{"id":1976756,"date":"2023-07-18T21:17:02","date_gmt":"2023-07-19T01:17:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/why-states-can-protect-kids-and-support-equal-shared-parenting\/"},"modified":"2023-07-18T21:24:40","modified_gmt":"2023-07-19T01:24:40","slug":"why-states-can-protect-kids-and-support-equal-shared-parenting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/why-states-can-protect-kids-and-support-equal-shared-parenting\/","title":{"rendered":"States can safeguard children and promote equal shared parenting."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fwhy-states-can-protect-kids-and-support-equal-shared-parenting%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1976756&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>A Recent Tragedy Highlights\u200d the Importance of Shared\u200d Parenting\u200b Laws<\/h2>\n<p>A recent article in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2023\/may\/18\/child-custody-laws-domestic-violence-homicide-rising\" \u2063target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The \u2064Guardian<\/a> took a horrific incident \u200bin which an Ohio\u200d father killed his \u2064two children and inexplicably \u200bwarned that a trend of states pushing \u2063for joint custody laws\u200d is\u2062 somehow \u200cputting\u200c more kids in danger.\u2063 As the Chair \u200cof National\u2064 Parents Organization, I am \u2064concerned that such a\u200b poorly informed conclusion threatens to\u2062 roll\u2062 back significant progress \u200cbeing made toward establishing laws that\u2064 ensure that more\u200b children reap\u200d the benefits\u2063 of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/kentucky-costs-would-make-false-accusations-of-household-violence-and-sexual-assault-considered-during-infant-custody-disputes\/\" title=\"Kentucky Costs Would Make False Accusations Of Household Violence And Sexual Assault Considered During INFANT CUSTODY Disputes\">shared parenting<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3>Progress \u2063in Florida and Missouri<\/h3>\n<p>The most recent progress was in\u200b the States of Florida and \u2064Missouri. Just last month, Republican Governor\u2063 DeSantis \u2064signed into law \u2063House \u200dBill 1301 making the Sunshine State the fourth state \u2014 following Kentucky, Arkansas, and West Virginia \u2014\u2063 to enact\u200d an explicit\u200d equal parenting presumption. And earlier \u200dthis month, Governor Parson (R) signed Senate Bill\u2062 35 to add Missouri to the equal \u2064shared parenting \u200cstates.<\/p>\n<h3>A Tragic Story and\u200d Misguided\u2064 Conclusions<\/h3>\n<p>The Guardian article begins with a horrific story of a father, Shane Elliott, who abused \u2064his wife, Kellie, and \u200bultimately murdered their two children, Caleb and Gracie, \u2064before killing \u2063himself. The \u200bfacts\u2063 of this story are appalling \u200band represent\u200c a shameful\u2062 failure \u200dof \u200dOhio\u2019s current\u2063 family\u200c court\u200c system\u2064 to protect \u2062Kellie, Caleb, and\u2064 Gracie.\u200d Shane\u2019s long\u2063 history of \u200cviolence was well documented and Ohio\u2019s \u200bcourts should have protected\u200d the victims.<\/p>\n<p>What lesson \u200bare we to take from this\u200b shocking \u2062story? \u200cThe Guardian story suggests that this story, and others \u2064like it, \u200cshow that\u2062 it is dangerous\u2063 to establish legal presumptions of equal\u200c shared parenting for divorced\/separated parents. But, \u2064for multiple reasons, it\u2019s a mystery how this\u200d conclusion\u200c is \u200bsupposed to follow.<\/p>\n<p>In the first \u200dplace,\u200c the tragedy that \u200dbefell Kellie \u200dElliott and her children \u200dwas not the result\u200c of their being \u2064in Shane\u2019s care\u2063 50%\u2064 of the time. Shane \u2062was a clear and present \u200cdanger to Kellie and \u200ctheir children and \u2064should not \u200chave had <i>any<\/i> unsupervised\u200c time\u2064 with the children. The \u2064Elliott\u2019s \u2064divorce took\u200c place in Preble County. At the \u200btime of their divorce, Preble County\u2019s default parenting\u200b time schedule \u2064would\u2062 allow the children to\u2062 be in\u200d the care of a non-residential parent for \u200b82\u200c hours and four overnights\u2063 in a two-week period during\u200c the school \u200byear, half\u2063 the holidays, and extended \u2062time in the summer. \u2063It \u200bis beyond\u2064 belief \u2062that the \u200dtragedy that\u2063 befell Kellie\u2062 and\u2063 her\u2062 children would have \u200cbeen \u2062prevented had Shane been restricted to that\u2064 schedule. Of course, courts \u2062need to\u2062 do a better job of\u2064 protecting\u200c children \u200cfrom\u2062 abuse.