More on the the new Iowa JC law..............

[Kitty C.]

Vilsack signs custody bill

By JONATHAN ROOS
REGISTER STAFF WRITER
05/20/2004



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A new law that encourages judges to direct divorcing parents to fully share in the physical care of their children received Gov. Tom Vilsack's strong approval Wednesday.

Vilsack said he saved one of the best bills of the 2004 legislative session, which ended April 20, for last in signing House File 22.

"In too many families in our state, marriages are being dissolved, and children's fate is being decided by courts," the governor said. "With the action taken today, we extend an invitation to Mom and Dad to be very much engaged in the raising of their children."

The law, effective July 1, says that if a divorcing parent asks for joint physical care of a child and a judge denies the request, the judge must explain why it is not in the best interests of the child.

Joint physical care typically means the child lives with each parent about half the time. A more common arrangement is where a child lives with one parent most of the time and the other parent has visitation rights.

Under current law, judges are free to rule on the issue without having to give legal reasons.

"This sends a strong message to the judge that he has to consider this," said Rep. Dan Boddicker of Tipton, a leading sponsor of the legislation.

Critics said the change in child custody laws could skew decisions about what is really in the best interests of the child, lead to more court battles and increase the workload of judges.

"It introduces the idea that joint physical care is the best arrangement for a child, and we don't agree that that should be presumed," said Diane Dornburg, a Des Moines lawyer specializing in family law.

"It could increase contentiousness and litigation between parents," said Dornburg, who heads the legislative committee of the Iowa State Bar Association's family law section.

Vilsack, a Democrat, said he consulted with psychologists and read studies before deciding to sign the bill.

"I wanted to make sure we did the right thing for children," he said. "It appears from the research that . . . when you create an environment where both parents participate and spend time with children, youngsters are better adjusted, better supported, better educated and and have a better life."

The governor alluded to his own upbringing in a Pittsburgh home where his adoptive mother was an alcoholic.

"I remember growing up in a family where I spent time with my dad, and my sister spent time with my mother when my family was separated for a time for several years," Vilsack said.

He said he will encourage judges and lawyers to take a fresh look at the issue.

"This won't be easy to implement. This will potentially be a significant change, but I'm proud of the fact that we're willing to take this step to protect our children and to encourage both parents to be involved in raising their children," he said.

Tamra Jurgemeyer, a therapy supervisor for Children and Families of Iowa, said she has mixed feelings about the legislation.

"The ideal would be that any time there's a divorce, the parents would be equal partners" in the continued care of their children, Jurgemeyer said. "But sometimes that's not what the real world is like."

Vilsack signed one other bill Wednesday. Senate File 2112 allocates $274 million for highway maintenance and other functions of the Iowa Department of Transportation in the budget year starting July 1.

Reporter Jonathan Roos can be reached at
(515) 284-8443 or [email protected]

[tjraid18]

    I think Governor Tom Vilsack just got a whole lot of new best friends. This is really awesome. I was totally going to ask for joint custody in my divorce, but was advised that if both parents didn't agree it would never fly. This is a giant step in keeping caring fathers in their childrens lives. I will also take time to write and thank Governor Tom Vilsack for having the integrity to make a difference in the children of Iowas Lives.

                                                                                             
                              ~ From small acorns grow mighty Oaks ~

[Hawkeye]

'This is a giant step in keeping caring fathers in their childrens lives. I will also take time to write and thank Governor Tom Vilsack for having the integrity to make a difference in the children of Iowans Lives.'

Well said, tj!

"I was totally going to ask for joint custody in my divorce, but was advised that if both parents didn't agree it would never fly."

Hoggwash! No two people are ever going to agree to any or everything 100% of the time, but if the aim is at least 50-50, then the children, in more cases than not, will benefit. How can anything even get much off the ground if tethered from the git go! Someone, maybe a lawyer, gave you bad advice.

[Hawkeye]

:+
"The new law, which takes effect in July, creates a presumption that it is in the child's best interest for parental custody and control to be shared as equitably as possible, Vilsack said. That does not necessarily mean a 50-50 balance but more joint involvement than is currently the case."

