NATIONAL PARENTS ORGANIZATION
PRESS RELEASE
October 2, 2014
NATIONAL PARENTS ORGANIZATION HONORS CHILD HEALTH DAY SHARED PARENTING ADVOCACY EFFORTS UPHOLD HISTORIC PROCLAMATION
BOSTON — National Parents Organization will honor National Child Health Day, Monday, Oct. 6, 2014, by continuing to advocate for shared parenting – the child custody arrangement that federal statistics as well as child development studies consistently show serves the best interest of children’s health and well-being after parents divorce or separate.
By promoting shared parenting – also referred to as equal child custody – National Parents Organization answers a call President Calvin Coolidge made in 1928 under a Joint Resolution of Congress that proclaimed National Child Health Day a United States Federal Observance Day. In the proclamation, the President invited all agencies and organizations interested in child welfare to unite on Child Health Day, and he stated that “a day should be set apart each year for the direction of our thoughts towards the health and well-being of our children.”
Ned Holstein, M.D., M.S., National Parents Organization Founder and Board Chair, says, “On National Child Health Day, I can’t think of a better way to uphold the best interest of children’s health and well-being than doing everything in our power to bring children what they most need, and that’s two loving parents actively involved in their lives.”
Contrary to common belief, family courts rarely award shared parenting following divorce or separation. Sole custody, usually awarded to the mother, occurs in a great majority of cases, and as a result, the percentage of children growing up in a single-parent home has risen to more than 35 percent. National Parents Organization is working to reverse these trends by advocating nationwide for child custody law reform that supports shared parenting; these efforts are rooted in child health statistics and studies, including:
·According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 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 dropouts
75% of children in chemical abuse centers
85% of those in prison
85% of children who exhibit behavioral disorders
90% of homeless and runaway children
·In 2014, three leading child development organizations released research-based endorsements for shared parenting. As one example, in April, the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts published the recommendations of family law experts, concluding, “Children’s best interests are furthered by parenting plans that provide for continuing and shared parenting relationships . . .”
National Parents Organization invites others to join its shared parenting efforts as a way to uphold the National Child Health Day Proclamation reminder that “the protection and development of the health of the children of today are fundamental necessities to the future progress and welfare of the Nation.”
MEDIA SOURCE
Ned Holstein, MD, MS
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, improves the lives of children and strengthens society by protecting every child’s right to the love and care of both parents after separation or divorce. We seek better lives for children through family court reform that establishes equal rights and responsibilities for fathers and mothers.