A 2018 law designed to ensure equal custody rights for parents may be putting some Kentucky children at risk, according to advocates.
When the law passed, it made Kentucky the first state to adopt equally shared, or 50/50, parenting time as the default starting point in custody cases.
Nearly a decade later, child advocates, family attorneys, domestic violence experts, judges, and lawmakers told The Courier Journal that the concern lies in the law’s “one-size-fits-all” approach.
That concern is significant, said child advocate Valerie Frost, because not all households are safe or nurturing. She noted that situations involving domestic violence are particularly troubling.
“To default to 50/50, it’s not really solving the problem. It’s just changing who gets harmed,” Frost said. “The real question is how do we ensure safety … before parent time is presumed equal?”
Supporters of the law argue it already accounts for domestic violence and helps ensure children maintain relationships with both parents. They also point out that equal custody is not required when there is an active domestic violence order.
Critics disagree, saying that requiring an active domestic violence order may leave some families unprotected, as victims may fear seeking legal action or may not be granted such orders.
According to those interviewed by The Courier Journal, including advocates and lawmakers, no peer-reviewed research currently proves whether Kentucky’s 50/50 custody law benefits or harms children.
At the center of the debate are Kentucky’s children.
From Temporary Measure to Permanent Standard
In 2017, the National Parents Organization pushed for changes to Kentucky’s custody laws to include temporary equal parenting time.
Just six months after the law took effect, efforts began to remove the word “temporary,” making 50/50 custody the standard in all cases.
During a 2018 House Judiciary Committee meeting, then-state Rep. Angie Hatton raised concerns about the lack of time to evaluate the law’s effects.
“I’m wondering if we’ve had time to see the effects of what we voted on last year and if making the temporary orders available was not enough,” Hatton said. “I’m wondering if what we’re seeing is that after the temporary order, it doesn’t work and the judge is changing it?”
She also questioned whether sufficient research had been conducted.
Despite those concerns, the revised bill moved forward without a formal study and was signed into law, with only three lawmakers voting against it.
‘Meaningful Is Not Necessarily 50/50’
Frost said she has heard anecdotal reports suggesting the law may discourage some individuals in abusive relationships from seeking divorce due to fears of shared custody.
Data from multiple state agencies shows domestic violence remains a significant issue across Kentucky.
Advocacy group Kentucky United Against Violence (ZeroV) opposes the law in its current form. Chief legal officer Meg Savage stated:
“…Joint custody has been shown to be best for children when parents separate, but only when there has not been violence in the home and when the parents are generally amenable to making joint custody work. It is not in the best interest of the child when one parent has brought violence into the home, either violence perpetrated against the child, or against the other parent, or both.”
Savage also referenced House Bill 418, which seeks to revise the law to better address concerns about family violence.
“A survivor of domestic violence should not be ordered to co-parent with the person who was violent towards them,” she said.
State Rep. Adrielle Camuel, who introduced the bill, said her experience in Fayette County Public Schools exposed her to the law’s potential negative effects.
“Rather than just assume 50/50 custody — that it’s going to be fine — is to take a look at families and family dynamics,” Camuel said.
Meanwhile, supporters, including the National Parents Organization, argue the law strengthens families and may contribute to declining divorce rates.
A 2025 Wall Street Journal article suggested Kentucky’s divorce rate dropped significantly, but researcher Krista Westrick-Payne clarified that her analysis did not establish a causal link to the custody law.
“That was not my conclusion,” Westrick-Payne said. “I make no claims whatsoever of any causal arguments. That is not the scope of what I do.”
Experts on both sides agree that no definitive research proves whether equal custody is always in a child’s best interest.
“What research backs is it’s best for kids — when both parents are safe — to have meaningful parenting time with both parents,” said Elizabeth Howell of the Louisville Bar Association. “Meaningful is not necessarily 50/50.”
A National Debate Continues
Although Kentucky was the first state to adopt a 50/50 custody default, other states have taken different approaches.
Virginia law allows for joint or sole custody without favoring one arrangement. Alabama encourages shared custody when both parents are fit, while Iowa prioritizes the child’s best interest rather than a fixed split.
A similar proposal in Tennessee in 2025 failed to advance.
Jason Griffith, director of the National Parents Organization’s Kentucky chapter, said the group remains committed to protecting the law.
“Our main goal is to have a healthy relationship with a child,” Griffith said. “Families thrive better when they’re all working together as a unit.”
However, critics argue that the law does not adequately account for complex family situations.
“The presumption is 50/50 but presumption collapses in nuance and nuance is where safety lives,” Frost said. “… There are so many different variations of family. So to achieve safety, you need to be able to think and process through complexity.”
Calls to Revisit the Law
Camuel’s bill to remove the equal custody presumption has not yet received a hearing.
“I think it’s important that we revisit what was done in 2018,” she said.
Supporters of the current law, however, say they will continue defending it.
“I know Republicans are very, very, very happy with this (Kentucky law),” Griffith said. “They’re very family oriented. So they have acknowledged they’ll protect this (law) at every cost.”
Concerns About Child Safety Persist
While the impact of the custody law remains unclear, data shows ongoing concerns about child welfare in Kentucky.
In 2023, the state reported nearly double the national rate of child maltreatment, according to the Children’s Bureau. Although cases declined by 28% from 2019 to 2023, many incidents still involve parents.
Reports indicate that nearly 60% of substantiated maltreatment cases involve a child’s parent, with many victims experiencing harm for the first time.
Frost said lawmakers may not have anticipated these potential risks when passing the law.
“Maybe they were thinking in general people divorce because they’ve gone separate ways,” she said. “In general, it’s fine. But professionally I’ve worked alongside systems trying to improve prevention and better well-being, and they are better at averages than handling outliers.
“Abuse cases, they can be outliers by nature, but that’s where danger lives. So, you can’t make a big blanket general policy and ignore the outliers when the outliers are where safety is needed the most and where attention to safety is critical.”
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