:+http://www.gazetteonline.com/print.aspx?art_id=82483


:+http://www.theiowachannel.com/politics/3326069/detail.html
New Law Encourages Courts To Award Joint Care In Divorces

POSTED: 5:47 am CDT May 20, 2004
UPDATED: 6:06 am CDT May 20, 2004
DES MOINES, Iowa -- Gov. Tom Vilsack Wednesday signed the remaining two bills from this year's legislative session, a $274 million transportation funding bill and a law that encourages courts to award joint physical care of a child in a divorce case.

The child custody bill, which goes into effect July 1, encourages judges to permit both parents to be actively involved in the lives of children. In cases where custody is awarded to one parent, they are required to support the other parent's relationship with the child.

Participation includes decisions about the child's medical care, education and religious instruction.

The governor, who said he spent several years bouncing between separated parents, talked to child psychologists and read research on the issue before signing the bill.

He said research indicates children are better adjusted, better educated and better off when both parents participate in raising them.


:+http://www.ejm.lsc.gov/Winter2004/stateofaffairs.htm
EQUAL JUSTICE MAGAZINE
  State of Affairs
      By Daniel Cox

Governor To The Rescue:D
Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack headlines event to aid hemorrhaging Iowa Legal Aid

Contemplating a $1.4 million budget shortfall in 2004, Dennis Groenenboom, executive director of Iowa Legal Aid (ILA), decided to take his case for more legal services resources all the way to the top. When he did, he found Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack more than willing to help.

On Feb. 2, Governor Vilsack headlined "Equal Justice After-Hours: A Tribute to Friends of Iowa Legal Aid." The after-work reception was hosted at the Hotel Fort Des Moines and supported by local law firms, attorneys, and other allies of legal aid.

As it turned out, Gov. Vilsack didn't need much convincing to lend his support. The former partner with the law firm of Bell & Vilsack has been a consistent supporter of legal services throughout his legal career. As a private attorney, he volunteered to take cases pro bono through Iowa's Volunteer Law Program, often donating money right out of his own pocket.

"During my career as a trial attorney, I saw firsthand the need for quality legal representation for defendants who could not afford to hire a lawyer," Vilsack said. "The right to a competent attorney is one of the bedrock principles of the American justice system."

Despite pledges from 68 local corporations, law firms, and individuals to sponsor the event, Groenenboom acknowledges that he has a lot of ground yet to make up. "We have 17 vacant and unfilled attorney positions, as well as six support staff positions, for a total of 23 vacant frozen positions," Groenenboom said. "We are trying to raise sufficient funds to maintain the existing network of 10 regional offices and the staff who are currently working in them."

When the final proceeds are counted from the Des Moines reception, Groenenboom hopes and expects that the Governor's special appearance will help Iowa Legal Aid make major inroads in filling the budget gap.

[tjraid18]

  Heres mine. It's short, I should have spent more time on it. Maybe I'll write another.

   Dear Governor Tom Vilsack,

I am a 36 year old non-custodial parent from the state of Oregon. I have heard about a bill that recently passed in the state of Iowa which might very well make it easier for caring fathers to remain in their childrens lives when divorce or seperation occurs. I am taking the time to write and express my gratitude to you for passing this bill. Too often the non - custdodial parents, usually the fathers, are not able to maintain any sort of relationship with their child(ren) after divorce. There is an element of inequality that exists in courtrooms and state agencies everywhere.
Having a positive father figure is very important to children. I'm sure you have heard all the statistics, studies and arguments that back up that fact. But it's also common sense. Having a father is just about the best thing a child can have. Actually --- the most important things a child can have is a caring father and a caring mother. If they have that, the rest is all icing on the cake.
I am very grateful that you had the integrity to do the right thing  for Iowans and their children by passing this bill. Once again, I thank you.

   I can only vote once, but I can send as many letters of appreciation as I want.

                      ~ From small acorns grow mighty Oaks ~
   

[Hawkeye]

from the June 24, 2004 edition - http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0624/p11s02-lifp.html

When equal custody is law, who gains?
By Marilyn Gardner | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

Ever since Armin Brott of Oakland, Calif., was divorced seven years ago, he and his former wife have shared equally in the care of their two daughters.

One week the girls, now 10 and 14, spend Monday and Tuesday with him, then Wednesday and Thursday with their mother in nearby Berkeley. On Friday they return to Dad's for the weekend, followed by Monday and Tuesday at Mom's. And so it goes through a two-week cycle.

