Shared Parenting Research
Through our many contacts with single fathers since our inception, we have seen an extreme disconnect between how people would expect our family courts to operate and how they actually do operate. What we have seen is an unfair and biased system that enables and encourages conflict between separated parents. Even worse, their children are exposed to persistent tensions, uncertainty and being caught in the middle of the conflict between their parents.
We decided that we needed to quantify how the citizens of Pennsylvania believe our family courts should operate. In July of 2022 the Dads’ Resource Center, in conjunction with the National Parents Organization, commissioned Researchscape International to do an independent poll of the attitudes of those in Pennsylvania concerning shared parenting when parents live apart.
The results were truly extraordinary and were consistent with what was reported in polls that the NPO has done in other states, Polling Executive Summary
They revealed that the citizens of Pennsylvania overwhelmingly believe children in separated families need, and should have, the
active involvement of both parents while growing up.
Among their responses:
When asked how beneficial it is for a child to have significant time with each parent assuming both parents are fit, willing to be parents and live within reasonable distance of each other, 64% of
respondents believe that to be extremely beneficial, 30% to be very beneficial, 5 to not be too beneficial, and 1% not beneficial at all.
About Dads’ Resource Center
Established in 2015 by AccuWeather Founder and CEO Dr. Joel N. Myers, the Dads’ Resource Center believes that the courts, governmental and social agencies have a solemn obligation to do all they can to ensure that dads are given a fair chance to provide the time, emotional and financial support that their children require and deserve. We believe there needs to be systemic reform that rapidly transforms and modernizes the attitudes and practices of the courts, governmental and social agencies to ensure that both parents are given an equal opportunity to be active in the life of their children.
As an institutional partner of the Pennsylvania Greater Father Family Involvement Campaign the Dads’ Resource Center was part of the successful effort to pass HB 1731 to create the Pennsylvania Advisory Commission on Greater Father Involvement in 2022. With unanimous passage through both chambers of the Pennsylvania General Assembly it was signed into law as Act 114 of 2022 by Governor Tom Wolf.