Well this turned out to be an interesting post (see how it concludes).   Have a wonderful weekend and if it’s in your country, “Father’s Day.”

This Just Out from “GovTrack” on the House Ways and Means Committee (and predictably, Sponsored by Danny Davis, introduced 6/15/2011):

H.R. 2193 To amend title IV of the Social Security Act

to ensure funding for grants to promote responsible fatherhood

and strengthen low-income families,

and for other purposes.

“The text of this legislation is not yet available on GovTrack. It may not have been made available by the Government Printing Office yet….”

Democrat sponsors too, this time:

I figure it will be similar to this one, from 2009):

With one in three children in the United States living apart from their biological fathers, Representative Danny K. Davis and Senator Evan Bayh are renewing their efforts to promote healthy families and support American fathers who are trying to earn a livable wage and take a more active role in the lives of their children.

Rep. Davis along with Reps. André Carson and Artur Davis today introduced companion legislation in the House called the Julia Carson Responsible Fatherhood and Healthy Families Act of 2009 Act, in honor of Representative Julia Carson, the late Indianapolis congresswoman who championed fatherhood reform throughout her long career.

Bayh today introduced his Responsible Fatherhood and Healthy Families Act of 2009 with Senators Blanche Lincoln and Roland Burris, a bill cosponsored by then-Senator Barack Obama in the last Congress. Bayh’s bill is co-sponsored with Senators Blanche Lincoln and Roland Burris.

“It is a sad and sobering fact that one out of every three kids in America will wake up this Father’s Day without their father present,” Bayh said. “Conceiving a child doesn’t make you a man, but raising one responsibly does. Unfortunately, absentee fathers have become a national epidemic. The result is that 24 million American children are more likely to struggle in school and have emotional and behavioral problems.”

Yeah, emotional and behavioral problems like sexting strange women while your pregnant wife is away at work  —  or (see recent posts — I can’t recall the name — of key Obama appointee starting a baby in May out of wedlock, and then marrying a newer, better woman the following December, while one’s job description includes the words “healthy marriage, responsible fatherhood” oversight.  I DNR exact details but you can see my 2011 posts, there are photos) —

If Obama’s own appointees can’t keep to the standard of responsible fatherhood, why should he inflict the programs on the rest of us, meanwhile constantly diminishing the work of very responsible mothers?

Bayh added, “Our government spends $100 billion a year to deal with the fallout of absent fathers.** The government can’t pass a law to make men good dads, but we can support local programs that specialize in job training, career counseling and financial literacy to help those men who embrace their parental responsibility and are trying to earn a livable wage to do right by their kids

What procedures are in place to distinguish the good guys from the bad guys? — To justify it, they say “men who embrace their parental responsibility and are trying to earn a livable wage to do right by their kids.”   However, even attorney General General Eric Holder has noted (finally, if only in QUICK passing) that in fact, custody is going to batterers.

Recently (6/22/2011) a rapper “Tone Loc” was arrested for felony (not misdemeanor) domestic violence with the mother of this child.  He posted $50,000 bail within 3 hours and was out. … (I hope she was able to relocate!).    The article sites, falsely, that violation of a restraining order in Calif. results in an arrest.  That is not true — if in theory, definitely not in practice:

d for Jennifer Morgan and Milena A. Abreu, Attorneys At Law,
Morgan Albite P.A., Miami & Coral Gables, Palm Beach & Vero Beach, Florida

Born Anthony Smith, rapper Tone Loc, arrested on suspicion of felony domestic violence in Burbank, California over the weekend, is reportedly out on bail, having posted a bond of $50,000 three hours after being hauled into jail.

Known mostly for his rise to fame in the 1980’s with hits like “Wild Thing” and “Funky Cold Medina,” there is little information about exactly what occurred prior to Tone Loc’s arrest.

Police have only indicated that there was a “physical altercation” with the mother of his child.

If true, this situation does not bode well for Tone Loc, because, via the Domestic Violence Prevention Act, California has some of the harshest domestic violence laws in the country.

Felony domestic violence in California occurs when a person physically strikes their spouse, former spouse, a cohabitant, former cohabitant, a person with which they have or had a dating relationship, a blood relative, or the parent of his or her child.

No ongoing relationship is necessary, and penalties range from 2 to 4 years in jail and a $6,000 fine.

Additionally, restraining order violations automatically end in arrest.

California domestic violence law also impacts child custody by requiring judges to make the presumption that granting custody to a batterer is not in the best interest of the child.

SOURCE:  Criminal Law News Now.com, sponsored by Morgan Albite, P.A. – in Florida?

As the 2009 public statement from Rep. Davis says:

I am glad President Obama is starting a national conversation to draw public attention to the critical role that fathers play in raising responsible, healthy adults.”

Of course then-President Clinton (a prime example of marital fidelity, & “keep it zipped” Democrat, both before and during the US Presidency) already started that conversation in 1995, responding to Republican “Contract with America.”  Why do I start to feel sometimes like a bystander when Democrats & Republicans jockey (as our Congress) for supremacy in the  “MY fatherhood programs are bigger than YOURS!” and “Who’s your Daddy!” posturing — and spending?

((Here is Rep. Davis on Tax Day 4/15/2011 introducing “The Children’s Budget Act” and citing to Brookings Institute and The Urban Institute) talking about we need to spend more money on children.  For Brookings Institute, read Ron Haskins and others who produce “Fragile Family” and other “Strengthening the Family” reports indicating that marriage reduces poverty and is a great thing for children, which Deomcrat Rep. Anthony Weiner — who according to news “just out” (yesterday) — might be thinking about, about now — and I guess if he steps down at once, he won’t get to vote yes on more fatherhood funding — although he’s about to become one:**

(Thu Jun 16, 9:48 am ET Rep. Anthony Weiner stepping down

By Rachel Rose Hartman

Rep. Anthony Weiner plans to announce at a 2 p.m. press conference in Brooklyn, N.Y. Thursday that he has made the decision to resign from Congress amid a growing scandal over his lewd online communications.

…

Last week, Weiner admitted he had lied about his dealings {{“I was hacked”}} with women he had met online–but insisted he wouldn’t resign. On Saturday, his office announced he had entered “treatment,” after top Democrats, including Nancy Pelosi, publicly called on him to leave Congress.

Weiner had previously indicated that he wished to speak with *** his wife Huma Abedin, who is pregnant with the couple’s first child, before deciding on his political future. Abedin returned to Washington yesterday following a trip to Africa with her boss Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

House Democrats today were scheduled to meet to discuss potential next steps to punish the New York congressman, including possibly stripping him of his committee assignments (he currently sits on the powerful House Energy and Commerce as well as the Judiciary committee), and expelling him from the Democratic caucus.

The scandal, which first broke three weeks ago, continued to deepen this week.

