National Parents Organization Hosts Event in Support of Shared Parenting

NATIONAL PARENTS ORGANIZATION | PRESS RELEASE
October 30, 3017

National Parents Organization encourages Michigan residents to attend an upcoming event surrounding state legislation seeking to move shared parenting from the exception to the norm following divorce and separation.

The details on this week’s event:

·         6 p.m.-8 p.m., Howell Opera House, Thursday, Nov. 2: “Family Court & Child Custody Town Hall Hearing” – National Parents Organization and Michigan Shared Custody host an informational meeting on shared parenting with Rep. Jim Runestad, R-White Lake, sponsor of the proposed reform, House Bill 4691

National Parents Organization stresses that the proposed legislation will make it much easier for loving parents to win “shared parenting,” a flexible arrangement in which children spend as close to equal time as possible with each parent after divorce or separation. HB 4691 has momentum because it was approved by the Michigan House of Representatives’ Judiciary Committee prior to the legislative summer break. Additionally, this fall, a poll conducted by Marketing Resource Group revealed 84 percent of Michigan voters support children receiving equal time with both parents after a divorce.

“Anyone who has been through a custody battle under the existing law knows that change is needed, and now Michigan has an historic opportunity to support legislation that research shows is what children desperately want and need – and that’s not one, but both loving parents actively involved in their lives,” said Grand Rapids mother and grandmother Linda Wright, who serves as Chair of National Parents Organization of Michigan. “I’m excited for the citizens of our state to learn more about this family friendly proposal through the upcoming events.”

While U.S. Census data shows our family courts still favor sole custody to mom more than 80 percent of the time, Michigan is far from alone in advancing shared parenting. States including Arizona, Alaska, Utah and Wisconsin are among the states with laws supportive of shared parenting, and Kentucky and Missouri have passed shared parenting reform in recent months. Plus, more than 25 states have considered shared parenting this year alone. Outside of the U.S., shared parenting has been the norm in Sweden for years, and research presented this spring at the 2017 International Conference on Shared Parenting in Boston was overwhelmingly supportive of the two-parent model. 

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 shared 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