Archive for the ‘History of Family Court’ Category
“Finding Ground Zero in Connecticut,” the Underground Economy in an AFCC Courthouse?
[THIS POST has been expanded and revised to about 6,000 words, much of it quotes, and has a feedback form. It links to two groundbreaking “Washington Times/Communities” articles on very disturbing custody cases; what’s groundbreaking is the angle of approach, and type of evidence posted. This post begins referencing TANF, because “TANF” funding is often operative in such cases. And it posts a comment on one of them I couldn’t get posted over at the WT.
My post explains “AFCC Courthouse” (my generic term) in some detail. In this Connecticut case, “AFCC Courthouse” refers to the “Regional Family Trial Docket” in Middletown Connecticut presided over by a certain judge. However the term in general refers to the nonprofit organization (AFCC) started in Los Angeles County [at least, they claim exactly, i.e., 1963] five decades ago, which has a tendency to set up specialized courts, once its judges (membership) are in charge of a family division, or in positions of influence to do so. I forgot to mention, that in its early years, it also incorporated in a variety of states, changed its corporate name (and EIN#) several times, and probably is not properly registered as a nonprofit to this day in all states and territories where it operates (most likely, all 50 + territories). See early newsletters at bottom of my blog. AFCC runs conferences, trains its membership and others, and lobbies for legislative and administrative changes in the way divorce, custody, and dependency law works. Hence calling a certain docket an “AFCC Courthouse” is often very accurate shorthand for that particular courthouse, or docket.
This post was, however, to also publish my comment which didn’t make it onto the Washington Times comments field, for unknown reasons, and for further reference to interested readers. Last I looked, only one of my very generic (nothing specific) comments was cleared. AFter technical difficulties and over three days, I decided to bring my response over here to the blog.
Although I believe the blog makes this plain, FYI I am a survivor of not this type of case (mine involved DV not identified or reported child molestation) and know how devastating it is. I also network with people who believe that the key to this is the money trail, not the harm done the children, which we believe is more likely just collateral involved in extracting the maximum $$ (public and private) through this abusive system of handling such matters. If this subject matter interests you, a contact and feedback form is on the post. (I would’ve added them earlier, had I noticed the widget available on wordpress!)]]
The Time is NOW to Speak Out regarding TANF (Temporary Assistance to Needy Families) Extension!
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How a 1952 Divorce Opinion was Leveraged into Pushing the Conciliation Court Model and No-Fault Divorce. [Publ. Feb. 13, 2013, Re-formatted July 31, 2022].
THS POST, published Feb. 13, 2013, is:
The next post after this one* is:
*(see date added to end of its title, a habit I adopted later in the blog)
Previously, there were seven causes for divorce; a plaintiff requested and was, or was not, granted it if any one of those causes was proved. 1. Adultery; 2. Extreme Cruelty; 3. Conviction of felony; 4. Willful desertion; 5. Willful neglect; 6. Habitual intemperance, and 7. Incurable insanity. When divorce was granted, one party was innocent and the other at fault. Only a single instance (with witness) of causes 1,2 and 3 was needed, a single year for causes 4, 5, and 6, but for the 7th, three years of the situation. Apparently the 7th cause was added because you can’t really fault an insane person..
We have been led to believe there is something noble and feminist about No-Fault Divorce, and indeed some highly placed feminist law professors are involved in its passage?
But I believe that it was more likely damage control, a strategic response to trial-court-confirmed evidence of severe physical brutality and extreme cruelty acknowledged in the 1952 Opinion, above. It appears to me a “bad” trial court and appellate decision, allowing counter-filing and denying both husband and wife the divorce, was a pivotal moment used to spearhead system change, a la “Hegelian Dialectic.” (Unfreeze/Change/Refreeze. Provoke Conflict to drive a situation in a desired direction, etc.). However, the powers in motion at the time were apparently waiting for just such an opportunity, and jumped on it, particularly a certain progressive judge, who (as it turns out) had influence on certain leading women law professors, at a time when even being a female law professor was rare.
Did this change to no-fault solve the problem and improve the status of divorce and custody issues?
Now, even despite potentially the presence of one, several, or even possibly all seven causes, even longstanding over years pre and/or post-separation, the courts can continue to force-order indoctrination services allegedly to reconcile or coach one (or both) parents into better co-parenting, or for example, may try to turn a convicted felon into a wonderful father through training and mentoring.
However, for the “cause” of parental alienation, now that fault and identified causes associated in the common ethics as “bad” (extreme cruelty, infidelity, abandonment, criminal convictions, etc.) are removed, in the discretion of any court judge, the punishment of completely breaking the relationship with the “alienating” parent is possible.
When fault for extremely cruel, even felonious behavior was removed as a legal grounds for divorce, it also seems to have evaporated from the cause for removal of children from the same extremely cruel, even felonious behavior. In realty, the new “fault” seems to be resisting the forced therapy, in practice, resisting the equivalent of extortion, or psychological reprogramming, and so we can have long, coercive incarcerations as “cure.” Antitrust attorney Richard Fine got 18 months coercive solitary confinement in Los Angeles (2009ff). A Georgia mother also got a total of around 18 months also and has scanned her paperwork to show the how truly collaborative this therapy (which involved funneling profits of her business into the Registry of the Court under two similar, but not identical case docket#s, was).
