Children's Time with Parents

Mr. Byrd helped write the preamble to the present Permanent Parenting Plan legislation and firmly believes that substantial time with both parents helps a child be safe and mature. Time with both parents also presents a more normal structure than our archaic "every other weekend and holidays" approach, which prevailed in Tennessee prior to this legislation.

Judges involved in the pilot project include:

(And locally):

The Permanent Parenting Plan, as it is now, began, in part, as the Hamilton County Divorce Education and Parenting Mediation Pilot Project in the late 1990s. The project was approved by the Tennessee General Assembly in late spring 1997. The enacting legislation was effective July 1, 1997, and the pilot project results were reviewed by the state legislature in May 1999, to be enacted by the legislature on June 1, 2000, as a statewide law.

The project resulted in the present Permanent Parenting Plan and the mandatory Parenting Education Seminars which divorcing parties must attend. (Information on these subjects can be found under separate topics within our website directory : Child Support Guidelines and Permanent Parenting Plan.)