The Effects of Equal Parenting Time & Joint Custody 

While the philosophy behind RBC is solid, there are measurable effects of equal parenting time.

What do reliable statistics show about the connection between presumptions of equal shared parenting and family violence?

Presumptions of jount custody, specifically equal shared parenting time, are followed by either no change in these rates or diminished—sometimes markedly diminished—rates. That’s great news!

Here we present updated data from three states that have actual experience with presumptions of equal shared parenting.

West Virginia

West Virginia’s presumption of equal shared parenting (West Virginia Code §48-9-102a) took effect in 2022. 

Child Maltreatment

According to data from the Department of Health and Human Services, in 2021, there were 6,094 victims of child maltreatment in the state. In 2023, the latest year for which we have data, the number of victims of child maltreatment had fallen to 4,850—a decrease of more than 20%! And the rate of child victims per 1,000 children dropped from 17.0 to 13.8. (See Table  3-3 Child Victims, 2019-2023, pp. 38 & 39.)

Intimate Partner Violence

The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia Annual Statistics Report on Circuit, Family, and Magistrate Court Judges, reports that between 2021 and 2024, the number of cases of domestic violence filed in family courts dropped slightly, as did the number of divorce cases.

Arkansas

Arkansas presumption of equal shared parenting (A.C.A. §9-13-101(a)(1)(iv)(a) & A.C.A. §9-13-101(a)(5)), championed by Arkansas Advocates for Parental Equality, became effective on July 28, 2021. 

Child Maltreatment

The Department of Health and Human Services data show that the incidence of child maltreatment rose slightly from 2020 to 2021, from 9,241 to 9,616. But it has dropped significantly in the years since. In 2022, the first full year that the equal shared parenting law was in effect, there were 8,927 victims of child maltreatment in Arkansas and that dropped to 7,842 in 2023.  Between 2020 and 2023, the number of  child maltreatment victims in Arkansas dropped by more than 15%.   And the rate of children per 1,000 who were victims of child maltreatment dropped from 13.1% to 11.1%. (See Table  3-3 Child Victims, 2019-2023, pp. 38 & 39 of the previously linked Child Maltreatment Report.)

Intimate Partner Violence

The Arkansas data on the incidence of domestic violence cases is more difficult to draw conclusions.  According to the data received from the Arkansas Administrative Officer of the Courts, not all counties report data consistently, making statewide annual comparisons inaccurate. If we look, though, only at those counties that reported their domestic violence cases every year from 2020 through 2024, we see a decline in such cases of more than 11% in that period.

Kentucky

Kentucky was the first state to establish an explicit rebuttable presumption of equal shared parenting—in 2017 for temporary orders (KSR §403.280) and in 2018 for final orders (KSR §403.270). 

Child Maltreatment

Child maltreatment in Kentucky has continued to decline, very significantly. In 2019, DHHS reported 20,130 child victims. By 2023 that had dropped to 14,484—a dramatic drop of 28%. And the rate of child victims per 1,000 children had dropped from 20.0 to 14.2.  (See Table  3-3 Child Victims, 2019-2023, pp. 38 & 39 of the previously linked Child Maltreatment Report.)

Intimate Partner Violence

From the Kentucky Administrative Office of the Courts:  we see is a continued, and very significant, decline in the number of divorce cases in which the same parties are involved in a domestic violence case. There were 979 such cases in 2017. Since the enactment of Kentucky’s equal shared parenting law, that has trended downward and now stands at 290. This is a drop of more than 70%!