Matthew Rose, member of Americans for Equal Shared Parenting (AESP).
On April 22, 2025, Louisiana State Sen. Royce Duplessis (D-New Orleans) introduced Senate Concurrent Resolution 9 which:
Creates the Task Force on Fatherhood Engagement to study how Louisiana can increase the engagement of fathers in the lives of their children, research best practices, and develop recommendations for each state agency to promote the full inclusion of fathers and the involvement of fathers in the lives of their children.
The Resolution passed without a single “no” vote in either the Louisiana House or Senate, and periodic meetings of the newly formed Fatherhood Engagement Task Force have been transpiring since passage.
The Task Force created this survey for fathers to outline their experiences. Further, anyone is welcome to view the agendas and minutes of the meetings by clicking here. Finally, reports of the task force are available here.
Right before Christmas, one gentleman who attends the meetings as a member of the community, Matthew Rose of Slidell, reached out to us and asked to appear on camera to outline his perspective on why legislative initiatives are needed to enhance father-child bonding, and he placed a strong focus on his own experiences entailing his efforts to have more bonding with his own son:
Matthew Rose outlines his own experiences with Family Court and his contentions that he and many other fathers in Louisiana are treated unfairly concerning child custody matters in Louisiana.
The efforts of the Fatherhood Engagement Task Force dovetail on the efforts of Mark Ludwig and Americans for Equal Shared Parenting (AESP), of which Rose is a Member. The group touts legislation in 38 states. Notably, in Missouri, in 2016, HB-1550, which encouraged maximizing time with both parents but without a “strict presumption” that both parents are equally qualified to provide care, passed.
Nevertheless, when the group tried to advance that initiative in 2019 in Missouri via HB-229 along with a companion Senate bill (SB-14), those initiatives, which sought to establish a “rebuttable presumption” that equal or approximately equal parenting time is in the child’s best interest, which sought to build on prior attempts such as HB-1667 in the 2018 Missouri Legislative Session, failed to pass Missouri’s Legislative process and therefore were not signed into law.
Not being an organization to simply give up, however, AESP again advanced the initiative to the Missouri Legislature in 2023, and this time, the measure passed and became law in Missouri effective August 28, 2023. That measure was SB-35, which was sponsored by State Sen. Karla May, and it passed the House by a margin of 114-9, and it passed the Senate by a margin of 30-4. Missouri Governor Mike Parson signed the bill into law on July 6, 2023. Here are important provisions of Missouri’s law:
Missouri courts now presume that equal or approximately equal parenting time for both parents is in the child’s best interest.
The starting point is shifted from previous practices, which often favor one parent with primary custody and the other with visitation, to a default of shared parenting time.
The presumption may be rebutted by a preponderance of the evidence that equal time is not in the child’s best interest to include a) mutual agreement of the parents, b) a court finding of a pattern of domestic violence, or c) other factors showing harm to the child.
Regarding Louisiana’s present matter and the Rose video above, Sound Off Louisiana founder Robert Burns had no idea prior to filming that Rose would be discussing family court in St. Tammany Parish. Once Burns learned of this fact “on the fly” so to speak, Burns immediately thought about a book published by Terry King (with Chris Warner) of the group Concerned Citizens of St. Tammany Parish.
That book is No Limit Big Game Hunting (in St. Tammany Parish). The book is an absolutely fascinating read entailing incredible insights into matters of St. Tammany Parish corruption; however, for purposes of Rose, Burns allowed him to borrow the book which King graciously gave to Burns when King appeared on Sound Off Louisiana and encouraged him to read the chapters devoted to illustrations of Family Court Corruption in St. Tammany Parish (though King readily admits such practices are not unique to St. Tammany Parish but are prevalent throughout courts in Louisiana). Although Burns indicated there were three chapters centered on St. Tammany Family Court corruption (again, he was operating on the fly), there are actually two.
Those chapters are chapters 8 and 9. We want to strongly encourage anyone desiring to learn more about such corruption to purchase the book (but we want it clear that Burns does not receive, nor will he accept, a dime from any such book sales); however, we’d like to present just a brief passage from the book attributable to a young lady known only as “Sunshine” who observed St. Tammany Parish Family Court for a protracted period. Here’s a relevant excerpt from the book which we paraphrased in the interview with Rose on the video above:
In light of her experiences, Sunshine offered a caring recommendation worth reflecting upon, especially if you want to save your family’s finances from eventual ruin.
“Some of the best advice I can give anyone in St. Tammany Parish contemplating a divorce…DO NOT allow a lawyer to file a motion on your behalf initiating the involvement of the court.
If you do this, you invite the court and its many agents into your life. You must, at all costs, stay out of family court! The judges have discretion and can ruin your life — as they can do whatever they want as there is no oversight of their actions on the bench. This means they are omnipotent.
When you petition the court, you ask them to come into your life. Do not do this. Once you do, you no longer have control. Do not invite the court into your life. It is wholly regrettable, as they are chiefly there to foster vexatious litigation and to bill excessive and unnecessary legal and service hours. Consider the less expensive and more pragmatic alternatives.
You can get a no-contest divorce for $750 in St. Tammany Parish. Once you bring the court and its many minions into the fold you relinquish control and allow them to take over your family’s finances and your future.
So, at all costs, you should talk to your spouse and explain what is at stake, for the sake of economics, and your children, going forward.
A divorce in St. Tammany can cost both parties together, on average, in excess of $500,000 or more, depending on counsel and of course, the judge.”
What a statement, folks, and that statement comes from an authoritative expert having examined the system for a very protracted timeframe.
This feature is our final post for the year 2025, and we hope our dedicated site visitors have found our material presented to be useful and informative.
While we’re done for 2025, trust us, we have some incredible features lined up for early 2026 and, for those curious, “yes,” there will be a heavy focus on Louisiana State Police!
Happy New Year, everyone!