Afcc Think Tank Final Report Closing the Gap: Research, Policy, Practice, and Shared Parenting

I. Overview......................................................................................................153 II. Definitions Relevant to Shared Parenting............................................................154 III. Social Changes Leading to the Emergence of Shared Parenting as a Major Family Law Controversy..................................................................................155 IV. Legal Changes Leading to the Emergence of Shared Parenting as a Major Family Law Controversy..................................................................................156 Presumptions in Custody Law: A Brief Historical Introduction...............................156 The Current Status of Shared Parenting Presumptions...........................................156 Domestic Violence and “Friendly Parent” Provisions.............................................157 Parenting Plans .............................................................................................. 157 V. Priorities at Issue............................................................................................158 VI. The Evidence Social Psychological Research Brings to Bear on Potential Policy Directions............................................................................................159 Shared Parenting: Sharing the Parenting Rather than Dividing the Time...................161 Parent Involvement ......................................................................................... 162 Young Children’s Overnights............................................................................163 Domestic Violence/IPV....................................................................................164 VII. Complications in Applying Shared Parenting Research to Family Law.....................164 Making Comparisons of Studies that are Not Directly Comparable..........................165 Research Rarely Answers the Specific Question Policy Makers are Trying to Address.....................................................................................................165 Recognizing Trustworthy Research .................................................................... 165 Static versus Dynamic View of Parenting............................................................166 VIII. Presumptions and Factors about Shared Parenting and Joint Decision making...........167 Presumptions ................................................................................................. 167 Factors..........................................................................................................168 IX. Role of the Family Courts in Shared Parenting Dispute Resolution..........................169 X. Future Research ............................................................................................. 170 Shared Parenting Arrangements.........................................................................170 Parent Involvement ......................................................................................... 170 Young Children and Overnights.........................................................................170 Domestic Violence/IPV....................................................................................171 Family Court Processes....................................................................................171 XI. Conclusion....................................................................................................171 Appendix: Think Tank Contributors...........................................................................171 Notes...................................................................................................................172 References............................................................................................................173