When law and courts are in coordinated movement towards the therapeutic model we have today, we can, and should, observe, and note that movement. The attorneys of the day most certainly did, in their law journals. Were we all reading law journals? No! Should lawyers and judges — versus people who have elected representatives — be writing the laws? Probably not! how can we stop it? For one, watch their private associations in motion, and speak up next time! Part of this next time is March 2013 (welfare reauthorization). Obviously (or it should be by now if you read this blog), the Social Security Act contributes to the cause by funding the exact types of services that the transformation away from fault-divorce to no-fault divorce anticipated, wanted, and got.
I used to think this situation began around the late 1980s and kicked into high gear with welfare reform 1996. I now am seeing it’s been a VERY long time coming, such as almost immediately after World War II (around the time the last state ratified the right of women to vote).
Recent finds, probably lawyers know about these, but I’ll bet most parents aren’t thinking about the significance.
In my continuing quest for where conciliation courts [not just the “Conference of Conciliation Courts” but the courts themselves set up by various judges] got started, and conciliation law passed, I found, and began reading:
“Irreconciliable Differences: California Courts Respond to No-Fault Disolutions” by Elayne Carol Berg (Sept. 1974, Vol. 7 #3 of Loyola of Los Angeles Review, Table of Contents) discussing the major, almost “carte blanche” changes of the 1970 California Family Law Act (“FLA”). At only 37pp with footnotes (the footnotes themselves a good resource), and only four years after the major change in divorce law, why not read it?
Unlike the straight-propaganda found to be on many web shingles and private-purpose conference pages, this narrates and footnotes how, by whom, what, when, and in what form divorce law was changed, and with it, a family court venue (including the real estate & buildings) set up. I discovered a national organization (nonprofit, exclusive membership of bar attorneys only), that is, nonprofit, working to present THEIR concept of a UMDA (Uniform Marriage and Divorce Act) for all of us.
From here, I also learned that in 1966 California Governor Edmund G. (“Pat”) Brown had formed a Governor’s Commission on the Family, which reported to the legislature. Of course activist judges and nationwide commissions, and the ABA had their input, after various deliberations, we ended up with a Family Court, no-fault dissolution, and often, suppression of evidence and all but the most basic testimony about the former causes of divorce, several of which read pretty much like a description of what we now call “domestic violence.” The focus was shifted from actions to state of the marriage: reconciliable, or not.
“Irreconciliable Differences” points to a California Justice Traynor 1952 opinion on a certain De Burgh v. De Burgh case. Did he use this case to call for a re-evaluation and re-write of grounds for divorce in a climate already primed to push therapeutic jurisprudence?
When I read that subsequently the California Legislature (Assembly Judiciary Committee) summarily rejected the Commission’s recommendations:
“Counseling was believed to be effective only if both parties were willing to participate. …”to inject the powers of the state into matters of private concern” was an unconscionable invasion of marital privacy.”…suggested expense for mandatory counseling was “in excess of $10 million per year,” a heavy price to pay when no evidence established that counseling would have any significant effect on family stability,” and finally, that [it’s basically reducing the court to the function of signing off on a report, a job any referee could do“). . .
… but still adopted the rationale of the De Burgh case, that 1952 Opinion & case, that judge, definitely had my attention. Of course I looked it up!
When I read that opinion, I knew we’d better talk about it. Before, one party, a plaintiff, had to prove one of seven causes for divorce. After, whenever we enter a courtroom, someone is going to speak, think, in act in terms of relationship jargon, require parenting classes up front (Kids Turn, Kids in the Middle) as innoculation, speed-diagnose a parent, order expensive therapy [if family has money] or the 20-minute variety [mandatory mediation + a ruling], to contract out services, etc.
Wouldn’t it make sense to read both the logic and the technique of this major system change? I found it a refreshing change to actually read others’ reasoning than the (inane and monotonous) proclamations of the behaviorists and their related associations. The documents involve some fine print, but the concepts are not really that complex, or even that long. Along the way, some startling and juicy admissions. I found the details definitely flesh out, gave meaning to the existing skeleton outline I had history of the courts, such as “Court Cancer Metastasizes” by Marv Bryer, the role of the nonprofit associations, and the funding.
The scene was panoramic, the actors operatic, the stage was set.
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FUND-a-Mentals of Conciliation Court: Who Holds the Keys to the Vault / See the Matrix
Continued from “There is in the State Treasury a Family Law Trust Fund. (Cal. Family Conciliation Code Section 1852)
In a dutiful effort to shorten my posts, I split this one in half. Because, it’s time to review How Federal Law Grants matches previously-pushed-through Conciliation Law. Federal Money, County-State money (through fees) + Rights to Judge the Case (State Conciliation Codes enable by-county, in-the-opinion-of-the-presiding-judge set up of these specialized courts).
We have already established that “There is in the State Treasury a Family Law Trust Fund,” and that under Public Health and other “fees-for-service” (marriage certficates, dissolution certificates, etc.) certain of those fees get deposited into this fund. Brilliant advance planning to set this up.