Just yesterday, porn star Ginger Lee held a press conference to announce that the congressman had asked her to lie about their online communications. “I think that Anthony Weiner should resign because he lied to the public and the press for more than a week,” Lee said.

Weiner was asked about his Twitter communications with Lee when the scandal broke; he told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer that Lee probably received “pro-forma”  messages from his account and that was all.

Lee claims Weiner sent her specific messages about his “package.” She had previously shared her communications with Weiner with the site TMZ.

Lee hired celebrity lawyer Gloria Allred to make her case to a national audience and multiple news outlets report that an Atlanta strip club was already using the scandal to promote her appearance at their venue Wednesday night.

Ah well….Just kidding.  I know what time of month it is (this JUNE) and simply looked up the House Ways and Means Committee’s doings.  Rep. Davis will always have a warm position in my heart anyhow, for carrying that crown in the US Senate Building and placing it on the top of the royalty-robed Rev. Sun Myung Moon of the Unification Church in front of plenty of spectators.   NOt that he hasn’t done plenty else, but would you buy a fatherhood program from someone who plays along with someone who wants — I mean REALLY wants — to rule the world and really seems to believe Jesus messed up, but He’s got a better idea?  (That’s exactly how this cult thinks and talks to, when not money-laundering etc.)

Just for the record, even Attorney General Eric Holder put in JUST a few words hinting there MIGHT be a problem with custody in the court:

Reported at NAFCJ.net:

From the “What Took Them So-Long” category, is this Department of Justice, June 2009 release of remarks by Attorney General Holder which include: “Why are mothers who are the victims of domestic violence losing custody of their children to the courts and to the child protection system? ” Remarks by Attorney General Eric Holder June 2009

From the horse’s mouth (i.e., DOJ source):

  »  Justice News

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Attorney General Eric Holder via Video to the National Summit on the Intersection of Domestic Violence and Child Maltreatment

~ Tuesday, June 2, 2009

 Remarks as prepared for delivery. (I would love to hear a recorded transcript…..)

Good morning and welcome to the National Summit on the Intersection of Domestic Violence and Child Maltreatment.

As you are gathered here in this beautiful location, I hope that you will forge new alliances and a collective leadership that will help identify solutions that will have a lasting impact on the lives of mothers and children traumatized by family violence. I ask that you consider ways the Department of Justice can renew and strengthen its efforts to address this problem. We want to draw upon lessons gleaned from your work in communities throughout the country. We also want to know what has been left undone.

(paragraph, paragraph, paragraph, and then):

Some of the topics that you will address may be more challenging than others. I hope you will especially discuss the most difficult issues I know many of you confront in your work:

• Why are mothers who are the victims of domestic violence losing custody of their children to the courts and to the child protection system?
• Why are children of color over-represented in the child protection system?
• Do children need a relationship with their fathers even when their fathers have been abusive to them and their mothers in the past? If so, what does that relationship look like?

I ask that you explore all of these things while always remembering that the needs of children who are exposed to violence are inextricably linked to the needs of mothers who are the victims of domestic violence.

Well, sorry to say, the fathers’ groups and promoters don’t see it that way…The sponsoring group (which I remember noticing at the time) was t he Office on Violence Against Women, in partnership with the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCFCJ) and the Family Violence Prevention Fund [basically a fatherhood-funded group at this point.  I have written them off.  They are not going to confront the custody issues, at all..] has planned this meeting to continue a conversation that began almost a decade ago, at the first National Summit held here in Jackson Hole, Wyoming  If Philip Stahl (one of the largest PAS promoters around, and trains judges) is on the the faculty of NCFCJ, I doubt he is going to be too interested in the “problem” custody of children going to batterers.  His work enables that!   It’s one of the primary things he appears to write on — parental alienation!

Here he is in 2010 speaking to an Alliance of Concerned Men on fatherhood.  It’s a good speech, but pulls out that phrasing:

I’m glad to be in the company of so many fellow dads and local leaders who want to focus on, and talk about, fatherhood. In the course of this discussion, I hope we will be open and honest enough to ask ourselves tough questions – father to father, parent to parent – about what our communities, as well as the federal government, can do to strengthen our families and support those fathers who are trying to do the right thing.

The plain truth is that youth violence is far-too common. There’s no single cause and no simple solution. But we know one important contributor is the absence of a responsible, loving father. Here in D.C., where half of African-American households don’t include even one grown man, the implications of this fact could not be clearer.

If we are going to call ourselves “men” then we must act like men. We must nurture and care for those we bring into this world. That’s what a “man”

does. We can’t leave this awesome responsibility only to the women in our lives who, nevertheless, do a superb job. And we can’t ask our communities to shoulder our obligations. This must end. Any man who can create a child must also help, in a meaningful way, to help raise that child.

I don’t pretend that this will be easy, especially for fathers who have been incarcerated…

 

 

And, Dec. 18, 2009 from “mainjustice.com” (AndrewRamonas)

Holden’s Fatherhood Speeches Part of Faith-Based Initiative:

 

 

Policy Goals – Key Priorities for Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships

In addition to its daily work, President Obama has asked the Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships to focus on four special priorities.  These priorities are:

1. Strengthening the Role of Community Organizations in the Economic Recovery
2. Reducing Unintended Pregnancies, Supporting Maternal and Child Health, and Reducing the Need for Abortion
3. Promoting Responsible Fatherhood and Strong Communities
   
4. Promoting Interfaith Dialogue and Cooperation

Efforts associated with these key priorities will be carried out by working closely with the President’s Cabinet Secretaries and the 11 Agency Centers for Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships, as well as the Strategic Advisor at the Corporation for National and Community Service.

Gee, here they are up in NH promoting Fathers in education; this time, if fathers are there, it means academics improve.  Pretty soon mothers will become obsolete — or simply wombs to bring out kids that fathers can be involved in, thus justifying more initiatives (and grants, and trips, and conferences, and speeches, and publications and media press releases, and  . . . . and . . . . . .. . )

Today, as part of the continuing National Conversation on Fatherhood, Obama Administration officials made the second stop of a national initiative with a visit to Manchester, New Hampshire to focus on the importance of fathers in the education of their children. The White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, in cooperation with The U.S. Department of Education, conducted the event.

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan participated in the day’s activities, which examined the ever growing importance of fathers in the education of their children. Increasing parent involvement, particularly the involvement of fathers, is key to improving struggling schools across the country. Research shows that children do better in school and are less likely to drop out when fathers are involved. More than 70 representatives of nonprofits, parent organizations, faith-based organizations, counseling agencies and university, business and government services from across New England participated in the discussion and provided feedback on engaging fathers in their children’s education

BACK TO PARENTAL COORDINATION.  Let’s keep the parenting “gender-neutral” and talk about the organizational aspects here:

How’d we get so many uncoordinated parents in the neighborhood, anyhow?  Why haven’t years upon years (like K-12) of being shown how to  sit down, stand up, wait in lines and go through lines on cue (bells), and stop whatever they were doing every XX minutes and to keep to their assigned places in the Bell Curves of Life gotten the place coordinated yet?

