Child Care
Shared Parenting Research
Here is a summary of a seminal study of Father Absence done at Princeton University, Center for Child-Wellbeing: “This study measures the likelihood of incarceration among contemporary male youths from father-absent households, using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. Hypotheses test the contribution of socioeconomic disadvantage, poverty, family instability, residential adults in father-absent households, as well as selection bias. Results from longitudinal event history analysis show that while certain unfavorable circumstances, such as teen motherhood, low parent education, urban residence, racial inequalities and poverty, are associated with incarceration among father-absent youths, net of these factors, these youths still face double the odds [of incarceration] of their peers. Nonetheless, youths from stepparent families are even more vulnerable to the risk of incarceration, especially those in father-stepmother households, which suggests that the re-marriage may present even greater difficulties for male children than father absence.” Emphasis and brackets added. From FATHER ABSENCE AND YOUTH INCARCERATION by Cynthia C. Harper, Ph.D. and Sara S. McLanahan, Ph.D. Go to: 5. https://sharedparentinginc.orgWP99-03-HarperFatherAbsence.pdf
Here’s what the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services has to say:
“More than a quarter of American children—nearly 17 million—do not live with their father. Girls without a father in their life are two and a half times as likely to get pregnant and 53 percent more likely to commit suicide. Boys without a father in their life are 63 percent more likely to run away and 37 percent more likely to abuse drugs. Both girls and boys are twice as likely to drop out of high school, twice as likely to end up in jail and nearly four times as likely to need help for emotional or behavioral problems.” — HHS Press Release, Friday, March 26, 1999.
For more research from Princeton’s center for Child-Wellbeing, go to: http://crcw.princeton.edu/
Smart Divorce
Mediating a difficult custody case: attorney Cindy Cartier’s experience
A difficult, high conflict case Attorney Cartier had a difficult case a few years ago. The parents were married for 7 years during which marital relations broke down, then decided to separate. They came to attorney Cartier to mediate the custody of their two children,...
CT Supreme Court signals end to lengthy custody litigation
The August 14 decision in R.H. v. M.H., SC 20882, addresses the failure of the court to serve the best interests of the children in this and many other custody cases. While the primary argument centers around judicial discretion, the Court acknowledges that the...
Children Suffer In A Connecticut High Conflict Divorces
In December 2023, the Connecticut Supreme Court heard the case of R.H. v M.H., SC 20882. The parents had filed hundreds of motions in their battle, all apparently justified by the “best interests” standard. The details are dwarfed by over four years of litigation. How...
Do Connecticut courts encourage shared parenting?
Cindy Cartier, a lawyer who does divorce mediation, writes “In recent weeks, my phone has been ringing off the hook with folks interested in mediation over litigating their family law issues. Upon inquiry, many of them are hearing of court cases where the Judges are...