absent parent/absent father/absent mother

According to David Levy (in Copy Editor), president of the Children's Rights Council, an organization that helps children maintain contact with both parents, the term "absent parent" dates to the 1935 Social Security Act: "when welfare was first set up, Social Security was for survivors of the deceased--fathers who were lost at sea or in mine disasters. Now 60 years later the main problem is divorce, and we're still using the same antiquated term to describe parents who are not absent." The federal Office of Child Support Enforcement uses "absent parent" only in references to parents whose whereabouts are unknown; otherwise they use "noncustodial parent." Avoid the nonparallel terms, "mother/maternal deprivation" and "father absence" unless you use their correct equivalents ("mother absence/father absence" and "mother deprivation/father deprivation"). See also broken home, child custody, noncustodial parent, visitation (child custody).