Washington Courts: Judicial News Report Detail

In Search of the Child's Best Interest

In late 1997, Washington's Gender & Justice Commission hired an independent researcher to find out how divorcing couples formulate, negotiate, and implement parenting plans.

Dr. Diane Lye has concluded a review of research on post-divorce parenting and child well-being, the first of a four-pronged approach to the study. Summarized below, are findings she recently presented to the state Legislature.

Individual tailoring of parenting plans, rather than reliance on guidelines or "one size fits all" approaches, and cooperative efforts to limit parental conflicts, are the two key components necessary for child well-being following a divorce, according to a preliminary report by researcher Diane Lye.

Commissioned by members of the Washington State Gender & Justice Commission following their 1997 retreat, Lye's study--due in June of this year--aims to uncover what the records show, and what users and providers say about parenting plans in Washington State.

Need for Review

Parenting plans are seen as the single most frequently expressed concern about divorce in Washington. Commission members expressed interest in reviewing everything from the day-to-day practicalities of adhering to parenting plans, to major policy dilemmas.

Specifically, the study is set to discover how parenting plans are formulated and negotiated, find out if parents are satisfied with their plans, learn whether parenting seminars are helpful to parents, and determine what parenting arrangements are best for children after divorce.

Lye recently concluded the first portion of the study, researching and compiling figures from a number of post-1985 research studies that include direct measures of both post-divorce parenting and child well-being.

Three other study components will include analysis of:

• 400 parenting plans filed and approved by courts in eight counties between May 1997-98.
• Results of focus groups of parent/planners, and other special groups, to address concerns raised by domestic violence advocates and fathers' rights groups
• Interviews with 60 parenting plan providers throughout the state.

Surprise Findings

In her report to the Legislature, Lye revealed several surprise findings.

"I think that most of us start with the assumption that shared parenting is always the best for the child, and there really isn't research to support that. In fact, in some specific instances, it may be harmful to the child," Lye told Judicial News.

Lye said the evidence did not show any particular post-divorce residential schedule as being more beneficial for the children than others. She said children living under joint physical custody arrangements appear to have no specific advantages over those living under any other post-divorce residential schedule.

"The second thing is that parental conflict is extremely damaging to children . shared parenting is not appropriate in high conflict situations," Lye emphasized.

According to Lye's report, researchers agree that parental conflict is a major source of reduced well-being among children of divorced couples. Certain studies indicate the probability of such conflict is fairly high in most situations.

Lye said a 1994 book, Dividing the Child: Social and Legal Dilemmas of Custody showed "Only a minority of our families--about 30 percent--were able to establish cooperative co-parenting relationships. Spousal disengagement, which essentially involved parallel parenting with little communication had become the most common pattern about a quarter of our families remained conflicted at the end of three and a half years."

"High conflict" does not mean domestic violence, Lye explained, which is an entirely separate phenomenon. Conflict ranges from families in which the parents argue in front of their children, to situations where one parent is critical of the other in front of the child. Another classic--and destructive--form of conflict arises when one parent tries to get the children to turn against the other parent.

Policy Implications

The bottom-line policy implication of Lye's research is that policy makers need to steer clear of "one size fits all approaches" to parenting plans. Flexibility, Lye says, is the key.

Washington's parenting plan seems to fit that need, Lye said, since, at least theoretically, it allows parents considerable leeway in tailoring post-divorce parenting arrangements to suit their children's needs.

"The Washington state parenting plan has done quite well in this area, because it allows parents to craft their own solutions," explained Lye. "So far it doesn't seem that this is being fully taken advantage of, but it is something to strive for."

Other policy considerations highlighted by Lyle:

• Shared residential parenting arrangements should be restricted to low conflict, high cooperation families.
• Strategies should be devised to reduce parental conflict--or at least inform parents of its devastating effects--including special classes for divorcing parents.
• Since inadequate income is a major cause of harm to children of divorce, vigorous child support enforcement is needed.

Current Legislation

But one piece of legislation legislators are now considering runs contrary to most of Lye's findings.

House Bill 1470, "shared parent responsibility," declares that absent a preponderance of the evidence to the contrary, it should be presumed that shared parental responsibility is in the best interests of a minor children.

"I think this legislation would do a grave disservice to the children of Washington," commented Lye. She made it clear that, while she supports joint legal custody, she is wary of joint physical custody. "It is extremely problematic," she concluded.

The Superior Court Judges' Association's legislative committee has recommended SCJA not support the bill.

Next Steps

In the next four months, Lye will conclude her study, then report final findings to the Gender and Justice Commission. The final report will include the case analysis of actual parenting plans, summaries of interviews with providers and results of the focus group discussion. Four, divorced-parent focus groups are scheduled for next month, aimed at learning about the process from those who have recently drafted parenting plans.

In the final analysis, Lye feels post divorce parenting relationships can work in the best interest of the children--given a healthy parental environment.

"Parents really need to be cooperative and work together for these plans to be successful," Lye said.

Formerly an assistant professor in sociology at the University of Washington, Lye has done research and consulting work in the field of family, youth, gender, and elder well-being for the past 10 years.

Research Review:
Analysis of Recent Parenting Plans:
Provider Interviews:

Research Review:

• No single post-divorce residential schedule has been demonstrated to be better than any other for children of divorced parents.
• Joint physical custody and higher levels of child-nonresidential father contact do not automatically provide children with significant advantages or disadvantages.
• Parental conflict is a major source of reduced well being among children of divorce.
• Joint physical custody and frequent child-nonresidential parent contact have harmful consequences for children in high conflict families.
• Joint physical custody and frequent child-nonresidential parent contact do not promote parental cooperation.
• Adequate economic support is the most important influence on children of divorced parents. By improving economic support, joint physical custody and frequent child-nonresidential parent contact may enhance child well being.

Analysis of Recent Parenting Plans:

• Fathers make up a substantial proportion of primary residential parents, especially for older children.
• In nearly 60 percent of recent parenting plans, the non-primary residential parent was given "every other weekend and a midweek evening" residential time. Shared parenting arrangements are rare, as are all arrangements that provide the non-primary residential parent with more than alternate weekend residential time.
• Parenting plans are not forever--many parents modify their plans within 5 years.
• Many parenting plans are worded imprecisely or vaguely.

Provider Interviews:

• Judges, court commissioners, attorneys, psychologists, mediators, and other professionals uniformly express strong support for the Parenting Act, and only reluctant support for mandatory forms of parenting arrangements.
• Some counties rely heavily on guidelines that promote "every other weekend and a midweek evening" residential schedules.
• Some professionals steer families toward "every other weekend and a midweek evening" residential schedules rather than individually tailoring plans.
• Many providers express strong concerns that victims of domestic violence and abuse are not adequately protected by the process of parenting plan formulation and implementation.
• Though many recognize their limitations, providers strongly support parenting seminars.