And yet we (meaning “y’all” from another perspective) need more and more coordinators to tell these people who have (most of them) already come through the US Public School system, somehow — to leave whoever they hooked up and then split up with (whether by marriage or “liaison” of some sort) — how to parent right…  How to be fair, UNbiased (see my last four posts) and above all trust authority.  And we need more social demonstration research to figure out where “we” (the experts?) failed.  Of course, as one generation grows up, it’s important to get to the next generation in time and engrave the latest dogma upon them — as expressed in the best “practices.”

Wikipedia for what it’s worth:

Parenting coordinator (PC) is a relatively new practice that is used to manage on-going issues in child custody and visitation cases by professional psychologist or a lawyer assigned by the Court.^[1] There are 10 states as of May, 2011 that have passed legislation regarding parenting coordinators: Colorado (since 2005), Idaho (2002), Louisiana (2007), New Hampshire (2009), North Carolina (2005), Oklahoma (2001), Oregon (2002), Texas (2005), Massachusetts and Florida.^[2]

I am not the only person opposed to “Parenting Coordination” and introducing yet another profession into the AFCC Palette:

The LIZ LIBRARY agrees with me, and gives a whole page of reasons, followed by a ***t (Boat)load of links to justify it.  However, the first one (I listed below) would be good enough:

Article on Parenting Coordination can be found at:
Parenting Coordination, a bad idea
http://www.thelizlibrary.org/therapeutic-jurisprudence/parenting-coordination.html
Also see: Parenting Coordinator Practical Considerations
And: A “child-centered divorce”?

• • Parenting coordination is an inappropriate delegation of the judicial function

Of course, I”m of the opinion (see my PCANH cites) that is precisely the point of it. . . . . .

Here’s what Florida Governor “Jeb” Bush wrote in 2004, explaining his VETO of a  certain bill promoting the Professionalization of Parental Coordination:

While the intent of the bill is laudable, I am vetoing the bill for the following reasons:

1. I am concerned that the bill does not adequately protect families as they try to resolve their conflicts. By authorizing courts to require families to use parenting coordinators, this legislation allows the judicial branch to order parenting coordination without the consent of all parties involved.

2. I share the concerns expressed by domestic violence advocates that this bill fails to provide adequate safeguards for victims of domestic violence.

3. I cannot approve legislation that delegates judicial authority to a parenting coordinator and which allows these parenting coordinators to serve in the dual role of judge and jury of parents’ or children’s rights

4. I am concerned about funding these parenting coordinating programs in the future.

5. I believe that parenting coordinators should serve as volunteers and not be limited to an exclusive class of licensed professionals.

Actually, I believe it’s appropriate to reprint in full, here:

June 18, 2004

By the authority vested in me as Governor of Florida, under the provisions of Article III, Section 8, of the Constitution of Florida, I do hereby withhold my approval of and transmit to you with my objections, Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 2640, enacted during the 36th session of the Legislature, convened under the Constitution of 1968, during the Regular Session of 2004, and entitled:

An act relating to Parenting Coordination. . .

Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 2640 authorizes courts to appoint a parenting coordinator when the court finds the parties have not implemented the court-ordered parenting plan, mediation has not been successful, and the court finds the appointment is in the best interest of the children involved.

I applaud the dedicated efforts of many whose mission is to identify alternatives to assist families in conflict. I also recognize that some circuit courts are currently utilizing parenting coordinators without statutory authority, and I commend them for seeking legislative direction.

While the intent of the bill is laudable, I am vetoing the bill for the following reasons:

1. I am concerned that the bill does not adequately protect families as they try to resolve their conflicts. By authorizing courts to require families to use parenting coordinators, this legislation allows the judicial branch to order parenting coordination without the consent of all parties involved.

2. I share the concerns expressed by domestic violence advocates that this bill fails to provide adequate safeguards for victims of domestic violence.

3. I cannot approve legislation that delegates judicial authority to a parenting coordinator and which allows these parenting coordinators to serve in the dual role of judge and jury of parents’ or children’s rights.

Ms. Glenda E. Hood June 18, 2004 Page Two

4. I am concerned about funding these parenting coordinating programs in the future.

5. I believe that parenting coordinators should serve as volunteers and not be limited to an exclusive class of licensed professionals.

I will support a revised bill during the 2005 legislative session that makes the appointment and selection of a parenting coordinator subject to the consent of both parents. Also, I believe that we must limit the risk of “professionalization” of the parenting coordinator role by limiting it to volunteers. While I respect the Legislature’s policy choice to allow only licensed professionals, clergy or attorneys to qualify as parenting coordinators, I believe that any volunteer, especially any faith-based volunteer, who meets certain minimum criteria should be allowed to serve as a parenting coordinator.

Basic training and standards are important. I support language, some contained in the current bill, regarding domestic violence training, family-court procedures, and mediation.

I am committed to working with the sponsors of this legislation *** to create a program that can assist parents, preserve their rights, protect the best interests of the children involved, and address the concerns noted above.

Furthermore, by this letter, I respectfully request the Chief Justice of the Florida Supreme Court and all chief circuit judges to consider revising these programs to ensure that parents’ paramount rights are not compromised, regardless of the well-intentioned motives of the program.

For these reasons, and the reasons set forth herein, I am withholding my approval of Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 2640, and do hereby veto the same.

Sincerely,

Jeb Bush

** He’d just about HAVE to work with the sponsors of that legislation:  they are helping run the states’ family law system, and if he didn’t, there’d probably be a riot.  Nevertheless, as we approach June 18, 2011 (seven years later), I’d have to agree with the points he made.

Of course, these people don’t (I just picked one state, but one can find similar “reasoning” and resolve in all states.  More later, this is a quick post…..):

This is from Illinois.  I learned today that Cook County  (i.e., Chicagoland) Clerk of the Court handles $74 million and over 2 million cases per year.  It’s larger than some Fortune 500 companies.   They opened a $64 million building in 2005 to centralize Domestic Violence Court — all under an AFCC Judge of course — you didn’t think THAT would be changed….

Anyhow, AFCC doesn’t want “Children” in the Middle — they typically want THEMSELVES (including parenting coordinators) in the middle, and in charge.

I found this elegant site — very impressive  It’ graphics are a cut above for sure, and its membership are decorated and competent, and judges:

RESOLUTION SYSTEMS INSTITUTE

Resolutions Systems Institute and

Center for Conflict Resolution are out of the same street address and suite#:

“Mission:

The Center for Conflict Resolution (CCR) is one of the nation’s premiere not-for-profit providers of mediation services and conflict management training. Our services are flexible and cost-effective, based on a track record of over 31,000 mediated cases and backed by the expertise of knowledgeable, dedicated volunteers and employees.