As in California, I imagine this is true for most 50 states. I also now know where to look this specific fund in California (hence also in other states) up, and how much was in it for a specific year. The same source also details what types of funds (including plenty relating to the courts, and child support etc.) are held in bank accounts OUTSIDE the State Treasury.
But this post is about how CONCILIATION LAW was crafted to grab jurisdiction of cases to order the exact things which Access and Visitation Funding Federal Grants (under the Social Security Act, PRWORA) as of 1996 set in place funding for, and the exact situation that groups like the Children’s Rights Council, the (eventual) National Fatherhood Initiative, and others were already wanting — mandatory mediation, joint custody, order services — we’ll standardize and regulate the services, too…
“See the Matrix.”
Many distraught parents love to, with their leadership as they have been taught, complain (endlessly) about the family courts promoting “parental alienation” and recommend, hire some professionals to train the bad judges out of believing in parental alienation (Barry Goldstein, BMCC, The Leadership Council, CPPA, MOLC, and others).
Simultaneously, “to the contrary” are those who believe parental alienation is so bad it should be punished by completely removing the child/ren from the offending (alienating) parent. How that is not itself alienation beats me — but either way, I can prove (and have on this blog, will again on this post) that a primary organization pushing parental alienation theory through the courts is indeed AFCC (see the early newsletters in my Vital Links at bottom of page), and that this was planned as far back as the 1980s, if not further. In the next post, we can connect the dots easily through a federal site.
ALWAYS Note the Nonprofits!!
Remember: people belong to more than one nonprofit at a time. Using Nonprofits is a key technique.
When you have one nonprofit that contains people running courts (administrative), judges over the courts, including specialized conciliation courts, attorneys, and psychologists — and that one ALSO has nonprofits of judges, nonprofits of psychologists, and the all-pervasive nonprofits of attorneys (State, county, local bar associations), and even (see 1983/84 newsletters) a nonprofit called “The National Center for State Courts” which itself manages several subsidiary nonprofits — and NCSC became “Secretariat” (they decided to help support the systems and administration) of the AFCC — I think we have a rather powerful network of organizations, and we have a collaborative agenda. For the most part, John Q and Jane Doe are not in on the collaboration; they will be either subject to it, or funding it through income taxes, etc. and through filing for certificates of marriage, divorce, court fees etc.
Behind the nonprofits — and this needs to be stated LOUD and CLEAR, are The Rockefeller, the Carnegie, the Rhodes, or the Ford Foundation (although some of their personnel are funded by those, and other foundations) but they still should be scrutinized as they are getting laws passed that affect (hurt) all of us. In order of influence, the Foundations drive, the matrix of nonprofits enable (both need each other) and help muddy the picture for the public such that we think we still have moderately representative government, or the potential for it without confronting the private funding.
Why Can’t Some “See the Matrix”?
For one, it requires conceptual thinking, a REAL challenge when your kids are about to be stolen, or just have been (or molested, or are being), or your life is at risk. For another, certain groups of professionals whose kids and lives are NOT at risk, or at such great and immediate risk, and who are not at risk of being homeless from month to month if something goes south on a court case — make sure to self-censor key elements of the picture that might make US less dependent on THEM for insight, for finances, and for a voice (i.e., a press presence).
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A Stunning Validation by Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson: The Assault on Truth, The Origins of Psychoanalysis
(Originally published 2/5/2013) A key issue in the courts includes sexual assault and violence towards women and children. This has also been a key issue with psychoanalysis.
Below the introduction, most of the post is about the Stunning Validation, but I keep it current and relevant –because it is! — to the subject matter of this blog.
Post title: A Stunning Validation by Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson: The Assault on Truth, The Origins of Psychoanalysis (w/ case-sensitive shortlink ending “-1k8” …about 10,000 words long)
The key, or leading edge, feature OF these courts includes therapeutic jurisprudence, attempting to resolve conflict through addition of behavioral health professionals, the fields in which Dr. Nicholas J. Cummings has dedicated much of his life to preserving the business and economic well-being of, to the point that a Wall Street Journal article reported, not too many years ago, that — doctors and hardcore professionals aside, among the top highest paying professional jobs, including the benefits and actual hours worked to earn the pay, were: judges, and (with a doctorate) psychologists:
Dr. Cummings is a visionary who, for half a century not only was able to foresee the future of professional psychology, but also helped create it. A former president of the American Psychological Association (APA) as well as its Divisions 12 (Clinical Psychology) and 29 (Psychotherapy), he formed a number of national organizations in response to trends. Since organized psychology resisted these inevitable changes, Dr. Cummings blazed the way, expecting others would follow.
He launched the professional school movement by founding the four campuses of the California School of Professional Psychology that established clinicians as full-fledged members of the faculty.
As chief of mental health for the Kaiser Permanente health system in the 1950s, he wrote and implemented the first prepaid psychotherapy contract in the era when psychotherapy was an exclusion rather than a covered benefit in health insurance.
He wrote what is known as the freedom-of-choice legislation that requires insurers to reimburse psychologists along with psychiatrists, and he conducted the medical cost offset research showing that psychological interventions save medical/surgical dollars.
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“There is in the State Treasury the Family Law Trust Fund….”
Huh???
When I read that, it reminded me of an old spiritual — sing it slow, repeatedly, and with feeling, if you want to feel better, temporarily, before returning to work for “the man” in the house or in the fields. Seriously…..
