Divorced parents advocate for “equal time” laws
When Rodney Creech and his wife divorced, he spent around $90,000 and six years in court to get joint custody of his children. Fourteen years later, he is an Ohio state representative trying to change the law to make equal custody the default arrangement for separated parents in the state.
“I’m very fortunate that I had the means to fight for my family. Most families in Ohio do not,” Creech said. “You should not have to pay to get your own children.”
Ohio legislators are debating House Bill 14, which Creech sponsors with fellow Republican Rep. Marilyn S. Johnson. The bill seeks to give equal parenting time and responsibilities to parents who settle child custody cases in court. Other states such as Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, Missouri, and West Virginia have all passed shared custody laws like the one proposed in Ohio. But victim advocacy groups believe such laws do not consider children’s needs and could put some children in danger.
Currently, individual county courts in Ohio have different ways of deciding how to divide child custody. Most courts decide on a primary custodial parent, while a few counties default to equal parenting.