[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 477 Introduced in House (IH)]








109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. CON. RES. 477

Expressing the sense of the Congress that the States should enact joint 
custody laws for fit parents, so that more children are raised with the 
        benefits of having a father and a mother in their lives.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 21, 2006

 Mr. Bartlett of Maryland (for himself and Mr. Abercrombie) submitted 
    the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
Expressing the sense of the Congress that the States should enact joint 
custody laws for fit parents, so that more children are raised with the 
        benefits of having a father and a mother in their lives.

Whereas, in the Fatherhood Program provided for in section 117 of H.R. 240, as 
        introduced in the House of Representatives on January 4, 2005, it states 
        that--

    (1) in approximately 84 percent of the cases where a parent is absent, 
that parent is the father;

    (2) if current trends continue, half of all children born today will 
live apart from one of their parents, usually their father, at some point 
before they turn 18 years old;

    (3) where families (whether intact or with a parent absent) are living 
in poverty, a significant factor is the father's lack of job skills;

    (4) committed and responsible fathering during infancy and early 
childhood contributes to the development of emotional security, curiosity, 
and math and verbal skills;

    (5) an estimated 19,400,000 children (27 percent) live apart from their 
biological fathers; and

    (6) 40 percent of the children under age 18 not living with their 
biological fathers had not seen their fathers even once in the past 12 
months, according to national survey data;

Whereas single parents are to be commended for the tremendous job that they do 
        with their children;
Whereas America needs to encourage responsible parenting by both fathers and 
        mothers, whenever possible;
Whereas America needs to encourage both parents (and extended families) to be 
        actively involved in children's lives;
Whereas a way to do that is to encourage joint custody (shared parenting);
Whereas the American Bar Association found in 1997 that 19 States plus the 
        District of Columbia had some form of presumption for joint custody, 
        either legal, physical, or both, and since then, 13 additional States 
        have added some form of presumption, bringing the current total to 32 
        States plus the District of Columbia;
Whereas Census Bureau data shows a correlation between joint custody (shared 
        parenting) and a higher payment of financial child support;
Whereas social science literature shows that children are well adjusted in an 
        intact family with two parents in the home, and research also shows that 
        for children of divorced, separated, and never married parents, joint 
        custody is strongly associated with positive outcomes for children on 
        important measures of adjustment and well being; and
Whereas research by the Department of Health and Human Services shows that the 
        States with the highest amount of joint custody subsequently had the 
        lowest divorce rate: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),  
That it is the sense of the Congress that the States should pass joint 
custody laws for fit parents, so that more children are raised with the 
benefits of having a father and a mother in their lives.
                                 <all>