National Parents Organization
Press Release
April 13, 2016
BOSTON — With National Ex-Spouse Day – Thursday, April 14 – meant to “be a positive day of reflection and to encourage people to release anger or resentment,” as reported in USA Today, National Parents Organization encourages states across the country to continue the national trend to reform our family courts by enacting shared parenting legislation after parents separate or divorce.
In the last year, more than 20 states have introduced legislation that would treat parents more equally in instances of divorce while also providing children what they most want and need – as close to equal time as possible with both their parents. Florida and Missouri are two most recent examples, with Missouri’s legislature advancing a shared parenting bill in the Senate and Florida passing a bill that now awaits the Governor’s signature.
“Families heal from the pain and anger of separation and divorce with shared parenting, which is good for the entire family, especially the children, Dr. Ned Holstein, MD, Founder and Board Chair of National Parents Organization, said. “The research shows that children do much better when their parents share parenting time more equally. And first-time rates of domestic violence are lower with shared parenting, instead of the victor-vanquished dynamic of one parent having sole custody. This National Ex-Spouse Day, I can’t think of a better way to heal families than by making shared parenting, rather than sole custody, the norm in our society.”
While shared parenting remains unusual, a handful of states, as well as Sweden and Australia, have implemented reform in recent years, and the arrangement has received high-profile endorsements, including support from the Catholic Church as well as the 2015 International Conference on Shared Parenting and the Council of Europe.
“Our nation’s family court status quo sets parents up for a bitter, winner-takes-all child custody battle, and in line with the intention of National Ex-Spouse Day, let’s support shared parenting laws so that exes can step into divorce courtrooms on equal, less contentious footing so they can focus on working together for the best interests of their children,” Dr. Holstein said.
MEDIA SOURCE
Ned Holstein, M.D., M.S., Founder and Board Chair of National Parents Organization
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, Dr. 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.
RECENT RESEARCH: SHARED PARENTING VERSUS SINGLE PARENTING
Shared Parenting Data
· 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 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.”
· 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.