Arkansas presumption of equal shared parenting (A.C.A. §9-13-101(a)(1)(iv)(a) & A.C.A. §9-13-101(a)(5)), championed by Arkansas Advocates for Parental Equality, became effective on July 28, 2021.
The Department of Health and Human Services data show that the incidence of child maltreatment rose slightly from 2020 to 2021, from 9,241 to 9,616. But it has dropped significantly in the years since. In 2022, the first full year that the equal shared parenting law was in effect, there were 8,927 victims of child maltreatment in Arkansas and that dropped to 7,842 in 2023. Between 2020 and 2023, the number of child maltreatment victims in Arkansas dropped by more than 15%. And the rate of children per 1,000 who were victims of child maltreatment dropped from 13.1% to 11.1%. (See Table 3-3 Child Victims, 2019-2023, pp. 38 & 39 of the previously linked Child Maltreatment Report.)
The Arkansas data on the incidence of domestic violence cases is more difficult to draw conclusions from. According to the data received from the Arkansas Administrative Officer of the Courts, not all counties report data consistently, making statewide annual comparisons inaccurate. If we look, though, only at those counties that reported their domestic violence cases every year from 2020 through 2024, we see a decline in such cases of more than 11% in that period.
As a result of NPO’s efforts led by Matt Hale, Kentucky was the first state to establish an explicit rebuttable presumption of equal shared parenting—in 2017 for temporary orders (KSR §403.280) and in 2018 for final orders (KSR §403.270).
Child maltreatment in Kentucky has continued to decline, very significantly. In 2019, DHHS reported 20,130 child victims. By 2023 that had dropped to 14,484—a dramatic drop of 28%. And the rate of child victims per 1,000 children had dropped from 20.0 to 14.2. (See Table 3-3 Child Victims, 2019-2023, pp. 38 & 39 of the previously linked Child Maltreatment Report.)
We’ve previously published data, secured by Emma Johnson of Moms for Equal Parenting, on the subsequent incidence of domestic violence cases cross listed with domestic relations cases. Emma has received updated data from the Kentucky Administrative Office of the Courts. What we see is a continued, and very significant, decline in the number of divorce cases in which the same parties are involved in a domestic violence case. There were 979 such cases in 2017. Since the enactment of Kentucky’s equal shared parenting law, that has trended downward and now stands at 290. This is a drop of more than 70%!