Every year we provide free mediation services in over 2,000 cases, train hundreds of new mediators, facilitate meetings and work with dozens of businesses, government agencies and organizations to create custom-designed dispute resolution systems and training programs.

It was started by the Young Lawyers Section of the Chicago Bar:

History:

In 1979, the Young Lawyers Section of The Chicago Bar Association supported the creation of a not-for-profit corporation to aid the Chicago community in effectively handling disputes.

Originally known as the Neighborhood Justice of Chicago, the Center for Conflict Resolution opened in a storefront in Chicago’s Uptown Neighborhood to help people resolve their conflicts through mediation. In the early 1980’s, CCR began accepting a significant number of case referrals from the Circuit Court of Cook County. To reach the community more effectively and to enhance their new services, CCR moved its offices to Chicago’s downtown loop.

CCR continued its reach through programs developed in the Circuit Court of Cook County and in city and state institutions that continue today. From juvenile offenders and victims, landlord-tenant conflicts and small claims matters to employment discrimination and Chancery Court cases, CCR provides a successful option for the court and to the residents of the Chicago-land community.

In the 1990’s, having successfully trained hundreds of volunteers to mediate for the organization, CCR began offering mediation skills training to individuals along with custom-designed conflict management training programs for organizations.

Today the Center for Conflict Resolution is governed by a 20-member Board of Directors and relies on a full-time staff of eleven and approximately 120 active volunteer mediators who mediate 95% of CCR’s cases. In the past five years alone, CCR mediated over 10,000 cases and provided conflict management training to thousands of individuals.

Anyhow this is from its “NEWS AND UPDATES” (see sidebar to left, and scroll down):

ay 25, 2011 – AFCC Offers Chicago Trainings on Parenting Coordination and Working with Children in Separating/Divorcing Families

The Association of Family and Conciliation Courts is offering two trainings in June for dispute resolution professionals in Chicago. “Keeping Parenting Coordinating Cases on Track: Advanced Concepts and Case Management Strategies” is a “practice-based, case-oriented” training for experienced parenting coordinators that will discuss ways to improve the parenting coordination process and work with high-conflict clients. It will be held June 20-21. “Children and Divorce: The Voice of the Child and Interventions When Children Resist Parental Contact” is a training for professionals who work with separating or divorcing families – including mediators, evaluators, lawyers, judges, etc. – and will focus on how to integrate children’s voices into the dispute resolution process and work with parent-child contact problems. It will be held June 22-23.

TRAINING #1: You may recognize the Trainer from a recent post of mine, East Coast outfit, although he’s West Coast (AFCC).  WHat better place to meet than in a large MidWestern city with the “largest unified family court system in the world”?

Keeping Parenting Coordinating Cases on Track: Advanced Concepts and Case Management Strategies 
Matthew J. Sullivan, Ph.D.
June 20-21, 2011
Chicago, Illinois

Training Brochure (PDF)

About the Presenter

Matthew J. Sullivan, Ph.D. is a licensed psychologist in private practice in Palo Alto, California, specializing in forensic and clinical work in the family courts. His full-time private practice focuses almost exclusively on work with co-parents. He serves in a variety of court-related roles, including mediator, co-parent counselor, parenting coordinator and consultant. He has written numerous articles and book chapters, and presented at national and international venues on topics such as high-conflict divorce, parenting coordination, child alienation and mental health consultation in family law cases. He is currently serving on the editorial board of the Journal of Child Custody and serves on the

AFCC Board of Directors. He served on the AFCC Parenting Coordination Task Force, which developed the first guidelines for PC practice and was co-chair of the AFCC Court-Involved Therapist Task Force, which developed the first guidelines for court- involved therapists. Please visit his website at http://www.californiaparentingcoordinator.com for more information.

Agenda

Yep, from the OVERCOMING BARRIERS CAMP.  As I spent several posts listing AFCC personnel, you may by now recognize a few names from this

Washington & Lee Law School Index of Periodicals, date, 2010:

(I searched on-line for Dr. Sullivan in company with Peggie Ward & Robin Deutch; this came up:)

  Family Court Review
Family and Conciliation Courts Review ( -v38(2000))
Volume 48, Number 1, January 2010
            other issues

• Editorial Notes January 2010
  ANDREW SCHEPARD
  p.1                                                                                          +cite        

• Special Guest Editors’ Editorial Notes
• Guest Editors’ Introduction to Special Issue on Alienated Children in Divorce and Separation: Emerging Approaches for Families and Courts
  BARBARA JO FIDLER AND NICHOLAS BALA
  p.6                                                                                          +cite        

• Articles
• Children Resisting Postseparation Contact with a Parent: Concepts, Controversies, and Conundrums
  BARBARA JO FIDLER AND NICHOLAS BALA
  p.10                                                                                        +cite        
• Family Bridges: Using Insights from Social Science to Reconnect Parents and Alienated Children
  RICHARD A. WARSHAK
  p.48                                                                                        +cite        
• Commentary on “Family Bridges: Using Insights from Social Science to Reconnect Parents and Alienated Children” (Warshak, 2010)
  JOAN B. KELLY
  p.81                                                                                        +cite        
• Helping Alienated Children with Family Bridges: Practice, Research, and the Pursuit of “Humbition”
  RICHARD A. WARSHAK AND MARK R. OTIS
  p.91                                                                                        +cite        
• When a Child Rejects a Parent: Tailoring the Intervention to Fit the Problem
  STEVEN FRIEDLANDER AND MARJORIE GANS WALTERS
  p.98                                                                                        +cite        
• Outcomes of Family Counseling Interventions with Children Who Resist Visitation: An Addendum to Friedlander and Walters (2010)
  JANET R. JOHNSTON AND JUDITH ROTH GOLDMAN
  p.112                                                                                      +cite        
• Overcoming Barriers Family Camp: A Program for High-Conflict Divorced Families Where a Child is Resisting Contact with a Parent
  MATTHEW J. SULLIVAN, PEGGIE A. WARD, AND ROBIN M. DEUTSCH
  p.116                                                                                      +cite        
• Early Identification and Prevention of Parent—Child Alienation: A Framework for Balancing Risks and Benefits of Intervention
  PETER G. JAFFE, DAN ASHBOURNE, AND ALFRED A. MAMO
  p.136                                                                                      +cite        
• Alienating Audiences from Innovation: The Perils of Polemics, Ideology, and Innuendo
  RICHARD A. WARSHAK
  p.153                                                                                      +cite        
• Parental Alienation: Canadian Court Cases 1989-2008
  NICHOLAS BALA, SUZANNE HUNT, AND CAROLYN MCCARNEY
  p.164                                                                                      +cite        
• One Case—One Specialized Judge: Why Courts Have an Obligation to Manage Alienation and Other High-Conflict Cases
  HON. DONNA J. MARTINSON
  p.180                                                                                      +cite        

