"Keith Harmon Snow's meticulously documented investigation into sex-trafficking of children by American judges is not to be missed... I might not believe what Mr. Snow has written if I had not independently investigated two dozen cases not discussed in his article, and found ample evidence of the precise dynamics he lays out for us here. Anyone who says they care about child welfare needs to learn what is happening in family courts and take action until it is stopped. Once you start reading this exposé, you won't be able to put it down."
--Lundy Bancroft, Why Does He Do That?
"It is a national scandal that family courts systematically fail to protect children from physical and/or sexual abuse by a predatory parent. What is equally scandalous is the silence of the mainstream media to cover the issue... With luck, when reporters like Keith Harmon Snow shine a light on the grave injustices taking place in family courts, Americans will be filled with a sense of responsibility and take action to protect children from family court abuses."
--Garland Waller
Producer, No Way Out But One
"If you are facing the Family Law or Dependency Courts, do not enter until you have read this book by Keith Harmon Snow. We won my daughter's case and protected my grandchildren with the help of the article that led to this book." -- Lori Johnson, Los Angeles
FUTURE RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES
National Parents Organization plans to further explore statutes pertaining to non-marital children, considering that 40% of all children born in America today are born to unmarried parents, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Moreover, since unmarried parents have less stable relationships than married parents, their children constitute well more than half of the children for whom family courts issue custody orders.
In addition, in every state, judges have the discretion to order shared parenting if they care to. Unfortunately, they do this very infrequently, as shown by the data of the U.S. Census Bureau, which indicates that sole custody to one parent exists in about 83% of cases. Still, in some states,
shared parenting is ordered more frequently than in others, which is another occurrence our organization may explore in the future. For instance, a 2014 study of outcomes in Wisconsin finds that shared physical custody in 2008 occurred in 45% of all divorce cases. That said, the study defines shared parenting such that one parent could have as little as 25% of the parenting time. In most states, unfortunately, custody decisions by the family courts are not properly reported, so that information on the subject is often unreliable and incomplete. Thus, for most states, it may be impossible to determine the actual prevalence of shared parenting orders with precision. The next best analysis was to examine the statutory language, as we have done in this report.
Case law may also be an important determinant of shared parenting, more so in some states than in others. For instance, the New York statute has no language that allows shared parenting, but the court’s decision in Braiman v. Braiman serves as legal precedent that has allowed family court judges to order this arrangement in some cases. Still, this is less powerful than statute, since family court judges can depart from case law
precedent with impunity if the parties do not have the means or desire to appeal to higher courts, or if the family court can make a persuasive
argument for departing from case law; it is more difficult to contravene an explicit statute.
National Parents Organization • PO Box 270760 • Boston, MA 02127 • NationalParentsOrganization.
NATIONAL PARENTS ORGANIZATION 2014 SHARED PARENTING REPORT CARD
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
The principal author of this study is Donald Hubin, PhD. Professor Hubin is a Professor of Philosophy at The Ohio State University, where he is Director of the Center for Ethics and Human Values. Ned Holstein, MD, assisted in writing this report. He is Assistant Clinical Professor at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and holds a Master’s degree in Psychology as well. Both Professor Hubin and Dr. Holstein serve on National Parents Organization’s Board of Directors.
Acknowledgments
The study was sponsored and organized by National Parents Organization, and the organization gratefully acknowledges its Board of Directors
for commitment and encouragement.
National Parents Organization Board of Directors:
Ned Holstein, MD, MS, Massachusetts, Founder and Chairman of the Board
Elizabeth J. Barton, AM, PhD, New York
David Brasington, Massachusetts, Secretary of the Board
Philip Dyk, Connecticut
Ronald Lee Fleming, MA, FAICP, Massachusetts
Robert A. Franklin, JD, Texas, Journalist for National Parents Organization
Benny Hau, MD, California
Donald C. Hubin, PhD, Ohio
Thomas C. Meyers, JD, Massachusetts
Samuel D. Perry, MBA, Massachusetts
Bruce Rogers, Massachusetts
Daniel Wyand, CPWA, New Hampshire, Treasurer
National Parents Organization gratefully acknowledges our Shared Parenting Report Card Team for countless hours of extensive research, analysis, and writing.
