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Shared Parenting Bill (SB60) is quite controversial in the current Legislature. Why? It promotes the rights of an estimated 2,100 children each year to have two equally involved parents in their lives following separation and divorce unless detrimental. It presumes South Dakota’s parents are responsible and fit unless proven otherwise and promotes a win-win-win parenting schedule following separation or divorce. It minimizes the adversarial win-lose situation and bias in South Dakota’s custody system.

Opponents (judges, attorneys, Executive branch representatives) talk about child support, state grant money lost…the bill is “bad, bad, bad”. Perhaps the issue is the money parents will save because there will be nothing to litigate (bad for the divorce industry of course) … and the money the State will save when the correctional population drops because children have a loving and active Mom & Dad in their lives. The issue is the benefit to children!

Wisconsin recognizes the benefit of having a shared parenting law that assumes a parenting schedule that allows regularly occurring, meaningful periods of physical placement with each parent and that maximizes the amount of time the child may spend with each parent. South Dakota Does Not!

Please contact your legislators, the UJS and the Governor’s Office soon in support of SB 60 with Shared Parenting (maximum parent time) included. Certainly, 95% of fathers and mothers in South Dakota are as fit, loving and able as Wisconsin’s parents.

For more information on SB60, visit our website at http://sdsharedparent.tripod.com or call (605) 260-3000.

Steven Mathis, President
South Dakota Coalition for Shared Parenting


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