Babble: Custodial Fathers Should Not Receive Child Support

January 25, 2016 by Robert Franklin, Esq, Member, National Board of Directors, National Parents Organization

Sigh. Sometimes I start thinking that the public discourse on children, fathers, mothers, families, etc. is getting better, that basic facts are coming to be known and accepted and that, as a natural result, more reasonable ideas about reform of family courts and issues regarding kids are coming to the fore.

Court Excoriates Dad for Overpaying for Child

January 24, 2016 by Robert Franklin, Esq, Member, National Board of Directors, National Parents Organization

No one’s ever accused the New York Post of being sensible, but, even by those low standards, this article is exceptional (New York Post, 1/22/16).

The piece is entitled “NY Dad Tries to Get Out of Child Support with $150k Check.” Yes, according to the Post, the father, 24-year-old Avery G., tried to avoid paying to support his child by — wait for it — paying for his child, paying far more than he had to and paying in advance. The fiend! I say throw him in the slammer. What will deadbeat dads think of next?

Ontario Court Approves Conception by Fraud

January 22, 2016 by Robert Franklin, Esq, Member, National Board of Directors, National Parents Organization

The snark of the writer aside, this article deals with an important subject — conception by fraud (Toronto Star, 1/16/16).

It seems a man, identified only as PP, had a brief sexual relationship with a woman, DD. She assured him she was “on the pill,” he believed her and so they had sex without his using a condom. Soon, she was pregnant, a fact she announced to him via a text message.

Nebraska Judges Need to Do Better at Providing for Children’s Best Interests

January 21, 2016 by Robert Franklin, Esq, Member, National Board of Directors, National Parents Organization

Hard on the heels of Judge Susan Strong’s ruling that orders Court Administrator Corey Steel to turn over documents used in training Nebraska family court judges regarding child custody and parenting time comes this op-ed (Lincoln Journal Star, 1/15/16). It’s by Shawna Thompson, who clearly knows her stuff.

Nebraska Judge Orders Judicial Training Materials on Child Custody and Parenting Time Made Public

January 20, 2016 by Robert Franklin, Esq, Member, National Board of Directors, National Parents Organization

In Nebraska, the forces supporting shared parenting continue to make progress. Nebraska has long been a redoubt of the strongest, most intelligent, mature and effective pro-shared parenting movement in the country. Don’t look for them to dress up in superhero costumes and climb on top of the courthouse any time soon. No, they just work continually in the legislature, the courts and the news media to bring about reform of family laws and courts that would benefit every Nebraskan and relieve the pressure on the public treasury.

Utah NPO Trains Member-Lobbyists on January 16

January 18, 2016
By Ned Holstein, MD, MS, Founder, Chair of the Board and Acting Executive Director

Building on its recent success in passing an excellent shared parenting law, NPO of Utah trained members on the basics of lobbying. This was done to power up its next legislative drive.

The free training was held Saturday, January 16 at The Safety Consortium Building on West Lawndale in Salt Lake City.

British Family Judge Opts for Secrecy, Against Fathers’ Rights

January 18, 2016 by Robert Franklin, Esq, Member, National Board of Directors, National Parents Organization

A British family court judge has come out in favor of secrecy for child protective employees and the removal of fathers from children’s lives without due process of law. Yes, you read that right and can read more about the case here (The Guardian, 1/10/16).

Iowa State Daily Plumps for Expanding State Power at the Expense of the Family

January 17, 2016 by Robert Franklin, Esq, Member, National Board of Directors, National Parents Organization

Few commentators take a backseat to me when it comes to criticizing state child welfare agencies. They’re an unfortunate but necessary part of our society. Some people abuse their kids and can’t change their ways. Sadly, those children need to be elsewhere, with adults who can care for them properly. We all understand this.

AZ Governor Ducey Attacks State’s Most Vulnerable – Dads Behind on Child Support

January 15, 2016 by Robert Franklin, Esq, Member, National Board of Directors, National Parents Organization

Arizona Governor Doug Ducey is betting that misandry and ignorance will appeal to the state’s electorate.  Into the bargain, he’s putting his money on the idea that kicking a man when he’s down makes him look tough.  Who knows if he’s right or wrong, but suffice it to say that the man’s latest ploy would disgrace anyone who values honesty and decency (CNN, 1/12/16). 

Oregon Foster Care System Riddled with Crime, Abuse and Neglect of Children

January 14, 2016 by Robert Franklin, Esq, Member, National Board of Directors, National Parents Organization

Children’s welfare agencies across the country continue to fail the children they exist to help, parents and the taxpayers who support them.

In California, one state legislator called for the child welfare system to be “scrapped” and to start again from square one. They did just that in Arizona following scandal after scandal of children in foster care being injured and sometimes killed. In the midst of starting over, state regulators discovered a whopping 6,000 cases of alleged abuse or neglect that caseworkers had simply ignored. In Texas, a federal judge recently issued an order to appoint a special master to make wholesale changes to the state’s child welfare system. That too followed years of incompetence, criminal cover-ups, a revolving door at the top of the agency and an outside audit that found personnel turnover rates over 25% per year, caseloads at twice the recommended average and policy books so huge and self-contradictory that caseworkers had no way to know what agency policy consisted of. In New York, the child welfare agency’s preferred method of dealing with complaints is to simply refuse to provide information, often in violation of state law. In Richmond, Virginia, files on children at risk have been missing for years.