\u200d But, if\u200d a\u2063 parent is abusive, \u2063that isn\u2019t \u2063accomplished by allowing a parent unsupervised time but\u2064 just ensuring that it\u2019s less\u2062 than \u2063equal parenting\u2063 time. It\u2019s \u200daccomplished by \u2063doing a better job \u200dof \u200cidentifying\u200d dangerous parents and ensuring that these \u200dparents don\u2019t have <i>any<\/i> unsupervised \u2062time with their children.<\/p>\n<p>Second, every equal shared parenting bill I\u2019m \u200daware of, and most certainly \u200cevery such \u2063bill that National\u200c Parents Organization has supported, explicitly \u200band specifically \u2064creates an exception for cases\u2062 of documented domestic violence.\u200c The 50\/50 presumption would not\u2062 apply in\u200c those cases.<\/p>\n<p>Third, opponents of presumptions\u200c of equal shared parenting have presented insufficient evidence that such presumptions \u200cplace victims of domestic violence or children at increased \u2062risk. Indeed, the \u2062evidence \u2064we do\u2062 have points in exactly \u2062the opposite direction. <a \u200chref=\"https:\/\/papers.ssrn.com\/sol3\/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3718190#\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Research from \u2062Spain<\/a>\u2064 found \u2062that the regions of Spain that instituted\u2063 presumptions of shared parenting\u2062 saw a\u200b \u201clarge \u2064and\u2064 significant decrease in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/covid-19-pandemic-drives-record-breaking-number-of-drug-overdoses\/\" title=\"COVID-19 Pandemic Drives \u2018Record Breaking\u2019 Number Of Drug Overdoses\">intimate partner violence<\/a>,\u201d with regions without such a \u200bpresumption seeing\u200b no\u200d such \u200cdecline.<\/p>\n<p>U.S. \u2063states that have \u2063created legal\u2062 presumptions\u200d of equal shared parenting have not experienced increases in domestic \u200cviolence or \u200bchild maltreatment. Just the opposite. Take Kentucky, for example. According\u200b to the Kentucky Department of Information and \u200bTechnology Services, the number of domestic relations cases \u200dthat were also domestic violence cases dropped from 988 \u2064in 2017 \u2014 when the state\u200c created\u200b its first equal\u200d shared parenting\u200b presumption\u200b \u2014 \u2062to 454 in \u200b2022, a\u200c drop of more than \u200d50%.<\/p>\n<p>What\u2064 about child maltreatment? According to\u2062 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.acf.hhs.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/documents\/cb\/cm2021.pdf\" \u200btarget=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">statistics<\/a> from the Department of Health and\u200b Human Services, Arizona and Kentucky,\u200b both of which have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/why-states-can-protect-kids-and-support-equal-shared-parenting\/\" title=\"States can safeguard children and promote equal shared parenting.\">strong equal shared\u2064 parenting presumptions<\/a>, have significantly lower\u200c and decreasing levels of \u2064child \u2062abuse \u200band neglect than\u2062 Ohio. \u2062<a\u2064 href=\"https:\/\/www.sharedparenting.org\/s\/Shared-Parenting-and-Child-Abuse-and-Neglect-An-Ohio-Studydocx.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">An\u2064 NPO\u2062 study<\/a>\u2064 comparing\u2062 child\u200b maltreatment cases in Ohio found\u200c that, in \u2064counties \u200dwith presumptions of equal \u200cshared parenting,\u2063 cases of child\u2062 abuse and neglect \u2063<i>decreased<\/i> significantly in comparison\u2063 with other counties.<\/p>\n<p>The Guardian\u2062 article\u200b notes that \u201c[t]he vast majority of the time, children \u2064who are the \u2064victims in homicide-suicide cases die at \u200cthe hands of \u2064their\u200b fathers or male \u200bcaregivers.