[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 241 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. CON. RES. 241

 Expressing the support for the enacting of 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

                            October 25, 2007

 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 support for the enacting of 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 approximately 84 percent of the cases where a parent is absent, that 
        parent is the father;
Whereas 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;
Whereas when families (whether intact or with a parent absent) are living in 
        poverty, a significant factor is the father's lack of job skills;
Whereas committed and responsible fathering during infancy and early childhood 
        contributes to the development of emotional security, curiosity, and 
        math and verbal skills;
Whereas an estimated 19,400,000 children (27 percent) live apart from their 
        biological fathers;
Whereas 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 the United States needs to encourage responsible parenting, by both 
        fathers and mothers whenever possible;
Whereas the United States 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 so that parents share 
        children;
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 and a 
        higher payment of financial child support;
Whereas social science literature shows that children are generally well 
        adjusted in an intact family with 2 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;
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; and
Whereas parents with joint custody pay 50 percent more in child support than 
        parents with visitation only or no contact with the child: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That Congress expresses support of the States passing joint custody 
laws for fit parents, so that more children are raised with the benefit 
of having a father and a mother in their lives, careful to protect 
victims of domestic violence, abuse, neglect, children from potential 
kidnapping by a parent.
                                 <all>