Shared Parenting Report Card Team Leader:
Donald C. Hubin, PhD., Ohio, Chair, Executive Committee, National Parents Organization of Ohio
Shared Parenting Report Card Team:
Jerry Aaron, JD, Massachusetts, Member, Executive Committee, National Parents Organization of Massachusetts
Alan Cooke, CFA, Massachusetts, Co-Chair, Executive Committee, National Parents Organization of Massachusetts
Mark Cyzyk, M.A., M.L.S., Maryland, Executive Committee, National Parents Organization of Maryland;
National Parents Organization • PO Box 270760 • Boston, MA 02127 • NationalParentsOrganization.
NATIONAL PARENTS ORGANIZATION 2014 SHARED PARENTING REPORT CARD
Ned Holstein, MD, MS, Massachusetts, Founder and National Executive Director, National Parents Organization
Michelle Glogovac, California, Chair, Executive Committee, National Parents Organization of California
Yeawon Kang, JD, Massachusetts, Legal Researcher, National Parents Organization
Robyn Myler Mann, JD, New York, Member, National Parents Organization of New York
George F. Pagano, Massachusetts, Intern, Suffolk University Law School
Nancy Rigdon, Kansas, Proventus Consulting
R. Steven Sweely, Ohio, Project Manager, National Parents Organization
Burton Taylor, Kansas, Proventus Consulting,
Sean S. Tiernan, Massachusetts, Intern, Suffolk University Law School
About National Parents Organization
Mission
National Parents 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.
Vision
National Parents Organization’s vision is a society in which:
• Children are happier and more successful because their loving bonds are protected after parental separation or divorce;
• Children have a natural right to be nurtured and guided by both parents;
• Society treats fathers and mothers as equally important to the wellbeing of their children;
• Shared parenting after separation or divorce is the norm;
• The courts arrange finances after separation or divorce so that both mothers and fathers can afford to house and care for their children and themselves; and
• Our society understands and respects the essential role of fathers.
Core Principles
Shared Parenting: Shared parenting protects children’s best interests and the loving bonds children share with both parents after separation or divorce;
Parental Equality: Equality between genders has been extended to every corner of American society, with one huge exception: Family Courts and the related agencies, and
Respect for Human and Property Rights: The Supreme Court of the United States has found that “the interest of parents in the care, custody, and control of their children… is perhaps the oldest of the fundamental liberty interests recognized by this Court.”
More information about National Parents Organization can be found at NationalParentsOrganization.
--Lundy Bancroft, Why Does He Do That?
"It is a national scandal that family courts systematically fail to protect children from physical and/or sexual abuse by a predatory parent. What is equally scandalous is the silence of the mainstream media to cover the issue... With luck, when reporters like Keith Harmon Snow shine a light on the grave injustices taking place in family courts, Americans will be filled with a sense of responsibility and take action to protect children from family court abuses."
--Garland Waller
Producer, No Way Out But One
"If you are facing the Family Law or Dependency Courts, do not enter until you have read this book by Keith Harmon Snow. We won my daughter's case and protected my grandchildren with the help of the article that led to this book." -- Lori Johnson, Los Angeles
National Parents Organization plans to further explore statutes pertaining to non-marital children, considering that 40% of all children born in America today are born to unmarried parents, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Moreover, since unmarried parents have less stable relationships than married parents, their children constitute well more than half of the children for whom family courts issue custody orders.
In addition, in every state, judges have the discretion to order shared parenting if they care to. Unfortunately, they do this very infrequently, as shown by the data of the U.S. Census Bureau, which indicates that sole custody to one parent exists in about 83% of cases. Still, in some states,
shared parenting is ordered more frequently than in others, which is another occurrence our organization may explore in the future. For instance, a 2014 study of outcomes in Wisconsin finds that shared physical custody in 2008 occurred in 45% of all divorce cases. That said, the study defines shared parenting such that one parent could have as little as 25% of the parenting time. In most states, unfortunately, custody decisions by the family courts are not properly reported, so that information on the subject is often unreliable and incomplete. Thus, for most states, it may be impossible to determine the actual prevalence of shared parenting orders with precision. The next best analysis was to examine the statutory language, as we have done in this report.