There is a balm in Gilead, to make the wounded whole, There is a balm in Gilead to heal the sin-sick soul.”
That’s the refrain; here’s the rest (including repeated refrain). This is an African-American Spiritual. To really appreciate, search to hear it on-line, preferably with words like “Tuskeegee” or “Moses Hogan” or “Paul Robeson” “Mahalia Jackson” or something with the word “Brooklyn” in it, moreso than, say, “St. Olaf Choir” after the title. It’s a classic, and has obvious appeal.
Sometimes I feel discouraged and think my work’s in vain,
But then the Holy Spirit revives my soul again.
There is a balm in Gilead to make the wounded whole;
There is a balm in Gilead to heal the sin sick soul.If you cannot preach like Peter, if you cannot pray like Paul,
You can tell the love of Jesus and say, “He died for all.”
There is a balm in Gilead to make the wounded whole;
There is a balm in Gilead to heal the sin sick soul.Don’t ever feel discouraged, for Jesus is your friend;
And if you lack for knowledge, He’ll never refuse to lend.
There is a balm in Gilead to make the wounded whole;
There is a balm in Gilead to heal the sin sick soul.
Don’t worry — this post starts out religious for purposes of expression, but we are getting down to the business mentioned in its title. This Fund does exist, has a fund number, shows up on various reports, and it’s also possible to see where at least the public part of its contents come from.
More posts forthcoming also…should confirm that the primary purpose of government (as it exists now) is, as the primary purpose of most corporations, to raise money by selling things — like rights to the labor of others’ bodies and souls….
No doubt there is some a Balm in Gilead, or at least a transformational, warming (balmy?) emotion shared after singing it (or hearing it sung). This goes a long way towards TEMPORARILY healing the sickening gut feeling, a legitimate instinctive response to exposure of what humans can now, and always have done to those arrogantly classified as “the other” — and how exactly how they do it. I’ve experienced it.
I’ve also been heartwarmed time and again by people who helped me recover long enough from a recent violent incident in order to go on, and get back in that same situation (until that DV order with kick out was served!) — but after all this IN the home, and the Conciliation Court paradigm (i.e., how smart is this? …forcible co-parenting with a batterer whose first assaults began with one’s pregnancy) years of other struggles and hearings (minus any protection) AFTER separation, that all my supportive personnel (friends, colleagues, etc.) were no better equipped (including equipped with KNOWLEDGE) than I to do more than refresh me before another round in the boxing ring. Unfortunately, we have not yet found the recipe to force the courts to quit hauling one victim in front of one parent in the FAMILY CONCILIATION COURT venues…
{{a closer reading of conciliation law will “shine a light” on how this is done — a jurisdiction grab, that is…}}
WHY? — People in this support system, of people traumatized by these courts, had to preserve their own jobs, integrity, and from their point of view, they already pay taxes to handle these issues (allegedly that’s why they pay taxes). It’s also clear that we can’t stop the entire apparatus alone, one person by one person — and even that complaining about it hasn’t change business as usual. If they were to actually address the issue, many idols would bite the dust, so to say — many myths be exploded, particularly on what their income taxes are being used for, or that these income taxes are even necessary to start with!
My support people, basically bystanders who saw what was happening week by week, month by month, and year by year, don’t run to the criminal sort and didn’t know WHO (government + nonprofits/for-profits) has been both staging and placing bets on the fight, or HOW it was set it up the family law paradigms. But now they are being informed….
SO, WHERE IS THAT BALM?
Perhaps taking clear action to stop the slave trade or as we now call it more politically correct, “human trafficking” or “child trafficking,”, i.e., the selling of souls for profit would be a healing balm, perhaps it would start to restore the soul in THIS life. See Isaiah 58, “That ye break every yoke.”
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Who put those yokes, and bonds on to start with, who was oppressing? Where was that yoke? Whatever it WAS, today we find written right into our legal code, many “yokes” and financial burdens (fees to support funds like the one mentioned here) to build hard-labor harnesses for the lower and middle class…and then we put the reins in the hands of those who helped set up that same code for their own benefit. That’s a good investment, getting people to endorse and even pay for and construct — their own traps, harnesses, yokes, etc.
How can people be persuaded to do this? Well, the combo of force, confusion (deceit) and relentless propaganda helps….. Confound the meanings of words, tell them it’s good for ’em. Construct some gods to worship
“I knows yer Bible” — and I also know that no tax-exempt from even reporting religious organization is going to report on this (heck, they don’t even report much on regular domestic violence laws, let alone on how the family code gets around it through conciliation laws). I also know that the Jesus Christ that is supposed to come back and issue JUDGMENT, according to the last book in the Book, is also opposed to slave-trading (see Rev. 18 or so), and lays the bloodshed of the world at the foot of the merchants of the world. Seems to me someone had a little insight (or, a lot) there, still true today.
While on that theme…as to religion and tax-exemptions:
I felt pretty sick, too, on reading the tax return of “Young Life” yesterday, based in Colorado Springs, and with boards of directors that are mostly men, and mostly white, in other words that simply don’t look like what America even looks like (4 women out of 22 shown, and very little color. Powerpacked board includes the Governor of Tennessee, Chairman of a sports team, etc.). Divisional Veeps: 1 woman out of 9 positions; and a Cabinet, not much different. (those are photos). Their tax return is 67 pages long.
