West Virginia may join Kentucky as a shared parenting state

CHARLESTON — House Bill 2363, the Best Interests of the Child Protection Act of 2021, was sent to the state Senate Judiciary Committee. The bill passed the House Judiciary Committee on Feb. 24 and the full House with bipartisan support, 68-31.

HB 2363 uses similar wording to Kentucky’s shared parenting law passed in 2018. Polling showed the Kentucky law was supported by about six people to every one who opposed it. The law’s popularity was further clarified when Kentucky declared the day it was signed it law, April 26, as Shared Parenting Day.

“We closely modeled House Bill 2363 after Kentucky’s shared parenting law and even used the same team, National Parents Organization, to lead the effort for its passage,” Delegate Geoff Foster, R- Putnam, a primary sponsor, said. “Kentucky’s law has proven popular and even reduced domestic violence.”