Case law may also be an important determinant of shared parenting, more so in some states than in others. For instance, the New York statute has no language that allows shared parenting, but the court’s decision in Braiman v. Braiman serves as legal precedent that has allowed family court judges to order this arrangement in some cases. Still, this is less powerful than statute, since family court judges can depart from case law
precedent with impunity if the parties do not have the means or desire to appeal to higher courts, or if the family court can make a persuasive
argument for departing from case law; it is more difficult to contravene an explicit statute.
National Parents Organization • PO Box 270760 • Boston, MA 02127 • NationalParentsOrganization.
NATIONAL PARENTS ORGANIZATION 2014 SHARED PARENTING REPORT CARD
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
The principal author of this study is Donald Hubin, PhD. Professor Hubin is a Professor of Philosophy at The Ohio State University, where he is Director of the Center for Ethics and Human Values. Ned Holstein, MD, assisted in writing this report. He is Assistant Clinical Professor at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and holds a Master’s degree in Psychology as well. Both Professor Hubin and Dr. Holstein serve on National Parents Organization’s Board of Directors.
Acknowledgments
The study was sponsored and organized by National Parents Organization, and the organization gratefully acknowledges its Board of Directors
for commitment and encouragement.
National Parents Organization Board of Directors:
Ned Holstein, MD, MS, Massachusetts, Founder and Chairman of the Board
Elizabeth J. Barton, AM, PhD, New York
David Brasington, Massachusetts, Secretary of the Board
Philip Dyk, Connecticut
Ronald Lee Fleming, MA, FAICP, Massachusetts
Robert A. Franklin, JD, Texas, Journalist for National Parents Organization
Benny Hau, MD, California
Donald C. Hubin, PhD, Ohio
Thomas C. Meyers, JD, Massachusetts
Samuel D. Perry, MBA, Massachusetts
Bruce Rogers, Massachusetts
Daniel Wyand, CPWA, New Hampshire, Treasurer
National Parents Organization gratefully acknowledges our Shared Parenting Report Card Team for countless hours of extensive research, analysis, and writing.
Shared Parenting Report Card Team Leader:
Donald C. Hubin, PhD., Ohio, Chair, Executive Committee, National Parents Organization of Ohio
Shared Parenting Report Card Team:
Jerry Aaron, JD, Massachusetts, Member, Executive Committee, National Parents Organization of Massachusetts
Alan Cooke, CFA, Massachusetts, Co-Chair, Executive Committee, National Parents Organization of Massachusetts
Mark Cyzyk, M.A., M.L.S., Maryland, Executive Committee, National Parents Organization of Maryland;
National Parents Organization • PO Box 270760 • Boston, MA 02127 • NationalParentsOrganization.
NATIONAL PARENTS ORGANIZATION 2014 SHARED PARENTING REPORT CARD
Ned Holstein, MD, MS, Massachusetts, Founder and National Executive Director, National Parents Organization
Michelle Glogovac, California, Chair, Executive Committee, National Parents Organization of California
Yeawon Kang, JD, Massachusetts, Legal Researcher, National Parents Organization
Robyn Myler Mann, JD, New York, Member, National Parents Organization of New York
George F. Pagano, Massachusetts, Intern, Suffolk University Law School
Nancy Rigdon, Kansas, Proventus Consulting
R. Steven Sweely, Ohio, Project Manager, National Parents Organization
Burton Taylor, Kansas, Proventus Consulting,
Sean S. Tiernan, Massachusetts, Intern, Suffolk University Law School
About National Parents Organization
Mission
National Parents 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.
Vision
National Parents Organization’s vision is a society in which:
• Children are happier and more successful because their loving bonds are protected after parental separation or divorce;
• Children have a natural right to be nurtured and guided by both parents;
• Society treats fathers and mothers as equally important to the wellbeing of their children;
• Shared parenting after separation or divorce is the norm;
• The courts arrange finances after separation or divorce so that both mothers and fathers can afford to house and care for their children and themselves; and
• Our society understands and respects the essential role of fathers.
Core Principles
Shared Parenting: Shared parenting protects children’s best interests and the loving bonds children share with both parents after separation or divorce;
Parental Equality: Equality between genders has been extended to every corner of American society, with one huge exception: Family Courts and the related agencies, and
Respect for Human and Property Rights: The Supreme Court of the United States has found that “the interest of parents in the care, custody, and control of their children… is perhaps the oldest of the fundamental liberty interests recognized by this Court.”
More information about National Parents Organization can be found at NationalParentsOrganization.
No comments:
Post a Comment