And that Madison Avenue Presby (MAPC) in NYC (large enough for you?) has been contributing to local outreach overlapping with this organization, while screwing its own (female) membership out of their property, mistreating its janitorial (African American) staff who were unionized while the overseers were not, and what looks like strategizing in advance to retaliate upon any one who stood up to them.
AND it looks like (MAPC) over-billing for basic repairs (the $169K toilets, invoice being $90K factor), AND allowing church property to be used by others for financing completely un-related deals, and their receipts aren’t exactly under scrutiny either. The YoungLife organization is about $250 million, and owns a for-profit in Colorado, and a Yacht company in Canada; their “CEO” type (Dennis Ryberg) has about $415K in compensation (and many others, well over $150K salaries) and among their boards is the Governor of Tennessee. They are wiring money all over the globe (especially Central America) in re: their tax-exempt purpose: exposing people to the person of Jesus Christ through personal religious experiences (at camps and getaways, weekly Bible studies, etc..” In other words, we are subsidizing that stuff. (contact me if you want details, or find them yourself!).
So, until justice happens we are going to need all kinds of balms, salves (I don’t recommend Rxes) and lots of great music probably, to survive.
BUT
In this post I am going to “lend” us some knowledge about a few other things….and maybe it will be healing to the soul.
Who knows if understanding where the money comes from –how we pay the state to transfer money to the family law trust fund,
How that family trust fund gets used,
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Exposing and Prosecuting Judicial Corruption through Common Law Discovery (1997 Interview)
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What It’s Still About….(… in Summer 2013)
[This post is “sticky” and stays on top. New posts are beneath . ..Some additions, March 2013…(As I learn more, it shows up on the blog). ~ Or see “The Last Seven Let’s Get Honest Posts” links, on sidebar ~ better yet, See also my other blog Cold,Hard.Fact$];
This blog has VALUABLE INSIGHT on the family courts money trail (a trail of tears), and about many crisis intervention groups who are in on it (and hence, won’t blog it), and from some of whom I sought help, solace, or actionable information — and got NONE.
Question: WHY would any group which truly wants to save lives withhold relevant information, tools to find that information, and prior ground-breaking conversations about that information — in the amounts of billions of dollars of federal incentives to the statesaffecting — custody outcomes (as to the child support system, HHS/OCSE) while feeding less helpful information to their clients?Another Question: You should also ask why — where is that money coming from, and why does our government always want to raise taxes when they can’t keep track of what they already collected (MUCH more than is commonly realized) and when a lot of that is simply fed to fraudulent or evanescent corporations that don’t stay registered at the state level?
When it’s a matter of eminent domain and someone gets sued over bribery, then it makes headlines and people get indignant. Daily News 2001, Los Angeles Area.
This one in PARTICULAR shows that in 1999ff Marv Bryer and others were doing what I do now — reading tax returns, looking at the fronts of checks, looking at the BACKS of checks, and noticing that what’s written out to ONE fund sometimes gets deposited into another, which fund happens to be a private judges’ association.
Here’s a yet more detailed one (best: read the series; see “related articles”):
GILDING THE GAVEL? SUPERIOR COURT PAYMENTS DEPOSITED IN JUDGES’ PRIVATE ‘COFFEE’ FUND.
(Now that you’ve read it, naturally, with attention…..)
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Outstanding in their Field. Now, about that Field… (Fatherhood Grantees/Practitioners)
Again, I am only sampling a field that was sent in place decades ago, has major foundations supporting it (one should ask WHY) as well as the many resources of the HHS, and the “yeah, man — right up our alley!” of one too many tax-exempt religious foundations. Or, as you will, faith-based.
TAGGS.hhs.gov on this group (I searched by its EIN# — which is below).
| Recipient Name | City | State | ZIP Code | County | DUNS Number | Sum of Awards |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| INST FOR RESPONSIBLE FATHERHOOD & FAM. REVITALIZATION | WASHINGTON | DC | 20019 | DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA | $ 2,549,350 |
Before we get too far into the economics of this field, I’d like to post a sample of what some of the DYNAMICS of it are about. This 2001 Appeal is interesting because it incorporates how the court responds to evidence of injuring a child on visitation and severe violence (breaking a woman’s sternum and grabbing her by the throat) — that woman being the 2nd wife // stepmother — and because the man in question is on the board of (another — not the above) Fathers’ rights group based in WDC (ACFC). This is one child — a girl, born in 1989 (divorce, 1991, first evidence of post-separation bruising of the girl, ca. 1996) and it covered two states, Michigan and Louisiana. It’s a short-double-spaced read, and I hope you do. Because at least in part — no offence to non-abusive Dads — this is also what the “FR’ movement is about — that FR are FR even when these things happen:
Lauren Hollingsworth v. James Semerad,
Appeal from 3rd Judicial District Court, Parish of Lincoln, Louisiana Trial Court No. 43,428~ Honorable R. Wayne Smith, Judge.
