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Virginia scores poorly for shared parenting child custody option

When people hear about child custody cases, they might think of cases in the old days when the mother would get custody of a child while the father would only see the child every other weekend and on some holidays. Those days are gone for the most part. Now, shared parenting is becoming more common than it has been in the past. Some of our Virginia readers might be shocked to learn that our state isn't faring so well when it comes to shared parenting.

The National Parents Organization's 2014 Shared Parenting Report Card gave Virginia a grade of D-. That isn't a very good grade when you think of a normal school grading scale of A to F. There are several reasons why the state isn't doing so well in the shared parenting area.

Virginia doesn't have a statutory preference for shared parenting. What's worse than that, there is no language that encourages shared parenting. The benefits a child gets from shared parenting versus single parenting have been documented by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the United States Census Bureau and the United States Department of Justice.

Children raised in single-parent homes account for 63 percent of the teen suicides in the country, 71 percent of the high school dropouts, 85 percent of people in prison, 70 percent of juveniles in institutions operated by states and 85 percent of children who have behavioral disorders. When you look at those shocking statistics, it is easy to see why shared parenting is on the rise.

Anyone who is going through a child custody case might be interested in learning about shared parenting. Learning about the benefits and drawbacks might help you to make a decision about whether it might be a good fit for your case. No one is exempt from the possibility of child custody cases, even celebrities. If you are in need of a child custody attorney, contact our team today.

Source: Richmond.com, "Leadbeater: Shared parenting is the answer to poor child custody grades" Kristen Leadbeater, Jan. 28, 2015

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