NATIONAL PARENTS ORGANIZATION
PRESS RELEASE
July 26, 2016
BOSTON — National Parents Organization (NPO) congratulates the Massachusetts House for acting in the best interest of children by passing the state’s shared parenting bill on July 23. Known as the Child-Centered Family Law, H4544 draws attention to the overwhelming amount of research showing shared parenting after divorce – a key provision of the proposal – is most beneficial for children’s health and wellbeing, as well as parental and gender equality.
NPO urges the Massachusetts Senate and Gov. Charlie Baker to follow the House’s lead and pass the bill into law. In doing so, Massachusetts would join the growing number of states relying on research and common sense to move shared parenting – a flexible arrangement where children spend as close to equal time as possible with each parent – from the exception to the norm. More than 20 states have considered similar proposals, with a shared parenting law enacted in Missouri earlier this month. Additionally, a vast majority of Massachusetts voters have endorsed shared parenting as the preferred outcome if both parents are fit.
“In recent years, the mounting evidence that children want and need both mom and dad in their lives after divorce now puts the matter beyond reasonable doubt. Simply put, the best interest of a child and shared parenting are one and the same in the average case,” said National Parents Organization Founder and Board Chair Ned Holstein, M.D., who served on the Massachusetts Working Group on Child-Centered Family Law – the group that drafted the legislation. “Given this research, I urge the Massachusetts Senate to move H4544 forward as soon as possible.”
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.
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