NATIONAL PARENTS ORGANIZATION
PRESS RELEASE

June 23, 2017


NATIONAL PARENTS ORGANIZATION THANKS MICHIGAN LAWMAKERS FOR MOVING SHARED PARENTING FORWARD

National Parents Organization applauds the Michigan House of Representatives’ Judiciary Committee for sending the message that fathers matter every day, not just on the recently celebrated Father’s Day. The message came by way of the committee passing House Bill 4691 on June 20.

“Research shows that children want and need fathers in their lives just as much as mothers after separation or divorce, and I want to thank the House Judiciary Committee for working to bring our state’s child custody laws in line with the data,” said Linda Wright, a mother and grandmother who’s actively involved in the legislation.

The bill, sponsored by Rep. Jim Runestad, supports shared parenting – a flexible arrangement where children spend as close to equal time with each parent as possible after divorce or separation. While U.S. Census data shows our family courts still favor sole custody to mom more than 80 percent of the time, Michigan is not 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 20 states have considered shared parenting in recent years, according to The Wall Street Journal. Outside of the U.S., shared parenting has been the norm in Sweden and Australia for years, and research presented last month at the 2017 International Conference on Shared Parenting in Boston was overwhelmingly supportive of the two-parent model.

Michigan’s bill now heads to the House and Senate.

NATIONAL PARENTS ORGANIZATION

PRESS RELEASE

June 15, 2017


BOSTON – This Father’s Day, National Parents Organization would like to recognize the millions of fathers who are fighting for shared parenting – the right to continue to be active and loving dads after separation or divorce.

“It is not just about your ‘rights,’ although there is no reason a good father should not have the same rights as a good mother. It is also about what is best for your children, since over 50 research studies from numerous countries show that children with shared parenting on average have much better lives than the millions of children in the sole custody of one parent,” said Ned Holstein, MD, National Parents Organization’s Founder and Board Chair.

Dr. Holstein’s message to dads lands at a time when U.S. Census data shows our family courts still favor sole custody to mom more than 80 percent of the time, despite the similarity of gender roles in modern couples.

“I know the battle for legal equality in family court feels like a frustrating and uphill battle. But dads, don’t give up. For the sake of one-third of our nation’s children – that’s how many kids are now affected by child custody issues – I encourage you to keep up this good fight,” Dr. Holstein said.

NATIONAL PARENTS ORGANIZATION
PRESS RELEASE
June 12, 2017


Michigan lawmakers have the opportunity to improve children’s educational achievements, decrease their use of drugs, and improve their overall health and adjustment without any cost to the taxpayer by passing shared parenting into law. With these benefits to hundreds of thousands of Michigan children in mind, National Parents Organization urges the Judiciary Committee of the Michigan House of Representatives to pass House Bill 4691 when it votes on the bill this Thursday, June 15, at 8:30 a.m.

The legislation embraces parental equality and shared parenting – a flexible arrangement where children spend as close to equal time as possible with each parent after divorce or separation. Specifically, the bill proposes a rebuttable presumption of shared parenting when parents divorce or separate, meaning the conversation begins with the two-parent solution.

“Passage of this bill will work to ensure that children receive the consistent love and care of not one, but both parents after separation or divorce,” said Linda Wright, a Michigan mother who’s taking an active role in working to pass this legislation. “We can’t afford to allow our broken family court system to continue with the sole custody status quo – our children can’t be deprived of either parent any longer.”

The bill had had multiple hearings in the past two months and is sponsored by Rep. Jim Runestad with co-sponsorship from Rep. Tim Kelly, Rep. Scott VanSingel, Rep. Peter Lucido, Rep. Roger Hauck. Rep. Tristen Cole and Rep. Jim Tedder.

NATIONAL PARENTS ORGANIZATION
PRESS RELEASE

June 8, 2017

BOSTON – For two days, attendees from 24 countries, ranging from China to the Middle East to Europe and North America, converged in Boston to hear child development experts throughout the world present more than 35 studies on what’s best for children when parents divorce or separate.

“The scientific evidence was crystal clear: Children with shared parenting after parental separation or divorce show better grades in school, better social adjustment, less drug and alcohol use, less truancy and delinquency, and better overall health. They desperately want and need both parents. Only rarely do we find that a simple change in the law can have so many positive effects for children, and at no cost to the taxpayer,” said National Parents Organization’s Founder and Board Chair, Ned Holstein, MD.

The 2017 International Conference on Shared Parenting, hosted by Boston-based National Parents Organization and European-based International Council on Shared Parenting, was held at the Westin Copley Place Hotel in downtown Boston.

NATIONAL PARENTS ORGANIZATION
PRESS RELEASE

May 22, 2017


BOSTON – An upcoming scientific conference will explore whether judges and parents have been misled for decades about what custody arrangements are best for children when parents do not live together. The International Conference on Shared Parenting 2017 will convene May 29 and 30. Most of the leading researchers in the world will explore over 30 years of research on this topic, which affects over one-third of all children in the U.S.

“For decades, judges and parents have been taught that children need one home, one decision-maker, one bed, and one place to put down their schoolbooks when parents are apart,” said Dr. Ned Holstein, Founder and Chair of the Board of National Parents Organization. For instance,judicial training in Nebraska taught just that, based on documents finally disclosed after a several-year freedom-of-information battle. According to Dr. Holstein, co-host of the conference, “Recent publications by the most eminent researchers suggest the upcoming conference may turn this accepted wisdom on its head. If so, millions of children may be affected.”

The conference, hosted by the Boston-based National Parents Organization and the European-based International Council on Shared Parenting, takes place at the Westin Copley Place Hotel in downtown Boston. The scientific program includes researchers from18 countries, including from Sweden and Australia, where powerful research is possible because shared parenting has been the norm there for years.

Controversial topics will include:

·         Is shared parenting better for children if one parent fights in court for sole custody?

·         Is shared parenting better for infants?

·         What if there is a mild to moderate degree of parental conflict?

·         What if one parent has been the predominant breadwinner and the other has been the predominant caretaker?

·         Is shared parenting simply a way to get reduced child support payments?

·         What about same-sex parents?