CHICAGO, March 24 /PRNewswire/ -- The Tennessee legislature is wrestling with a controversial House Bill (HB 2916) that proposes children's time be divided equally between divorcing parents. Fathers' rights attorney Jeffery M. Leving couldn't be a stronger proponent of this legislation.

"Historically fathers are usually on the losing end, but ultimately it's the children who really lose because they lose a parent. Joint custody and equal parenting is often the best solution, so everyone wins. That is what the Tennessee bill would accomplish. It can move parents from litigation to reconciliation and shield children from the horrors of divorce," said Leving. "Furthermore, if divorce becomes inevitable, children will hopefully not lose their father," acknowledges Leving.

Founder of dadsrights.com and co-author of the Illinois Joint Custody law, Leving understands the Tennessee bill can greatly strengthen fragile families embroiled in divorce.

The following grim statistics show the frightening consequences when a father is absent and demonstrates the importance of the bill:

• Fatherless children are twice as likely to drop out of school as their classmates who live with two parents
• 75% of teen suicides occur in single-parent families
• Fatherless children are eleven times more likely than are children from intact families to exhibit violent behavior
• 80% of adolescents in psychiatric hospitals come from fatherless homes
• Children who live apart from their fathers experience more accidents and a higher rate of chronic asthma, headaches and speech defects
• 70% of the kids now incarcerated in juvenile corrections facilities grew up in a single-parent environment

This bill is unique and one of a kind. It has the potential to lay the groundwork for legislative change throughout the country.

About Jeffery M. Leving

Jeffery Leving is the Chairman of the Illinois Council on Responsible Fatherhood. On August 5, 2009, Leving was selected as an expert resource for the White House Roundtable & Town Hall Meeting on Responsible Fatherhood. Leving has been named one of the "America's Best Lawyers" by Forbes Radio and selected by his peers as a leading Illinois attorney.

SOURCE Law Offices of Jeffery M. Leving, Ltd.

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