Missouri moves toward 50/50 child custody law, raising concerns about abuse victims

Article here. Excerpt:

'Gov. Mike Parson could soon make Missouri one of the first states to establish 50/50 shared parenting time as the standard in child custody cases.

But the bill on his desk, passed in the final hour of the legislative session, did not include changes that some family law attorneys and domestic violence advocates worked on for months — and has raised concerns that it could make it more difficult for victims to escape abusive relationships and protect their children.

Joan Meier, who founded and directs the National Family Violence Law Center at George Washington University, said the 50/50 legislation could put children at risk and relies on a false premise that there is a bias against men in family court.

“We oppose these statutes because all they do is make things worse for children,” Meier said. “Because even without these statutes, things are extremely bad for children.”'