(Dad, see very far below same photo, looks like a very upstanding man):
Similar personnel to the ACFC group (far below) found on this one also: Baskerville, Semerad, Mike McManus (who wants to do away with no-fault divorce), etc. Click on link:
Dads of Michigan Related site, it says (read to see the spheres of influence involved & connection with another WDC organization, “ACFC”):
Rebuilding heterosexual marriage as the social norm is the necessary structural foundation for successful American socioeconomic reconstruction.
Among this testimony we can see both parents being court-ordered to attend a class, one of the (3) experts calling “parental alienation” but the testimony of the others (who felt the child to be credible, and not coached, esp. with the bruises) were concerned. Moreover, it appears that the same father had literally broken the stepmom’s sternum and grabbed her throat’ they were divorcing. he lied under oath about that event and had a new girlfriend to whom apparently the daughter was exposed. It appears that the court’s response is simply to adjust the supervised visitation, not terminate it! This Appeal in question comes fully 10 years after their divorce. Get the picture?
Seriously, it’s a short read and covers many typical issues in family court these days in a case which divorce pre-dated welfare reform but still had the PAS charge…
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Another POV, Point Of View, on “The Center for the Family in Transition” (and its funders) (Publ. 9/22/2012)
Another POV on “The Center for the Family in Transition” (and its funders) (Publ. 9/22/2012) (WordPress- generated shortlink ends in “-190” which is all numbers, no alpha character for the “0” which otherwise would look like this: “O”).
Excerpt from this post pulled to top, in the form of a screenprint (image) in 2016. This sticky post originally published 9/22/2012. It should be put in bold print, large letters and stuck on a refrigerator IF one is stuck in divorce drama at this time, as a reminder of the resonance of the rooms it will be taking place in!
This image is simply a quote in image form from my own post, Another POV on “The Center for the Family in Transition” (and its funders) (Publ. 9/22/2012) (shortlink ends in “-190,” all numbers)
(The text in the image is repeated below in the post. Link from the image/quote): For more, see March 5, 2014 post “Suppose I’m Right Here ….What Would You Do When the Lights go on?” Read the rest of this entry »
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HHS — Contracts Awarded 8/30/2012 = $156 million. Just for today, August 30, 2012, that is.
Our relationship to “government” needs to be looked at. Particularly, why so many people put up with it and haven’t figured out something better than putting lawyers and judges in charge of the place, as facilitated by a Congress which has plenty of people who used to be lawyers in it, no doubt.
A glance at this post should clarify that, by and large, we don’t know what the US Government (I mean, “federal”) is doing — although who’s helping fund it? Wake the hell up and start looking up some CAFR‘s – -it’s the worlds largest contractor, and there are these other issues about Jurisdiction which keep cropping up also. You cannot SUE this government, really (11th Amendment) unless it consents to. while we had this Constitution, it appears to me that under Bankruptcy (which the US has never been out of, to date, to my awareness) it no longer applies. If it did, and one engaged in commerce with the USA (which it’s almost impossible not to), you just became a contractor (u.S. Citizen = no unalienable rights) and shareholder in that thing in Washington, D.C.
WOMEN IN PARTICULAR should be cautious about citizenship. A woman in our area called police for help “domestic dispute” which ended up in a vigorous chase, the other day, the guy fled. They didn’t know an toddler was in the car. He was killed in a hail of gunfire, after which it was reported that this was actually a woman’s BROTHER, not the perp, and he had been I think helping her get his niece (her child) away from the aggressor. Now, he’s dead. Did I mention, he’s also Hispanic? (Wikipedia informal list of people, mostly men, some during domestic disputes, killed by officers. It’s a very very long list…)
Or you could go to a divorce, and have a judge over the domestic violence court (long-term presiding) and the judge tell your young self, a mother (about 23 yrs old, this one), to “go work it out” and no restraining order. Finally they were in judge’s chambers, and the judge informed the father (a Marine) he would have to pay child support. The young man (age 29) stepped outside the door, walked back in again, and cold-cocked the mother of his kids, knocking her unconscious immediately on the floor, some black eyes, a broken jaw. He was finally tasered into submission, and THEN the judge believed that the guy was dangerous. That apparently didn’t stop him from assigning shared parenting, though (along with jail and $1million bail). THAT is our country (and it was in 2011 Florida: (see comments for links to the story, another blog “AmericanAmnesia”
MOVIN’ ON . . . .
I mentioned FEDMINE.com to an acquaintance the other day, and have on the blog before. Its access is more timely (and probably far more accurate) than what is given the average person who looks things up on some free site which isn’t even proofread, but is designed for public consumption, like, say, “http://TAGGS.hhs.gov”
It think this figure is worth posting, without too much commentary. Per FEDMINE.com, the top agency obtaining contracts today was — hardly surprising — HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES.
WITHOUT HUMANS THERE WOULD BE NO MONEY TO FUND THESE STUDIES SO WHAT, PRECISELY, ABOUT HUMANS IS SO FASCINATING THAT THIS AMOUNT OF MONEY, ON A GIVEN DAY, WOULD BE DEDICATED TO A BUREAUCRACY STUDYING THEM?
ALSO, SEE HIGHLIGHTS FOR SOME ONES SIGNIFICANT (at least that I’m aware of) in this Family Law Field.