• Perspectives
• A Response to Peter Salem’s Article “The Emergence of Triage in Family Court Services: Beginning of the End for Mandatory Mediation”
  HUGH MCISAAC
  p.190                                                                                      +cite        
• A Reponse to Salem: Common Sense
  STEVE BARON
  p.195                                                                                      +cite        
• A Distinction Without Much of a Difference: Response to Steve Baron and Hugh Mclsaac
  PETER SALEM
  p.201                                                                                      +cite        
• Fine Tuning the Branding of Parenting Coordination: “…You May Get What You Need”
  ELAYNE E. GREENBERG
  p.206                                                                                      +cite        

Meanwhile, the RSI in Illinois and its Mediation-Pushing Center for Conflict Resolution

May 12, 2011 – RSI Accepting Applications for 2012-2014 Skadden Fellowship Candidates

RSI and the Center for Conflict Resolution, RSI’s affiliate organization, is now accepting applications from law students or law clerks who would like to be considered as candidates to be sponsored as RSI/CCR’s September 2012 Skadden Fellow. The Skadden Fellowship Foundation provides a two-year fellowship that offers the opportunity to develop and execute a legal project with a public interest host organization that serves underrepresented populations. RSI/CCR seeks to sponsor a Fellow to work on court ADR program development. Click here for more information about sponsorship criteria and how to apply.

JUSTICE IS A PROCESS.  Handing off authority to a single Mediator in a Family Law system when that mediator is on the County Payroll, and grants to the states called “Access and Visitation” (etc.) facilitate “increased noncustodial parenting time” (to the tune of $1 million/ year in California) and other Responsible Fatherhood ways to reduce poverty and violence and encourage child support enforcement ) — doesn’t strengthen Justice.  The AFCC is not interested in Justice, and has already spoken — it is into psychology and mental health / counseling services.

It has shown and it has told.  We have experienced, but how many  have really READ both the publications of AFCC (from conference materials), the Positioning its adherents have obtained, the Professions they have developed in self-interest in getting a counselor into everyone’s life, and the very profitable “Nonprofits” they have started (and believe me, i do check these out; if you don’t know what a “FRONT GROUP” is go read some EINs in this field,  look up who’s on them, and then listen to them crying about the violence in our communities when they apply for another Supervised Visitation grant, or mandate more parental educations, or Push Parental Coordination on us — because of “high-conflict” parents)

It takes TWO parents to have high conflict.  If they would, rather, allow (and just DEAL with it!) in principle (they already do, in practice…. because when you call in a Warshak, or a judge wanting to punish an “alienating” parent, that parent is going to be OUT of a kids’ life — unless there is some more money to be drained from the parent (or parent’s associates) into the courts.  If the parent has none, then there are federal grants which can also be utilized.  Either way .  . . . .).

It’s coming up on a very famous Sunday here.  So let me say:

Happy “Parent” Day!

In some of the next posts, I am going to address some of the Resource Centers taking major fatherhood funding from the HHS in order to stop violence against women.  IN other words, they have figured out how to consolidate two federal grant streams (fatherhood — which was anti-feminist to start with — and VAWA — which was to counter extreme patriarchal behavior which perpetuated hate crimes against women because they are women.  You’d think those two would have an adversarial relationship, right?  But fact is, they have worked out their differences QUITE well when it comes to the federal faucet.

There are some “resource centers” that seem to dominate the DV field — and ALL of them are on the take from fatherhood funding, but this is not obvious unless you look at their financing.  They have dominated the field, as have their expensive, NOT well-tracked, and ever-expanding practices, NONE of which have proven to reduce violence against women (on one part) OR make more responsible fathers (on the other).  These things are not only environmental in origin and cannot always be trained in or drummed out of a person by sitting through an institute — or having judges (etc.) sit through institutes.

It’s time the general public stopped learning to look the other way and keep pretending that this is in THEIR best interests, by supporting legislators who vote in more Kids Turns, and Family Justice Centers, and appropriate millions of $$ that really don’t know, what’s happening to them.  Is it “OK” to do this decade after decade, with a US debt in trillions, and the value of the US$$ rapidly losing face globally?

Well, I may have been a TEMPORARY burden for a while, but this is definitely my civic duty in blogging these things.

CORPORATION WIKI On “FUTURES WITHOUT VIOLENCE” (a.k.a. “Family Violence Prevention Fund”).  Just see how many personnel are involved:  This is the organization I found around $33 million of funding for (USASpending.gov) — from both HHS & DOJ (at least) but what they are doing primarily is “EDUC” — they get grants to set up systems to train the professionals.  They also got a $250K grant to move and change their name and web pages.  However, it’s basically the same business, form what I can tell — a monopoly in the field, shared witha  few other organizations of similar practices and clout — just different names.

The link gives a visual.

ORGANIZATION NAME	STATE	YEAR	TOTAL ASSETS	FORM	PAGES	EIN
Family Violence Prevention Fund	CA	2009	$26,157,567	990	16	94-3110973
Family Violence Prevention Fund	CA	2008	$22,018,363	990	31	94-3110973
Family Violence Prevention Fund	CA	2007	$17,917,034	990	33	94-3110973
Family Violence Prevention Fund	CA	2006	$13,612,574	990	33	94-3110973
Family Violence Prevention Fund	CA	2005	$9,114,506	990	31	94-3110973
Family Violence Prevention Fund	CA	2004	$7,045,197	990	24	94-3110973
Family Violence Prevention Fund	CA	2002	$6,261,569	990	22	94-3110973

Just a fragment (see 2009) includes this Program Service Component:

4c (Code. )(Expenses$ 1,879,434.includinggrantsof$ )(Revenue$       )  PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS – THE ORGANIZATION LAUNCHED THE FIRST-EVER NATIONAL PUBLIC EDUCATION CAMPAIGN ON DOMESTIC VIOLENCE – THERE’S NO EXCUSE FOR DOMESTIC VIOLENCE – IN 1994. NOW THE ORGANIZATION IS REACHING YOUNG MEN AND BOYS THROUGH THE COACHING BOYS INTO MEN CAMPAIGN, ENCOURAGING MEN TO TALK TO THE YOUNG MEN AND BOYS IN THEIR LIVES THAT VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN IS WRONG. THROUGH MEDIA AND THROUGH WORK WITH ALLIED ORGANIZATIONS, COACHES, AND OTHERS WHO REACH MEN AND BOYS, THE FVPF IS DELIVERING THE MESSAGE THAT MEN CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE. THE ORGANIZATION’S RELATED FOUNDING FATHERS CAMPAIGN ENCOURAGES MEN TO STEP FORWARD ON FATHER’S DAY AND JOIN IN MAKING A PUBLIC STATEMENT ABOUT ENDING VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN.

WAIT A MINUTE — wasn’t the National Fatherhood Initiative, doing this already?

