COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – Lawmakers in Ohio are considering a bill that would give divorced parents 50:50 custody of their children as a starting point.
Similar to a proposal tabled last year, House Bill 14 would automatically introduce an Equal Parenting Agreement when custody battles begin. The bill’s supporters, Reps. Rodney Creech (R-West Alexandria) and Marilyn John (R-Shelby), said revising existing custody laws in Ohio will protect parents’ right to see their children — and vice versa.
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“We have a win-lose system where children are often caught in the middle or, worse, have to choose between their parents or are used as pawns in a conflict,” John said. “Until the system changes, our kids will keep losing.”
Under the bill, Ohio judges would be required to encourage divorced parents to submit a 50:50 care plan to the court, including child support and school attendance arrangements. If the parents disagree, they must prove to the court – using a heavier burden of proof than at present – why an equal upbringing would not suffice.
Judges must assume that a 50:50 arrangement is appropriate. However, if a parent can successfully present “clear and compelling” evidence proving otherwise, the judge can reassess where one parent should have primary custody of another.
John said that not only will embracing equal parenting encourage parents to negotiate a custody agreement before entering a custody battle in court, but that the 50:50 split of parenting time will also benefit a child’s development.
“Children raised in single-parent households without the involvement of the other parent, particularly the father, are at the highest risk of crime, suicide, mental illness, incarceration and poor academic performance,” John said. “And that’s just the shortlist.”
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Although Creech said 59 bipartisan lawmakers supported a similar bill to House Bill 508, which was introduced last year, the proposal is not immune to controversy.
Franklin County Judge James Brown, who also serves as vice president of the Ohio Association of Domestic Relations Judges, said the bill could do more harm than good, especially for the children who are at the center of the custody battles.
“It’s a misguided attempt to solve a problem that doesn’t really exist,” Brown said. “We have the common upbringing now; We have 50-50 orders if it suits a child’s needs – we’re not against it.”
But applying the presumption of equal parenting from the outset removes judges’ discretion to order different outcomes when different circumstances exist, he said, undermining their ultimate goal: protecting the child’s best interests.
“Proposed House Bill 14 reverses that and makes the presumption about the parents,” Brown said. “And that’s an unacceptable suggestion, because our focus shouldn’t be on how we please a parent or what we do for a parent; Our focus needs to be what is in the best interests of the child.”
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The bill also ignores the practical considerations of child custody arrangements, Brown said. Most court-ordered arrangements allow parents to spend time together, but it’s nearly impossible to divide that time evenly when you consider employment, transportation, school location, and other factors.
dr Maria Houston, executive director of Columbus-based domestic violence prevention group LSS Choices, said adopting a 50:50 parenting can backfire when it comes to family abuse.
Adjusting the burden of proof from the current standard of “preponderance of evidence” to the higher standard of “clear and convincing” could make it more difficult for victims and survivors of domestic violence to prove abuse.
“Often we know that even if the abuser is the father of the children, the abuser could use the children to manipulate or further abuse the victim,” Houston said.
However, Creech said there were enough safeguards in HB 14 to create exceptions to the presumption of equal parenting when necessary. The state shouldn’t penalize all Ohio children just because of the potential for abuse, he said.
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“What can we do to improve the mental health of our children?” Creech asked his fellow MPs. “Well, maybe the first thing we can do is stop ripping them away from two fit parents.”
HB 14 is awaiting further hearings in the House Committee on Families and Old Age.
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