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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State
Rep. Robert E. Belfanti, Jr. |
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Bill would introduce joint custody presumption in Pa. child custody law
HARRISBURG, Feb. 4 – Legislation sponsored by state Rep. Robert E. Belfanti would require courts considering child custody cases in Pennsylvania to begin those cases with a presumption that both parents have an important role to play in the care of a child after they separate or divorce.
The legislation (H.B. 463), which was examined today as part of a House Judiciary subcommittee hearing today on child custody issues in Pennsylvania, would create a rebuttal presumption in state law that joint custody is in the best interest of a child.
"The state's current 'best interest of the child' standard is too often based on outdated, inaccurate or stereotypical views of parenting in our society and the relationship that each parent has with a child," Belfanti said. "Under my legislation, the goal in every child custody case would still be finding an arrangement that represents the best interest of the child, but we would start from a presumption that joint custody represents that best interest and work from there, not the other way around."
Belfanti stressed that the legislation does not mandate joint custody or any other type of custody arrangement, nor any specific division of physical custody. Courts would still have wide discretion in deciding final custody arrangements.
"This joint custody presumption is a guide, a starting point, but not a straitjacket," he said. "It does not require shared parenting, nor does it reduce or eliminate protections against unfit or violent parents gaining custody or have access to children. It simply instructs the courts, when possible and appropriate, to maximize exposure of the child to each parent and to recognize that fit parents who have a desire and ability to share responsibility for custody and care of their child after a separation or divorce have the right to do so."
Belfanti said the legislation would also require parental counseling in all contested child custody cases and, in cases where joint custody is awarded, require each parent to file a detailed parenting plan to be reviewed by the court. More than 30 other states already have some form of a joint custody rebuttal provision in place, he said.
"The impact that a single-parent household has on a child can be startling," he said. "For instance, about 63 percent of teen suicides, 90 percent of homeless or runaway children, 71 percent of high school dropouts and 85 percent of youth in prison come from fatherless homes," Belfanti said. "Both mothers and fathers are an important part of a child's life. In cases where both are willing – and able – to provide custody and care for a child after a separation or divorce, that is the position from which the courts should start, as well."
Today's public hearing by the House Subcommittee on Family Law was focused on Belfanti's bill, as well as H.Bs. 418 and 1639, as well as other proposed reforms to the child custody process in Pennsylvania.