This library brings together research, legal scholarship, books, organizations, and educational resources that have informed our work and may be useful to parents, professionals, legislators, journalists, and researchers.
Essential Reading
Joint Custody Presumption in Vermont: A Proposal for Co-Parenting
Michelle A. Tarnelli examines Vermont’s custody framework and compares it with New Hampshire’s shared-parenting approach. She argues that Vermont’s prohibition on court-ordered shared custody can intensify adversarial litigation and prevent courts from preserving children’s established relationships with both parents.
Shared Parenting: Myths and Facts
This child-focused guide addresses common claims about shared parenting, including concerns about parental conflict, infants and young children, transitions between homes, parenting time, and child safety. It summarizes relevant research in accessible language and provides citations to the underlying studies.
Two Homes, One Childhood
Psychologist and family researcher Robert E. Emery offers practical guidance for raising children across two homes after separation or divorce. The book emphasizes children’s changing developmental needs, sustaining meaningful relationships with both parents, and creating parenting arrangements that can adapt over time.
Shared Parenting
This overview introduces shared-parenting law, policy, terminology, and research from the United States and other countries. It includes comparative tables summarizing findings from international studies and is useful as an accessible starting point, although it should not be treated as a primary legal or scientific authority.
The 50/50 Solution
Emma Johnson makes an accessible case for equal parenting time after separation, drawing on research concerning children’s well-being, parental involvement, conflict, and the economic effects of custody arrangements. The book is written for a general audience and presents an advocacy-oriented case for shared parenting rather than a neutral literature review. OverDrive
Leading Researchers
Richard A. Warshak
Clinical professor of psychology and researcher on child custody, parenting plans, relocation, and children’s adjustment after separation. Warshak is the lead author of the widely cited consensus report on parenting plans for young children.
View selected peer-reviewed articles
Linda Nielsen
Professor at Wake Forest University whose work reviews outcomes for children in shared and sole physical custody arrangements. Her publications include major reviews comparing children’s emotional, behavioral, academic, physical, and family-relationship outcomes across custody structures. Linda Nielsen
Explore her shared-parenting research
William V. Fabricius
Developmental psychologist at Arizona State University who studies parenting time, parent-child relationships, parental conflict, and the long-term health and well-being of children whose parents separate. His work has also examined the effects of Arizona’s presumptive equal-parenting-time framework. ASU News
Explore the Father and Divorce Research Lab
Michael E. Lamb
Professor of psychology at the University of Cambridge whose research examines parent-child relationships, fathers’ roles, child development, and the factors that shape children’s adjustment and well-being. His work provides broader developmental context for evaluating family arrangements after separation. Psychology Research at Cambridge
View his University of Cambridge profile and publications
Robert E. Emery
Professor of psychology at the University of Virginia whose research focuses on divorce, child custody disputes, parental conflict, mediation, and parenting across two homes. His work includes long-term research comparing mediation with adversarial dispute resolution and examining their effects on post-divorce family relationships. Department of Psychology
View his University of Virginia profile
Legal Resources
Vermont Statutes
- 15 V.S.A. § 665 – Parental Rights and Responsibilities; Parent-Child Contact
Summary: This statute addresses how Vermont courts determine parental rights and responsibilities, including decision-making authority and parent-child contact arrangements, with the best interests of the child as the guiding standard. - 15 V.S.A. § 1013 – Grandparent Visitation
Summary: This statute establishes when and how grandparents may request visitation rights and outlines the factors courts consider when evaluating such requests.
Vermont Court Forms
- Form 825 – Agreement on Parental Rights & Responsibilities, Parent-Child Contact, and Child Support
Summary: This form is used by parents to document agreements regarding parental rights and responsibilities, parenting schedules, parent-child contact, and related child support provisions for court approval.
Landmark Court Cases
Cabot v. Cabot (1997)
In a widely cited separate opinion, Justice Skoglund argued for a broader interpretation of Vermont’s joint custody statute, emphasizing that children generally benefit when both parents continue to share the rights and responsibilities of raising their children after separation. Her opinion highlights the distinction between physical custody and shared parental responsibility and remains an important discussion of Vermont’s public policy favoring the continuing involvement of both parents.
Troxel v. Granville (2000)
Troxel v. Granville, 530 U.S. 57 (2000), is the leading United States Supreme Court decision recognizing that parents have a fundamental constitutional right to make decisions concerning the care, custody, and control of their children.
The decision reaffirmed that the rights of fit parents deserve substantial constitutional protection. Although Troxel involved a dispute between a parent and grandparents—not between two parents—it reinforces the principle that both fit parents possess fundamental rights in their relationship with their child. At the same time, the Court held that judges must give “special weight” to a fit parent’s decisions regarding third-party visitation, making it more challenging for states to authorize grandparent visitation over a parent’s objection.
Importantly, Troxel did not hold that grandparent visitation is unconstitutional or prohibit states from protecting important family relationships. Instead, it requires that such laws be carefully crafted to respect the constitutional rights of fit parents.
For Vermont, Troxel provides the constitutional framework for family-law reform. It supports legislation that begins with respect for the fundamental rights of both fit parents while ensuring that any protection of grandparent or other third-party relationships is consistent with those constitutional principles.
Legal Analysis
Child Support and Family Law Legislation Database
The National Conference of State Legislatures’ archived database tracks state legislation introduced from 2012 through 2024 on child support, custody, visitation, parenting time, parentage, and related family-law issues.
Grandparents’ Visitation Rights (2023)
From Connecticut Office of Legislative Research
Summary: Prepared for the Connecticut General Assembly, this report explains the constitutional principles established by Troxel v. Granville, reviews the Connecticut Supreme Court’s interpretation of those requirements, and summarizes Connecticut’s statutory framework for grandparent visitation. Although focused on Connecticut law, it provides an excellent overview of the legal and constitutional issues legislatures—including Vermont’s—must consider when drafting grandparent visitation laws.
Grandparent and Third-Party Visitation Rights: A 50-State Survey
Sarah J.M. Cox examines grandparent and third-party visitation laws across all fifty states, including who may petition, the circumstances in which visitation may be sought, and the constitutional standards applied after Troxel v. Granville. The article is useful for comparing Vermont’s framework with other states and identifying alternative approaches to balancing parental authority with children’s established family relationships.
Organizations
National Parents Organization
A national nonprofit advocating for shared parenting and family-law reform. Vermont Kids Connected is closely aligned with National Parents Organization’s work to promote child-centered custody laws, preserve children’s relationships with both parents, and improve family-court policy through research and legislative advocacy.
Visit National Parents Organization
Child Trends
A nonpartisan research organization studying children, youth, and families. Its work includes parenting, coparenting, father involvement, family relationships, child support, and the effects of family structure and transitions on children’s well-being.
Explore Child Trends’ family research
Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University
A research and policy center focused on early childhood development, adversity, resilience, and the importance of stable, responsive relationships with caring adults. Its resources provide useful developmental context for understanding why continuity and secure family relationships matter to children.
Visit the Center on the Developing Child
National Council on Family Relations
A professional association for family researchers, educators, and practitioners. Its publications and resources address divorce, coparenting, family policy, parenting education, and the effects of family transitions on children.
Explore the NCFR resource library
Books
The 50/50 Solution — Emma Johnson
Two Homes, One Childhood — Robert Emery
The Boy Crisis — Warren Farrell & John Gray
Hold On to Your Kids — Gordon Neufeld & Gabor Maté