PIERRE, S.D. -- More than a dozen states, including South Dakota, don't require a judge to factor in a child's preference when making custody decisions, according to a new analysis of these laws.

The report was issued by CustodyXChange, which develops software for people managing custody issues. The company's managing editor, Shea Drefs, said they've looked at a range of policies in the United States to make sure parents are fully aware of legal requirements in their respective state. The latest findings showed that in 13 states, a child's preference doesn't have to be considered if the court makes a final custody decision.

Drefs cited two conflicting viewpoints at the heart of the matter.

"I think everyone would probably, to some extent, agree that it'd be nice for a child to have a say in their life," she said, "but then also, it's understandable that we don't want to have the child in the middle of the custody battle."

She said those are factors South Dakota judges have to keep in mind, and they still have the option of taking a child's preference into account, even if they don't have to. Two neighboring states, Montana and Wyoming, also are among the 13 states that don't have the requirement.

For any states that do require a child's input, it's allowed only when the child is considered mature enough to have a reasonable opinion. The report said most states don't provide age-specific guidance, no matter what custody laws they have on the books. Drefs said South Dakota judges are in that group as well.

"In some cases, they might listen to what the child has to say, and others they might not," she said. "And probably, age will be one of the things they look at. But the law in South Dakota doesn't have any guidance."

She said the goal of the report isn't to advocate for any law changes, but provide more clarity for parents and legal professionals. In South Dakota, one of the more recent attempts to update child-custody laws happened earlier this year, when supporters pushed a bill focusing on equal physical custody. That bill failed in the state Senate.


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HARTFORD, Conn. -- The Connecticut Campaign for Paid Family Leave has been raising concerns about outsourcing of the state paid leave program's claims administration since Gov. Ned Lamont announced the pick last week.

Connecticut paid-leave benefits begin in January, but the advocacy campaign is concerned that having a private company, Aflac, as claims administrator will lead to individuals having denied or delayed access to the program.

Madeline Granato, policy director for the Connecticut Women's Education and Legal Fund, said it would affect folks who need paid family and medical leave the most.

"Especially low-wage workers and workers of color," Granato pointed out. "Who, I will note, are on the front lines of COVID-19, still to this day, without any access to leave, and need this benefit more than ever."

Granato pointed to the U.S. health-care system as an example of how privatizing a service has allowed companies to deny services to individuals, or profit off of basic needs. Under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act, employees may take up to 12 weeks of leave in a 12-month period.

Aflac will take applications and determine eligibility, and also oversee paid family and medical-leave benefits.

Granato emphasized advocates are hopeful that there will be oversight over the claims process, so all eligible individuals have the right to paid leave benefits.

"We hold the belief that no private entity should profit off of what should be a human right," Granato asserted. "Folks deserve access to the comprehensive benefits that are promised to them under the law that so many folks worked so hard to pass in 2019."

She added Connecticut's Paid Leave Program is still on track to begin despite COVID-19.

DENVER -- Nearly 80% of Colorado workers do not have access to paid family and medical leave, but that's expected to change starting in January 2024.

After struggling for years to get state lawmakers to adopt legislation, proponents turned directly to voters, who approved Proposition 118 by a 15-point margin.

Ashley Panelli, associate state director for the group 9to5 Colorado, said all eyes are now on Colorado, and she hopes the message sent by voters will help pave the way for paid leave in other states.

"That this passed on the ballot can really embolden other states to do something similar, and put it on their ballots, and feel confident that the voters are going to support something like this," Panelli contended.

The Colorado Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance Act provides eligible workers up to 12 weeks of paid leave per year, to care for themselves or a family member with serious illness, to bond with a newborn or a child placed through adoption or foster care, and other qualifying absences.

Critics warned the measure would put an undue burden on small businesses, and would not generate enough money to pay claims.

Starting in January 2023, businesses and workers will start paying into what's essentially an insurance pool, to build up revenues before benefits become available in 2024.

Panelli said Colorado's model is the most affordable way to provide paid leave.

"When you actually talk about the numbers to workers and businesses, and do the math with them, they see for themselves that it isn't a financial burden; that it is absolutely worth the cost, considering what folks are getting in return," Panelli asserted.

Workers are projected to contribute an average of $3.83 per week to the pool. Businesses will contribute less than 1% of a worker's wages, and companies with fewer than ten workers are not required to contribute.

Eligible workers can receive up to a maximum of $1,100 dollars per week, or up to 90% of the state's average weekly wage.


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CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- As families deal with the stresses of working and parenting during the COVID-19 pandemic, a new Harvard Graduate School of Education study finds almost 70% of fathers across the country are feeling closer to their children.

Even though gender roles in parenting have changed substantially in the last 50 years, mothers still are more likely to carry more of the child-raising load, and half of all children spend some time living in single-parent households, often with their moms.

Rick Weissbourd, director of Harvard's Making Caring Common project, said the growing closeness with fathers is a silver lining amid the difficulties of the pandemic.

"It was very moving," Weissbourd said. "You know, we heard about fathers getting to know their kids, telling their kids more about their own lives, finding activities to do with their kids that they both enjoy that they hadn't discovered."

While this report focuses on dads in particular, Weissbourd said their team intends to dig deeper into how the pandemic is affecting relationships among families with varying structures, gender identities and sexual orientations.

According to the report, children with available fathers can benefit from close relationships with their dads. It can strengthen cognitive and emotional development, and increase their chances of success academically and in their careers.

And Weissbourd said it can be gratifying for the fathers.

"I hope that this just doesn't just evaporate once the pandemic is over and that fathers and kids develop, you know, habits and routines that they maintain, long after the pandemic," Weissbourd added,

Weissbourd encouraged setting up some of these routines now, while many families are still at home, whether it's going for walks, cooking dinner together, playing games or going out for ice cream.


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