New York Fails Families Again

Letter from Jon Bevilacqua

The National Parents Organization just released its 2025 Shared Parenting Report Card, and once again, New York has earned a failing grade; an indisputable “F.” That is not just a poor grade; it is a profound failure for families.

Let us be blunt. The NPOs Shared Parenting Report Card for New York cited no positives. Not a single one.

Per the report, “New York has no statutory preference for, or presumption of shared parenting (joint legal custody and shared physical custody) for temporary or final orders. New York has no explicit statutory recognition of shared parenting, joint legal custody, shared residential custody or similar concepts.”

This is not just a bureaucratic oversight; it is a deliberate choice to ignore decades of research, public opinion and common sense. This failure has real consequences that affect real families. The Institute of Family Studies published the results of 54 studies, all of which confirm that emotional, academic, and social outcomes are better for those children whose parents are both actively and consistently involved after separation or divorce.