Corporation Wiki brings up a pagefull of references, I”ll take one of them;  Here are a few”

** Corporations and CHurches — a note from the Bishop King tradition:

In about 1948, King Narcisse began to incorporate an ancient legally recognized ecclesial creature into the church kingdom and diocese structure to insure that the kingdom and its charitable properties were preserved in perpetuity. The ecclesial creature was the Sole Corporation. Likewise in other states, in California, Corporation Sole may be formed only by the bishop, chief priest of any religious denomination or Church for the purpose of administrating and managing the affairs, and properties of the Church. [17]  The management and control of Corporation Sole and it assets pass to the bishop or chief priest’s Church successor. [18]

In California, King Narcisse formed the Corporation of the President of Mt. Zion Spiritual Temple, A Sole Corporation, to administer and maintain ownership of the church’s charitable property and its vast real estate holdings,[19] which would turn out to be a truly prophetic and brilliant movement to preserve the church kingdom in perpetuity.

In California, King Narcisse had his sights on building a self sufficient farm based community with a 15 million dollar hospital, cemetery and old folk’s home in the Sacramento area

Hmmm…. browsing search “finds” on this flamboyant situation, I found another blog, which also deals with fathers, early trauma, and dissociation.  The adult man (2007) is recalling and piecing together information about his father who worked at the Oakland shipyards during times of Pearl Harbor.  He speculates as to whether some of his own early trauma relates to his father’s involuntary psychiatric hospitalization.

I am going to finish reading this, if you would like to see the PRINCE RAY CHRONICLES (Dec. 2007), click HERE:  As you do, recall that one purpose of the $10million/year access visitation grants is promising projects as the Secretary of Health (HHS) shall assign; states must help. …   Including what “trainings” work better than others, and keeping the network open to subject parents and children to them, forcibly, targeting IV-D (welfare) families . . . . ???

AS WE CAN SEE< THERE ARE (&/OR WERE) QUITE A FEW “FATHERHOOD” ORGANIZATIONS IN THE GOLDEN STATE (CALIFORNIA):

“The Institute for Responsible Fatherhood and Family Revitalization”  website goes first to a web page in Washington, DC:

INTERCHANGE.org/romros/resource-12.html

Notice it’s targeted to welfare (TANF Recipient) Custodial and noncustodial fathers:

INSTITUTE FOR RESPONSIBLE FATHERHOOD 
& FAMILY REVITALIZATION

3594 Hayes St. NE Ste. 102 Washington, DC 20019-7522 (202) 396-8320 Fax (202) 396-8326 EMAIL: bcjenkins@responsiblefatherhood.org WEBSITE: http://www.responsiblefatherhood.org Contact Person: Bruce & Cesalie Jenkins Hours of Operation: 9:00a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Population Served: Custodial and non-custodial fathers, TANF Recipients Area Served: Primary target area is Ward 7 in DC; also serve those who are referred by our collaborative partners Volunteers Needed for: Doing surveys | Support for community services No. needed:

“Turning the hearts of  fathers unto their children” We are a 20 year old grass roots organization working with  fathers and mothers to enhance self-worth and communication skills to empower them a parent to take charge of their homes and familiesServices Offered: Paternity establishment Domestic violence Intervention Father & mother parenting support sessions Family Support Services Job Readiness & Job Search Skills Child Support Assistance

This web site is sponsored and maintained by vernard r gray of InterChange.org , a non-profit virtual corporation
dedicated to social change through the effective use of networked intelligence.

The Reach Our Men Reach Our Sons Coalition (ROMROS) is a community-based collective of concerned individuals and organizations whose purpose is to improve our community by developing recruitment strategies to get more African American men involved in those organizations that service our youth in the community.  Real Men Bond: significantly increase active community involvement, commitment, and participation of male members. Will strengthen family ties, improve conditions in the community and facilitate personal growth and development. Men with a Mission: By reviving and building on the success of the Million Man March the spirit of unity and atonement guides and empowers fathers, sons and brothers.

Responsible Fatherhood, Faith, Marriage and Family

by Dr. Charles A. Ballard, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of The Institute of Responsible Fatherhood and Family Revitalization

ON THAT BLESSED DAY, THAT VERY FIRST “PARENT’S DAY,” GOD SPOKE AND SAID: “LET US MAKE MAN IN OUR OWN IMAGE, AFTER OUR LIKENESS AND LET THEM HAVE RULERSHIP OVER EVERYTHING THAT WILL BE AND GOD MADE MAN AND WOMAN.”

Wow! What a beautiful sight that must have been – two human beings, a new order of creatures, the beginning of a new planet, a new world. Then God blessed them and spoke to them saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth, have many children, fill the earth and master it.” God loves family. When he spoke and said, “Let Us,” He was speaking to other members of His God Family.

Adam and Eve were to fill the earth with other human beings who would look and act like them, for they were to be made in His image, after His likeness. Adam was to cleave to his wife, Eve, and Eve was to cling to her husband, Adam. They were one. He was assigned to her as secret service agents are assigned to protect the President of the United States. God designed Adam to be a covering for his wife, and a protector for his children. More than this, Adam was to be the SERVANT leader. The SERVANT head, and SERVANT priest. Adam was to keep Eve at all times by his side. God gave them five wonderful gifts: a home, food, employment, a day of rest, and family. How much better could it get? Then it happened: first to Eve, then to Adam. An outsider usurped the power of dominion entrusted to them. This outsider, Satan, decided to put asunder what God had joined together. This outsider was allowed to come between the man and his wife. Sin entered the world. Then a tide of woe fell upon God’s wonderful creation.

And “Home” to this site links to 7th Day Adventists….I’m hoping these are not the ones promoting the “Marriage” book “Adam was From Dirt, Eve was from Adam.”

No, this was a DIFFERENT “REsponsible fatherhood” grantee receipient, Leo Godzich out of Arizona?  The organization that was over in Uganda promoting the kill-the-gay legislation (til it was out’ed).  Here’s the book:

Men Are From Dirt, Women Are From Men

Dr. Leo Godzich of “nameonline.net“

of course, the other website is not so up-front that the CEO writes books like this; it’s got a little softer approach:

(When you get some time, search “Godzich” on my blog — I did report some of the federal funding (and political connections – can you say “Bush”? of this particular nonprofit, the “NAME”).

