NATIONAL PARENTS ORGANIZATION
PRESS RELEASE
September 16, 2015
BOSTON — As an advocate for shared parenting after divorce and separation, National Parents Organization is encouraged to learn a new study shows Millennial women support parental equality.
The recent study from CEB surveyed 2,000 male and female Millennials (ages 20 to 37) then analyzed values through a survey, and according to a Business Insiderstory, the results included that 77 percent of women think both partners should be equally engaged in rearing children. “Gone are the days of the woman’s duties and the man’s duties, for women ages 20 to 37, ‘sharing is caring,’” the story stated.
Dr. Ned Holstein, Founder and Board Chair of National Parents Organization, said, “While this study is encouraging for the parental equality movement sweeping the nation, it also shows that our family courts continue to be out of touch with the modern family. In fact, our nation’s family courts continue in the opposite direction by awarding sole custody to one parent in more than 80 percent of cases.”
Considering the strong support for the two-parent solution from women in the generation that will lead our country into the future, National Parents Organization believes now more than ever is the time for our family courts to end the 1950’s tradition of awarding one parent sole custody while reducing the other parent to little more than a visitor in a child’s life.
Given the family court status quo, National Parents Organization is pleased that within the past year alone, two states have passed and implemented legislation that supports the best interest of children by encouraging shared parenting, rather than the sole custody/visitor model, after divorce or separation, and another nearly 20 states have considered similar proposals. As lawmakers in each state weight their priorities, National Parents Organization urges them to listen to Millennial women and continue to move legislation that supports shared parenting and parental equality forward.
STATES SUPPORTING SHARED PARENTING
Within the past year, states including Utah and South Dakota have passed and implemented legislation supportive of shared parenting after divorce or separation, and the states that have considered similar proposals within the past year include:
- Colorado
- Florida
- Hawaii
- Kentucky
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Missouri
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New York
- South Carolina
- Vermont
- Washington
- Wyoming
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 serves on the faculty.
SINGLE PARENTING VERSUS SHARED PARENTING
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control, the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Census Bureau and numerous researchers have reported alarming outcomes for the 35% of children who are raised by single parents. Yet, until now, this factor has been largely ignored in the conversation about child wellbeing.
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.
Whether the problem is emotional disturbances of children, drug use, alcohol use, teen pregnancy, poor performance in school, trouble with the law or running with gangs, being raised by a single parent is a powerful risk factor. For many of these outcomes, single parenting is a stronger risk factor than race or poverty. Conversely, children on average do much better on all these measures if they have shared parenting. Children ardently desire shared parenting in most cases and are happier with it.
For parents, shared parenting significantly increases child support compliance, diminishes parental conflict and domestic violence and allows both parents to pursue their careers, social lives and other interests without the burden of singlehandedly raising a child.
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