Shared Parenting Information Group (SPIG) UK

- promoting responsible shared parenting after separation and divorce -

Joint Custody and Shared Parenting (book review)

Jay Folberg (ed) (1991)

The Guilford Press, New York and London, 1991. 2nd ed. ISBN 0-89862-481-9. £13.95.

The first edition of this book published in the States in 1984 set the U.S. agenda for law reform and research on joint custody / shared parenting. This edition is a complete revision and brings together some of the most important writings on shared parenting. A lot of this material had been fairly difficult to get hold of as it could be found only in relatively obscure academic journals. This collection edited by Jay Folberg, Professor of Law , University of San Francisco and a past president of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts assembles the material in a single, handy, well referenced volume.

The book is divided into four sections;

  1. Joint Custody in Perspective,
  2. Factors influencing the Choice of Joint Custody,
  3. What Research Tells us about Joint Custody and
  4. The Law of Joint Custody.
The references and bibliography are excellent and the appendix contains examples of model parenting plans. Most of the content relates to the American experience of shared parenting but it can be easily applied to the UK. Contributors include Joan Kelly, Judith Wallerstein, Richard Gardner, Charlene Depner, Janet Johnston, Eleanor Maccoby, Robert Mnookin and many others.

This is essential reading. It is in print in the UK and can be ordered through good bookshops.

Arthur Baker, June 1996.


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