The official bio of Godzich:

• Leo Godzich

• Leo Godzich is the founder and president of NAME, the National Association Marriage Enhancement and the host of the International Marriage Conference as well as being a leading force behind the Covenant Marriage Movement. NAME is a network of churches and couples committed to biblical marriage ministry. Currently, NAME is developing counseling centers in the U.S., Canada, Africa and Australia. Mr. Godzich is Pastor of Special Projects at Phoenix First Assembly of God in Phoenix, Arizona, the sixth largest church in the country, according to Time Magazine. He and his wife oversee a local marriage ministry to hundreds of couples with amazing results in restoring broken marriages and building stronger marriages. The Godzichs conduct Together Forever Marriage Seminars at churches and hotels around the country. He is the author of Is God In Your Marriage? and Public Relations and the Church. He has appeared as a guest and host on the Trinity Broadcasting Network programs and has been featured on the 700 Club. He also preaches the gospel around the world from Europe and Israel to Africa. Prior to entering the ministry, Mr. Godzich was an award-winning journalist, with more than 300 articles published in variety of publications. Pastor Leo Godzich, his wife, Molly, and daughters, Emily, Bethany and Christy, live in Phoenix, Arizona.

(this temporarily disrupted my peace, here, considering 7th Day Adventists and megachurch Assemblies of God in light of the OFCBI and federal funding to further “help” Men made from Dirt  become GOOD Daddies who help women understand that they came from Men…. and of course were the worlds first sinner and brought forth the world’s first murderer, etc.. — …  Those two groups in particular are so controlling.  )

Back To Ballard:

1. Women In Fatherhood Inc. » Frances Ballard

   She is married to Dr. Charles A. Ballard, “pioneer” of the Fatherhood …
   womeninfatherhood.org/main/frances-ballard/ – Cached – Similar

   Show more results from womeninfatherhood.org

2. Princeton – News – Head of Fatherhood Institute to Address How to …

   Sep 11, 1997 … Princeton, N.J. — Charles A. Ballard, founder, president, and CEO of the Institute for Responsible Fatherhood and Family Revitalization, …
   http://www.princeton.edu/pr/news/97/q3/0911-ballard.html – Cached

3. IAV | Book: The Fatherhood Movement: A Call to Action

   This book brings together many of the leading voices of the fatherhood movement. … such asCharles Ballard of the Institute for Responsible Fatherhood in …
   http://www.americanvalues.org/…/bk-the_fatherhood_movement.html – Cached – Similar

This is the 1997 release of his speech at Princeton (Dr. Ballard’s, I mean):

News from
PRINCETON UNIVERSITY
Communications and Publications, Stanhope Hall
Princeton, New Jersey 08544
Tel 609/258-3601; Fax 609/258-1301
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Patricia Coen 609/258-5764
Date: September 11, 1997

Head of Fatherhood Institute to Address
How to Return Fathers to Families

Princeton, N.J. — Charles A. Ballard, founder, president, and CEO of the Institute for Responsible Fatherhood and Family Revitalization, will speak on “The Status of Fatherhood in America: How Do We Return Fathers to Families?”** at Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs on Tuesday, September 23, at 4:30 p.m. in Robertson Hall, Bowl 5.

**I neglected to provide the link to the photo of Dr. Ballard above:  here it is:  You’ll note the washington DC website I copied the contents to contains the phrase ““Turning the hearts of  fathers unto their children”   THis is taken from the Bible.  The original is an active tense verb, and the subject of that verb is God, not man:  For the areligious among us, take it from me (or this quote) that these people are both misquoting and taking out of context the original — which is talking about John the Baptist preparing the world for the coming of Jesus Christ.  Well, actually, that was how John the Baptist was interpreted, so lets’ start with the original (at least in the current canon compromising this KJV) — which is the last book of the Old Testament, and I heard 400 years before before the birth of Christ.  It’s been, by contrast, about two thousand years SINCE the birth of Christ, and while I”m at it, exactly 400 years (1611) since this King James Version.

MALACHI 4:

5Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: 6And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse..

(funny how the beginning AND the end of the quote is simply left out, and the middle is turned into a process that some religious person can market.

In fact, here’s that very short chapter:

1For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. 2But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall. 3And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the LORD of hosts.

4Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel,with the statutes and judgments. 5Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: 6And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse

AND in the New Testament, “Luke” it is given as a prophecy (referring to Malachi no doubt) given over the miracle birth (by conception, but miraculous because Elizabeth, cousin to Mary, mother of Jesus, had been barren) about her baby who would be filled with the holy ghost from birth, making him great:

LUKE  1

15For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb. 16And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. 17And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord

and in its proper context:

There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth. 6And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. 7And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were nowwell stricken in years.

8And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest’s office before God in the order of his course, 9According to the custom of the priest’s office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. 10And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense. 11And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. 13But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. 14And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth. 15For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb. 16And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. 17And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.

Now, I’m sticking this out here for the atheists and agnostics, and those who haven’t been exposed to a certain type of religious thinking.  This phrase is not addressed to everyone, it was specifically addressed to people that considered themselves God’s chosen.  And it was never something that individuals were supposed to do by governmental mandate or religious program — it was the EXACT opposite, and required holy spirit to communicate, and to do, i.e., prophecy.

GO FIGURE, someone smelled money and influence, and figured they might as well run with the phrase.  Now I have this question:  HOW MUCH influence (and cash) would you trust a group with that FORGOT the beginning, the end, and the context — and twisted and extended the middle of (changing a divine mission prophecied to come to ONE man (only) of the stature of Elijah (well known in OT for his miracles and many other things) — to apply it to ALL men, as coached by SOME men?     Does the original sound like a social program or spiritual renewal?

Also, this is sold as taking people off welfare and for the public good — as a FINANCIAL benefit to the entire United States (which has no official religion, we say).   And yet in context, it is prophesying a coming day of wrath — or (Malachi) that this had better happen or the earth will be smitten with a curse.  How much further off target — from their own scriptures! — could this possibly be.  And these are not obscure Scripture either — the book of Luke is read, religiously (at least chapter 2) every single “Christmas” season and has been for centuries, by Protestants and Catholics (Can’t say about these two sects, I’m not in them.  But they call themselves Christians, so go figure.)

Malachi read:  “Remember ye the law of Moses my servant” — yet this very set of faith-based social interventions and the fatherhood-based grants systems causes a real “forgetting” of the US law (supposedly based on those 10 commandments, they like to say, right?) — that talk about due process, and fair judgments.  These operate when it comes to “family court” as a literal set of bribes — which pervert the cause of justice based on facts & evidence, not therapy and influence!

That doesn’t mean Dr. Ballard is a bad guy — I just believe this whole system is completely out of whack, and unbelievably hypocritical.  If someone is going to do social reform — do social reform.  But don’t blame it on God, and don’t inflict your private visions of him on the rest of us, we do not all subscribe!  I would take Dr. Ballard over megachurch leader Dr. Godzich any day, but I object to paying for either of them through federal tax system collected by the IRS!  I have lived (as a woman) in urban areas, and my father had no father.  I did not come in with “both guns blazing” and try to force “motherhood programs” on poor people promising them this would reverse poverty and fix the community!  

By the way, nor did I tell other people how to raise their children, and try to get national laws passed to make sure it’s one size fits all, with a few cultural differences to make it sound more legitimate!