This kind of postdivorce sharing remains relatively rare. But beginning July 1, it will become more common in Iowa. That's the day the state institutes what some family experts are calling the country's first true shared-parenting law. It gives judges power to award joint legal and physical custody if a parent requests it. Judges who refuse must explain their reasons.

Although not everyone agrees that joint custody is best in all cases, some fathers in Britain are hoping for a law similar to Iowa's. Last Friday, nearly a thousand members of a radical fathers' group, Fathers 4 Justice, paraded through London to call attention to what they say is unfair treatment of fathers in custody issues. Members also prepared a document for Parliament calling for family-law reform. Their proposals include a presumption that parenting time will be shared 50-50.

Some joint physical-care arrangements, like Mr. Brott's, are 50-50. Other parents work out 60-40 time splits, or even 70-30. Currently, most children live with their mother after a divorce and see their father on weekends. In 2 million families, the father is the custodial parent.

But what sounds good in theory in this new domestic landscape can become challenging in practice for some families. Critics charge that constantly shuttling children back and forth between two homes can create instability.

"It's destructive of discipline," says Diane Dornburg, chair of the Iowa State Bar Association's family-law section. "It can generate the feeling that the child doesn't belong to either parent."

One member of the Iowa bar, she notes, calls the practice "making the child into a calendar." Her own critical term is "equitable distribution of children." Although parents get equal time with the child, she says, "you're treating the child as a possession to be shared equally. How does that affect the child?"

Trial judges also dislike joint physical custody, Ms. Dornburg finds, because the arrangement is not permanent. If one parent has a new spouse, a new job, or a new house, "that can throw off the balance that created the arrangement in the first place."

Yet such schedules can succeed, Dornburg acknowledges, when parents get along and when both focus on what's best for their children. They must communicate, cooperate, and maintain day-to-day routines.

Some psychologists also caution against rigid 50-50 splits between households. Brenda Payne, a child psychologist in Iowa City, Iowa, emphasizes the need to consider what is developmentally appropriate for a child. She tells of one couple who divorced when their baby was very young. The parents lived in different states but worked out a 50-50 time split.

"They couldn't figure out why the infant wasn't doing well," says Dr. Payne. "It wasn't eating and was crying all the time. It turned out to be pretty much a disaster for the child."

Joint physical care can also be difficult during toilet training, Dornburg says. "For a young child, it can be disruptive to wake up in a different bed and have to figure out which house am I in, where's the potty, and how do I get there from here?"

Shared custody can become less practical and less necessary in adolescence. Even in intact families, Payne notes, teenagers often spend little time with parents.

When Robert Franklin's son and daughter were young, they spent a week at a time with each parent, a schedule that worked well for them. By the time the children had reached sixth grade, says Mr. Franklin, of Boston, the couple abandoned that and instead based decisions about living arrangements on what best met the children's needs.

Family activists see the Iowa law as part of a larger move to change family courts on both sides of the Atlantic. "Noncustodial parents are becoming more vocal, they're becoming more organized, and they're beginning to demand accountability from elected officials," says Michael McCormick, director of the American Coalition for Fathers and Children.

In Massachusetts, supporters of shared parenting are gathering signatures to get a non-binding public-policy question on the ballot in November. Voters will be able to indicate whether they favor joint physical custody after divorce, except in cases where parents are unfit or violent.

"It's basically a philosophy of having two real parents instead of one parent and a visitor," says Ned Holstein, a physician and president of Fathers and Families in Boston. "It's a reasonable solution to the problem of taking care of children after divorce."

That's not necessarily true if the divorced parents don't get along, says Richard Warshak, a clinical psychologist in Dallas and author of "Divorce Poison."

"If the parents are absolutely hostile to each other, and the changeovers [from one house to another] are being used as an excuse to get out some anger at the other parent, that puts the kids in a terrible position," he says.

Still, Dr. Holstein thinks the Iowa law marks the beginning of "the most effective improvement for children of the last 30 years and the next 20 years."

Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack calls it the most significant bill he has signed this year.

State Rep. Dan Boddicker (R), the bill's sponsor, has no illusions that the path ahead will be smooth. "It'll take a while for this to be fully implemented," he says. "There's a lot of reluctance in the courts to take this seriously." Even so, he adds, "I'm hoping it will lead to good things in Iowa, and that other states will follow."