If you see I have linked the company name (other links probably not valid) there may be a brief description if you hover the cursor.
| COMPANY NAME | POSTED TODAY 08/30/2012 |
YTD FOR AGENCY | ||
| 049508120 – WESTAT INCORPORATED | $ 230,376 | $ 9,710,743 | ||
| 019121586 – DELOITTE CONSULTING L.L.P. | $ 1,593,527 | $ 32,298,506 | ||
| 072654999 – VANTAGE HUMAN RESOURCE SERVICES INCORPORATED | $ 511,792 | $ 511,792 | ||
| 091500090 – JOHN SNOW, INCORPORATED (out of all of them, this one actually seems involved in HEALTH. Founded 1978, internationally 106 offices, see “In Memoriam” link) | $ 626,838 | $ 5,654,941 | ||
| 021873740 – HUMAN TECHNOLOGY, INC | $ 511,792 | $ 547,006 | ||
| 009399247 – UNIVERSITY SYSTEM OF MARYLAND | $ 85,082 | $ 122,852 | ||
| 623214020 – CONCEPT SYSTEMS INCORPORATED (3796) | $ -4,941 | $ -8,221 | ||
| 947300372 – CLIFTON GUNDERSON LLP | $ -102,382 | $ -102,382 | ||
| 152149191 – MC DONALD WALTER R AND ASSOCIATES INCORPORATED | $ 0 | $ 2,789,442 | ||
825229318 – MCKINSEY&COMPANY, INC. WASHINGTON D.C.
|
$ 631,181 | $ 9,499,045 | ||
| 154308522 – MATHEMATICA POLICY RESEARCH INC | $ 364,999 | $ 14,398,928 | ||
| 088656512 – IMPAQ INTERNATIONAL LLC(founded 2001 by a couple with govt background, Social Science Research, in MD. He’s economist,she’s History/Educ, he used to work for “Abt”) | $ 415,623 | $ 5,197,316 | ||
| 146014373 – ARSERVICES, LTD | $ 650,102 | $ 650,102 | ||
| 183818145 – CAPITAL CONSULTING CORP | $ 64,557 | $ 961,723 | ||
| 197325277 – LEWIN GROUP, INC., THE**(link is to someone from this group presenting at a 2007 AFCC conference. Since 1970, they are Health and Human Services consultant; you can look it up). | $ 630,811 | $ 4,396,810 | ||
| 127687093 – CHILD TRENDS INC | $ 1,011,927 | $ 1,686,523 | ||
| 072648579 – ICF INCORPORATED, L.L.C. {{see below}} | $ 500,000 | $ 13,942,449 | ||
| 622811847 – STRATEGIC HEALTH SOLUTIONS, L.L.C. [woman-owned, Omaha, services Medicare & Medicaid] | $ 3,198,739 | $ 8,861,059 | ||
| 127149784 – HEALTHCARE MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONS, LLC | $ 1,281,472 | $ 3,970,432 | ||
| 929125818 – C2C SOLUTIONS INC | $ 6,323,200 | $ 18,091,004 | ||
| 611835203 – TEYA TECHNOLOGIES, LLC | $ 178,013 | $ 894,928 | ||
| 781844808 – SEAMON CORPORATION | $ 197,200 | $ 885,831 | ||
| 143208069 – FRONTLINE HEALTHCARE WORKERS SAFETY FOUNDATION, LTD | $ 81,697 | $ 245,090 | ||
| 803935261 – PROFESSIONAL TESTING, INC. | $ 363,302 | $ 361,395 | ||
| 136201493 – CONSUMMATE COMPUTER CONSULTANTS SYSTEMS LLC | $ -56,190 | $ 0 | ||
| 929219772 – CONTRACT SUPPORT SOLUTIONS INC. | $ -32,171 | $ 164,690 | ||
| 175291061 – THE KEVRIC COMPANY INC | $ 100,871 | $ 2,428,892 |
(I will kind of color-code by background color. Obviously I am scanning here; the main point is — how little most of us realize, how large is the US Federal Government. See recent posts on CAFR and USA, Inc. & Bankruptcies, etc. If you are not a “scanner” this post will probably drive you crazy…)
Not starting with the largest one in “the Lewin Group,” but it does run close to the subject matter of this blog — the marriage/fatherhood movement through federal funding:
THE LEWIN GROUP
(FROM USASPENDING.GOV — THEY GOT (FROM ABOUT 2000 forward I think on this database):
Ranked by $$, the largest shows up as about $4+million (in 2005), “Marijuana Cultivation Study.” They seem to have plenty in the $2 and $3 million ranges as well. Fairfax, VA -close to the source, right).
$172,544,874
Lewin Group, Insurer-Owned Consulting Firm, Often Cited in Health Reform Debate
By David S. HilzenrathWashington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, July 23, 2009
The political battle over health-care reform is waged largely with numbers, and few number-crunchers have shaped the debate as much as the Lewin Group, a consulting firm whose research has been widely cited by opponents of a public insurance option.To Rep. Eric Cantor (Va.), the House Republican whip, it is “the nonpartisan Lewin Group.” To Republicans on the House Ways and Means Committee, it is an “independent research firm.” To Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (Utah), the second-ranking Republican on the pivotal Finance Committee, it is “well known as one of the most nonpartisan groups in the country.”Generally left unsaid amid all the citations is that the Lewin Group is wholly owned by UnitedHealth Group, one of the nation’s largest insurers.