\u201d\u2064 While\u200b this is true, it says more \u200dabout the suicide element than the homicide element. We \u2064know that <a\u200b href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC1732362\/pdf\/v057p00993.pdf\" \u200btarget=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">divorced fathers<\/a> are more\u200b than \u200d8 times more likely to commit \u2064suicide \u200cthan divorced mothers. With respect to the likelihood of a parent\u2064 killing a\u2062 child, the\u2062 statistics are quite different. According to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.acf.hhs.gov\/cb\/report\/child-maltreatment-2021\" target=\"_blank\"\u200b rel=\"noopener\">Department \u2063of Health \u2062and Human Services, in\u200d 2021<\/a>, \u200dfathers \u200cacting alone committed 13.5% of\u200b child murders while mothers acting alone committed 29.5%. \u2062Fathers acting \u200bwith a non-parent were responsible for 1.9% of child murders while mothers\u200d acting with\u200c a non-parent were\u200c responsible for\u200d 11%.<\/p>\n<p>The bottom line is \u200cthis: our legal system needs to\u2064 do\u2062 a\u200b better job of \u2062identifying parents who present a\u2063 danger \u2063to the other parent or to the \u2064children and protecting \u200cpotential victims. That\u2019s for sure. But you \u2064don\u2019t accomplish \u200cthat by \u200ddenying children the presumption of a continuing full \u2062relationship with \u200cboth fit \u200dand loving parents just \u200bbecause\u200d the parents are\u200d no \u200dlonger\u200d living together.<\/p>\n<p>So, \u2063why is\u2064 National Parents\u200b Organization \u201cpushing \u200cfor joint custody\u200d laws\u201d? Because <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sharedparenting.org\/articles\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">forty\u2064 years\u2062 of research<\/a> \u200chas shown that, \u200cin the\u2062 vast\u2064 majority \u200bof cases, it\u2019s best for children. It\u2019s also best for both\u200d parents to ensure that neither is overburdened with \u2063parental duties \u200dnor \u200bsidelined in \u2064the children\u2019s lives. \u200bWe \u200cdo not <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/colin-kaepernick-offering-free-autopsies-for-families-of-those-killed-in-police-related-incidents\/\" title=\"Colin Kaepernick Offering Free Autopsies For Families Of Those Killed In \u2018Police-Related\u2019 Incidents\">protect potential victims<\/a>\u2062 of\u200b violence\u2062 by routinely\u200d denying children \u2064a full \u200band equal relationship \u200dwith both of their fit\u2062 and loving\u2063 parents.\u200d In\u2062 the absence of evidence of family violence, equal shared\u2063 parenting should be\u2063 the starting\u200d point and \u2063the presumptive\u200d parenting\u2063 arrangement \u2063when parents \u2063are separated.<\/p>\n<p><em>Don Hubin is the Chair \u200dof\u200d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sharedparenting.org\/\"\u2064 target=\"_blank\" \u2062rel=\"noopener\">National Parents Organization<\/a>, \u200dProfessor\u200b Emeritus \u2064of\u2063 Philosophy at The Ohio State University, and Founding Director Emeritus \u200dof\u2064 the OSU Center for Ethics\u200b and Human Values.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>The views expressed \u200din \u200dthis piece\u2064 are\u200d those \u200bof the author\u2063 and do not necessarily\u200b represent \u200dthose of The \u2063Daily Wire.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Guardian article highlighted a tragic incident where an Ohio father killed his two children. However, it wrongly suggests that joint custody laws are endangering more kids. As the Chair of National Parents Organization, I am worried about this ill-informed conclusion.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2213,"featured_media":1976757,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[541],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1976756","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-daily-wire"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1976756","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2213"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1976756"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1976756\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1976757"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1976756"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1976756"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1976756"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}