(BACK to that 1997 Princeton anouncement, then)

Founded by Ballard in 1982 in Cleveland as a local grassroots program, the institute is considered a model fathering program, “dedicated to encouraging fathers to become involved in the lives of their children in a loving, compassionate, and nurturing way.” With its home-based outreach program, the institute has restored more than 3,000 fathers to their families. Fathers who might otherwise join the ranks of “deadbeat dads” find role models among the institute’s outreach workers, from whom they learn the skills of modern-day fatherhood. “Most men are capable of responsible fatherhood,” Ballard has said. “All we need to do is lead them to it.” Now based in Washington, D.C., the nonprofit organization has opened centers in Milwaukee, San Diego, Nashville, Tenn., and Yonkers, N.Y.

Ballard’s own young adult life could have served as a case study for the institute. At age 17, he fathered a child but abandoned the boy and his mother, joining the armed forces to avoid his responsibilities. Drugs and alcohol followed, as well as prison time for a crime Ballard says he did not commit. While in prison, Ballard had plenty of time to think about his son and decided to care for the boy when he was released. Ballard eventually adopted his son, earned a high school diploma, an undergraduate degree, and then a master’s degree in social welfare. In 1976, while working at a hospital, he observed that numerous women were having babies out of wedlock, with the fathers nowhere to be found. He gathered the names of nearly 600 fathers who had abandoned their children, then visited and counseled the men. From that simple beginning, Ballard’s institute grew into a national organization.

Ballard’s talk is being sponsored by the Woodrow Wilson School.

HEre are some more links (I searched “Family Justice Center Alliance” and obviously got more than are on the Casey Gwinn Circuit, but including some of these as well.  It’s a great little tool, as is your local Secretary of State’s listing of corporations and fictitious business names, combined withe any decent “990 lookup” or nonprofit finder (including the IRS’s own).

Here’s Corporation Wiki for “MINNESOTA PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT” (note:  doesn’t seem to be current, I understand the listed CEO is no longer).

Here’s one “Kids’ Turn” (SF — and not current, I know the President Steve Kinney just moved over for, I believe, a Greg Abel) .  “Kids Turn, Inc.” shows only Claire Barnes.    (These are obviously generated by computer searches, probably of Sec of States or IRS records… and simply pull up who’s on the Board, or was…)

Here’s Kids Turn San Diego (one person, listed)

Kids’ Turn San Diego recently received a $10,000 grant from Rancho Santa Fe resident Linda Brandes through the Linda Brandes Foundation. The grant will be used to support psycho-educational workshops for families going through high-conflict divorce, separation or custody disputes.

Linda Brandes

Kids’ Turn is a unique program of prevention and intervention dedicated to helping children whose parents have become opponents. A psycho-educational approach, focused on the whole family, helps children understand and cope with the harsh realities of divorce or separation and custody disputes. Kids’ Turn is a non-profit workshop for children and their parents with a proven record.

Kids’ Turn’s psycho-educational approach is the only one of its kind in Southern California.

“Serving the entire San Diego County, and reaching all who need Kids’ Turn are our top priorities, for we have a proven, effective and life-changing curriculum that makes a significant difference in the lives of these children and families,” said Jim Davis, executive director, Kids’ Turn San Diego.

For more information, visit www.kidsturnsd.org.

Remember the Brandes “$6 million isn’t enough” divorce?  This article says Linda’s gambling debt  is $30,000 — a month.  Their six homes were worth more than $40 million, and he has 10 Ferarri’s etc.  They don’t have children, I think.   They are themselves engaged in a lockdown fight over wealth — a lot of it.  But, of course it’s important to teach OTHER parents to keep their kids out of the high-conflict situation, and charge ’em to be (forcibly — court-ordered) taught, too.

Children in the Middle CoParenting Services and Kids in the Middle (same owner:  Bradley (S.) Craig):   It may seem small, but it’s web-based and government-laced, and court-ordered sometimes.   Believe I posted this, but here it is anyhow: – great logo, right?

Children in the Middle  (notice “PARENTING COORDINATION” links to the left….)

BRADLEY CRAIG, received his Master’s Degree in Social Work at UTA and is a Licensed Social Worker and Certified Family Life Educator. He is a noted co-parent educator in the North Texas area, and has developed a number of parent education programs for families raising children in two homes. He began specializing in working with families raising children between two homes in 1992 when he was hired by Tarrant County to conduct social study investigations and provide mediation sessions. He helped them design an orientation for litigating families offered by the county.

In 1997, he developed the Children in the Middle Co-parenting Education class. Brad left the County in 1997 to open up a program called Children in the Middle Co-parenting Services, Inc., a comprehensive agency designed to help adults raise children between two homes.In addition, he began offering consultation sessions where he would meet with couples and their significant others to develop a shared parenting plan. Children in the Middle Co-parenting Services, Inc. was closed in December of 2003 when Brad was hired to develop and maintain a co-parenting program with a social service organization. He is currently in private practice and contracts with organizations to provide services to families.

As a social worker and family life educator, Brad is a trained family law mediator and provides family law mediation training currently with other organizations. In addition, he offers training for other professionals to structure approaches to help these children being raised between two homes. He works with divorcing families and those with continuing custody/parenting time issue as a Family Mediator, Collaborative Law Allied Professional, Co-parenting Case Manager, Co-parenting Coach, Educator, Parenting Facilitator, and Parenting Coordinator.

Brad has written curriculum for co-parent education programs and has developed educational videos. He has been a guest speaker on many television and radio programs and is often asked to speak at local, state and national conferences on co-parenting issues. He hosted an ongoing cable television series “The Children in the Middle Show,” aimed at educating viewers about both the effects of parental conflict after a separation on children and the services available to help families through co-parenting issues.

Brad continues his education through the following organizations:

Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (AFCC)
Texas AFCC 
National Association of Social Workers
National Council on Family Relations
International Academy of Collaborative Professionals
Collaborative Lawyers of Arlington and Mansfield
Phi Kappa Phi
Tarrant and Dallas County Family Law Bar Associations

They (he?) also does parenting coordination, once the $450 (each) deposit from parents is on file, aloing with the court order.  Check it out…

  (top recommended reading for “Adults” is Warshak’s “Divorce Poison.”

Fathers are so under-represented and mistreated throughout the land, as a gender — and because of their gender.  What can we do about that?

Hire Warren Farrell to Coach some Boys into Men, or should we go with the Family Violence Prevention Fund/Futures without Violence version of Coaching boys into men?  Or should we go with the Pentecostal megachurch versions of Dr. Godzich, or the Dr. Ballard versions?  Do we have a choice, or is a  fatherhood program choice coordinator going to become necessary?

(just Kidding…..)

The CFDA Summary Report form will create a report of all grant dollars allocated by CFDA number by one or all Fiscal Years since 2005.

(note:  the program I’m talking about came into being 10 years before 2005):