Poster Session 2: Family Policy and Advocacy

Presenters: Jaseper Hutto, Ilya Okhotnikov

Summary
Noncustodial Parental Alienation in Public Policy To dissolve perceived gender roles in public policy, the Uniform Marriage and Divorce Act requires child custody rulings to focus on the child's best interest. However, the vagueness of this standard fails to provide a comprehensive framework for unbiased court rulings and equality among parents regarding child custody visitation, financial obligation, and consequences for contemptable offenses. The literature review (a) exhibited policy gaps in marginalization of noncustodial parents (most often fathers) in child custody arrangements at the expense of the child's well-being, (b) exposed a probable driving force behind disproportioned custody arrangements, and (c) suggested how child custody policy could be changed to support true shared custody and equal accountability among parents to encourage a more meaningful parent-child shared experience for the greater well-being of children.

Objectives
-- To briefly evaluate court systems claim for gender neutrality in custody arrangements.
-- Toanalyze the effectiveness of the Uniform Marriage and Divorce Act from a blended family perspective.
-- To demonstrate the existing gaps in public policy that marginalize noncustodial parents in child custody arrangements which may prevent positive influences on children's well-being through noncustodial child care.

Subject Codes: marginalization, coparenting, well-being
Population Codes: divorced, remarried family, inclusive of minor children
Method and Approach Codes: systematic literature review, policy/policy analysis