'Virtual' visits for children of divorce pushed in several states

[The Straight Story]

'Virtual' visits for children of divorce pushed in several states

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - Divorce put David List and his 2-year-old daughter on opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean, and he worried that she would soon forget him.

She hasn't, though. List's divorce agreement guaranteed him ``virtual visitation'' -- the chance to talk with his daughter through an Internet video connection -- and he and Ruby Rose, now 5, usually connect at least twice a week. The chats between California and Great Britain sustain them in between their in-person visits, which come only a few times a year.

``When she gets off the plane, I know what she had for dinner last night,'' said List, 49, of Santa Cruz, Calif. ``She'll run right up to me and jump in my arms because I know exactly what she's all about.''

Advocates of virtual visitation want states to spell out in their laws that judges can make it part of a divorce agreement.

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