As I continue to work on my Paralegal Degree and Family Law Degree, one of the main things I will come across is Child Custody. It can be a very controversial issue. It is a well-known fact that in Oklahoma, custody is mostly granted to the mother of the child(ren). As seen in my image, you can see that this has been a proven fact in the past. In 2007 Fathers were granted the custodial parent 17% of the time and mothers 83% of the time. 
The Court System tries to find the parent most suitable parent to raise the children, most of the time that could be the mother. There are a lot of circumstances that factor into the decision. Such as, “the parent’s lifestyle and other social factors, including whether the child is exposed to second-hand smoke and whether there is any history of child abuse, the parents mental and physical health, and ability to provide for the child or children.” A lot of times the mother fits into the category of “Best Suitable Parent” as shown in the graph above.
From my personal experience with Child Custody cases, all the above information is 100% true. It can in fact be changed. In the custody battle that I am going through right now, alongside my husband, my husband had joint custody with set visitation days with his children. However he wasn’t being allowed to fulfill his visitation days. Long story short we have went back to court, with a very good Lawyer, a long drawn out case and my husband is now the Sole-Custodial Parent of his two children.
Therefore, no matter what the circumstances in Family Law the outcome can always be changed, with the right lawyer, and evidence.
Sources:
http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/child-custody-faq-29054.html
https://dalrock.wordpress.com/2011/08/15/latest-u-s-custody-and-child-support-data/
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