families – tell a devastating tale of how children and fathers are impacted when dads are unnecessarily pushed out of children’s lives. Every child in our state deserves the love and support of not just one, but both, of their parents – and we can’t afford to deprive them of that any longer.”

The bill has received broad bipartisan support, and prior versions of the legislation were drafted by Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal when he served in the Washington House of Representatives.

While shared parenting remains unusual, a trend toward shared parenting has developed in recent years. A handful of states have benefited from laws supportive of the arrangement for several years. Plus, in the last year alone, Missouri acted on the research by passing a shared parenting bill into law, and shared parenting reform in Florida made it all the way to the Governor’s desk. At the same time, research continues to show that shared parenting is in the best interest of children when their parents divorce or separate.

“Thank you to the multiple Washington State legislators sponsoring a bill seeking to move child custody laws in line with the overwhelming body of research showing that most children desperately want and need shared parenting after divorce or separation,” Dr. Ned Holstein, Founder and Board Chair of National Parents Organization, said. “Too many families have suffered from the family courts’ outdated preference for giving sole custody to one parent.  I urge the House Judiciary Committee to act on this historic opportunity by immediately scheduling a committee hearing for this bill. Instead of setting up parents for a bitter and unnecessary custody battle, HB 1554 will allow families to heal from the pain of divorce and separation from a position of equality and co-parenting.”

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.”

 
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

Feb. 2, 2017

                                                         NEW FLORIDA ALIMONY BILL HEADS TO COMMITTEE

                                         National Parents Organization Supports ‘Balanced Compromise’ Proposal

National Parents Organization supports Florida’s recently introduced alimony legislation and encourages lawmakers to act in the best interest of families and swiftly move the proposal into law.

The active Florida alimony proposal – filed as Senate Bill 412 and House Bill 283 – is similar to bills in past years in that it essentially eliminates permanent alimony. However, unlike the alimony and shared parenting bill vetoed by Gov. Rick Scott last year, the bill focuses solely on the alimony issue.

“The concept of permanent alimony is outdated in today’s society – alimony recipients must take some responsibility to earn a living after divorce in this day and age,” said Alan Frisher, Chair of National Parents Organization of Florida. “This welcome change would provide predictability and consistency for all, plus, divorcing spouses could settle their financial differences out of court versus spending countless dollars on wasteful litigation.”

The proposal allows judges to order an alimony term between 25 percent to 75 percent the length of the marriage. Additionally, the bill calls for a reduction or termination of alimony when the payer retirees.

The bill sits with the Florida House Civil Justice & Claims Subcommittee, and committee Chair Heather Fitzenhagen will soon decide whether the committee hears the bill.

“While Rep. Fitzenhagen has opposed alimony reform in the past, we encourage her to act in the best interests of the families of Florida and allow this bill to be heard. This proposal is a major step in the right direction toward a balanced compromise and less litigation, and we look forward to working with Rep. Fitzenhagen soon to move this legislation forward,” Frisher 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.