Shared Parenting Accomplishments in Connecticut in 2015

January 14, 2016
By Ned Holstein, MD, MS, Founder, Chair of the Board and Acting Executive Director

John Clapp, a key figure in the Connecticut group Shared Parenting Council (SPC), reports a variety of accomplishments in 2015. For more information, see their website and blog at sharedparentinginct.org.

John discussed child support enforcement directly with the federal Office of Child Support Enforcement, which makes rules that the state offices of child support enforcement must follow. He reports that they are trying to eliminate unreasonably high child support orders.

Utah NPO Builds on Successes, Will Train Member-Lobbyists on January 16

January 14, 2016
By Ned Holstein, MD, MS, Founder, Chair of the Board and Acting Executive Director

Building on its recent success in passing an excellent shared parenting law, NPO of Utah now plans to push for other new legislation. It will train members on the basics of lobbying to power this drive. Please attend! And bring a friend!

Major Organ of Catholic Church Endorses Shared Parenting

January 14, 2016
By Ned Holstein, MD, MS, Founder, Chair of the Board and Acting Executive Director

Stunning Development May Reflect Views of Pope

The Council of Italian Bishops (Conferenza Episcopale Italiana, or CEI) has endorsed shared parenting after divorce or separation, based on a full-page spread that appeared in its official newspaper, Avvenire (“Future”) on the Sunday before Christmas. It was written by the Chief Editor of Avvenire, Luciano Moia. The article urges family courts to not only state support for shared parenting, but to also ensure the arrangement actually occurs in practice. Also, the article was supportive of legislative efforts that encourage shared parenting.

Daily Mail Article on Childless Women Inadvertently Stumbles onto the Truth

January 13, 2016 by Robert Franklin, Esq, Member, National Board of Directors, National Parents Organization

Maureen Brookbanks, writing in the Daily Mail quotes an “expert” or two in her quest to (a) find a problem where there is none and (b) blame it on men (Daily Mail, 1/6/16). 

As to (a), she never gets around to explaining why 16% of women not having children, despite wanting them, is a problem for anyone but those individual women.  After all, there are well over seven billion human beings attempting to wring sustenance from an increasingly distressed planet.  Why we need more is a topic Brookbanks neglects. 

Daily Mail Writer: Men Deciding Their Own Fertility is ‘Unfair’

January 11, 2016 by Robert Franklin, Esq, Member, National Board of Directors, National Parents Organization

The Daily Mail article that suggests men are to blame for women who want but don’t have children is all of a piece with others of its genre (Daily Mail, 1/6/16). As I said yesterday, the writer claims that 16% of all women of childbearing years fall into that category. So it’s noteworthy that two of the three women she found to illustrate her point were at fault themselves for failing to have the children they wanted. One pursued obviously flawed strategies for finding the right mate (a two-year affair with a man she knew to be married and have kids followed by a gay man and “countless married men”) and the other set up barriers (“exacting standards”) that were too high for the men she dated to clear.

Men Still at Fault for Childless Women

January 10, 2016 by Robert Franklin, Esq, Member, National Board of Directors, National Parents Organization

It’s been well over two years since the last spate of articles blaming men for women not having children appeared in the British and American press. But that doesn’t mean the same old arguments aren’t being trotted out, threadbare as they are. Here’s the most recent claptrap (Daily Mail, 1/6/16). Amusingly enough, the Mail leads with this claim:

ACF Study: Maternal Gatekeeping Comes Between Fathers and Children

January 8, 2016 by Robert Franklin, Esq, Member, National Board of Directors, National Parents Organization

For the fathers interviewed for this study done for the Administration for Children and Families, one of the major impediments to having access to their children was the mothers of those children. Indeed, the title of the section dealing with maternal gatekeeping is “Everything Goes Through Mom.” The fathers reported significant difficulties with mothers interfering with access to their children. Not only that, but many of the mothers knew how to recruit the legal system to abet that interference.

ACF: Violence and Unstable Relationships with Mothers Impede Fathers’ Contact with Their Kids

January 7, 2016 by Robert Franklin, Esq, Member, National Board of Directors, National Parents Organization

As I reported yesterday, the fathers in the four programs evaluated for the Administration for Children and Families were among the most marginal of anyone in society. They’re poor, uneducated and most have a criminal record. But they’re highly motivated to improve their relationships with their kids, so they involve themselves in these Responsible Fatherhood programs.

Reports on the Administration for Children and Families Responsible Fatherhood Programs

January 6, 2016 by Robert Franklin, Esq, Member, National Board of Directors, National Parents Organization

In 2015, the Administration for Children and Families (part of the Department of Health and Human Services) began reporting on its analyses of various fatherhood programs. Those are programs whose goal is to teach men from disadvantaged backgrounds how to improve their relationships with their kids, be financially responsible for them and improve their parenting skills.

Study: Poverty, Single Mother Families Hit Boys Harder than Girls

January 4, 2016 by Robert Franklin, Esq, Member, National Board of Directors, National Parents Organization

There’s more evidence that this country’s 40-year experiment with easy divorce and expendable fathers isn’t working. Moreover, this article reports on a major reason why it’s not working (CNSNews, 12/30/15).