September 24, 1999
Web posted at: 6:42 p.m. EDT (2242 GMT)

In this story: Fathers as primary caretakers Long route to joint custody RELATED STORIES, SITES

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- In the past, when a mother and father were divorced, the kids went with Mom, and Dad went out the door. But in the 1990s, roles aren't so restricted.

An increase in courts granting joint custody, where mothers and fathers share the raising of children, has contributed to a decreasing divorce rate, according to a study released Friday in Washington by The Children's Rights Council.

	VIDEO
Jonathan Aiken reports on the increasing role fathers play in the lives of their children Windows Media 28K 80K

The organization says the divorce rate has dipped slightly in the past few years from a high of 50 percent of all marriages. The study predicts that the rate will drop by up to 10 percent in the next 20 years.

"If a parent knows that he or she will have to interact with the child's other parent while the child is growing up, there is less incentive to divorce," said Children's Rights Council President David L. Levy.

"Greater father involvement means that it is less likely that a mother can assume she will automatically receive sole custody, financial child support and the family home, upon divorce," said John Guidubaldi, a children's advocate and education expert at Kent State University in Ohio, in response to the study. "This means that at least some parents will reconsider a divorce."

The study found that the parent who receives full custody is more likely to be the one who files for divorce.

Fathers as primary caretakers

"There are many fathers now that are functioning as primary caretakers of children while the wife is at work," attorney Jeffrey Leving told CNN. "And the minute a divorce is filed, the court system has confusion in understanding and protecting the rights of children in those relationships." Leving's clients are mostly divorced dads.

The trend toward more fathers raising their children in joint custody arrangements encouraged Chicago psychotherapist Mark Rogers to seek custody of his 14-year-old son, Dylan.

"He comes to me and talks to me about everything because we were able to work at a young age to maintain that bond, then build and enhance off of that," Rogers said. He also said men want to be seen as more than just "walking wallets."

Long route to joint custody

Divorced father Jimmie Curley said it took nearly four years before he won shared custody of his four children in 1995. Curley thinks his flexible schedule as a substitute teacher and part-time tax preparer helped his case.

"It keeps me on top of what they're doing and what's going on and things that are going on in the school, so I'm not in the dark," Curley said.

The Children's Rights Council applauds the fall in divorce and the joint custody trend because one of its tenets is that children do better with both parents. In the home is best, it thinks, and if that's not possible, children benefit greatly when both parents are involved in their lives.

Reporter Jonathan Aiken contributed to this report.

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.