An Evaluability Assessment of Responsible Fatherhood Programs
August 1997
DHHS, Office of the Assistant Secretaryf or Planning and Evaluation (ASPE)
Analysis of site visits to five newly formed responsible fatherhood programs find a series of steps can be taken to improve their viability and evaluability. Program managers can develop core definitions of what constitutes a responsible fatherhood program; conduct process evaluations to define program objectives, activities and best practices; building basic MIS capacity; and stabilizing and enhancing funding.
(This one combines what looks like an HHS? grant to the Lewin group (97FM0122) with an HHS Contract to . . . . combined with a Ford Foundation Grant headed up by Ronald Mincy, wich name is significant (look it up). Lewin were simply the enablers and to make it look (or be) more scientific and respectable. This being only 1997, it shows just how much intention and planning to completely continue expanding “FATHERHOOD” as a field (regardless of results) was made — and this of course depended on major foundations like FORD working with WELFARE money. FYI, Ford Foundation are not the good guys here in the US …)
This gives me a very squirrely feeling (esp. knowing that by 1998 somehow Congress passed a “fatherhood resolution.”)
But on ca. page 110 of this report (link is the title) you see a list of “Experts Consulted” (Two are from Child Trends, the others are also significant). Johns Hopkins involved also. The whole thing makes me a little ill, given the impact of this trend on my life, personally, and my (DAUGHTERS’, not son’s) futures! ! ! I made it pink just for “spite,” given the subject matter is the opposite gender…
***II. Purpose of this Report
The increased interest in programs that promote responsible fatherhood and the limited information currently available on the services provided and effectiveness of these programs has generated interest in the systematic evaluation of responsible fatherhood programs. For this reason, the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Ford Foundation funded The Lewin Group and Johns Hopkins University to conduct an evaluability assessment of responsible fatherhood programs.
Fatherhood programs and emphasis on male parenting are relatively recent phenomena in the social service sector. Many of the programs currently in place are either very new or, if established, have been experimenting with new interventions or changing the program focus over time to meet the interests and objectives of funders. It is generally the case that fatherhood programs have not adequately documented their performance. This may be because of limited resources, a lack of experience with methods of measuring performance, or simply because the focus of program staff has been on serving fathers rather than proving that methods are effective. While program staff may believe that their activities are helping fathers and resulting in positive impacts on society, others, particularly funders, may be skeptical of evidence of program effectiveness that is limited to anecdotes.
Evaluations of responsible fatherhood programs can serve two important functions:
• provide information to outside agencies and organizations regarding the objectives and the effectiveness of their interventions, which may be used to attract and justify fundingfrom these outside sources; and• provide information to program staff that may be used to modify program design to more efficiently and effectively serve the fathers who use their services.
{{Interesting how “ATTRACT AND JUSTIFY FUNDING” COMES FIRST… AND IT DOESN’T EVEN SAY, HELP THE PROGRAMS REACH THEIR STATED SERVCE, BUT “PROVIDE INFORMATION TO PROGRAM STAFF.”}}
Systematic evaluation of fatherhood program outcomes is crucial to both program design and funding. Conducting rigorous evaluations using standard scientific methods . . .[[will provide continued income for the Lewin Group, the Fatherhood practitioners and organizations, and many other people, not including the children that these program are supposed to help by encouraging and enabling their Daddies to “man up” and support their offspring]]
Some of these groups hang together at times.
the Lewin Group at a 2007 AFCC conference:42. Healthy Marriage Projects: The Influence of Marriage on Child Support Enforcement
The Administration for Children and Families’ top goal in the last few years has been to encourage marriage for unwed low income families through marriage education, community outreach and demonstrations. This panel will discuss the status of Community Healthy Marriage Projects being financed by the Office of Child Support Enforcement, “Building Strong Families” marriage demonstrations being financed by the Administration of Children and Families and the importance of former marriage status or unmarried status on subsequent child support enforcement out- comes.
- Barbara Devaney, Ph.D., Mathematica, Washington, D.C.
- Michael Fishman, Ph.D., Lewin Group, Falls Church, VA
- Hillard Pouncy, Ph.D., Princeton University, Princeton, NJ
- Moderator: David Arnaudo, Office of Child Support Enforcement, Washington, D.C. (a.k.a. HHS/OCSE)
(this presentation for sale — only $15.00)
One reason they may be interested to conference at AFCC — AFCC has judges. Some Family Law judges get to mandate parenting education, etc. Dr. Fishman is now with MEF, and his bio shows a close connection to welfare matters, and HHS. I’m sure the personal connections didn’t hurt either. He has a masters in “organizational psychology” which is probably the way to go if you want a government career these days, and an MPA from USC.. Hardly suprising, the new company is also into (among other things) and is in Alexandria, VA.
Marriage and relationship education
State Policies to Promote Marriage
This report inventories state policies directly focused on promoting or supporting marriage. Using secondary data sources, the authors compiled information across states documenting the presence of marriage-related activities in a variety of areas such as campaigns and commissions; divorce laws and procedures; marriage and relationship preparation and education; tax and transfer policies; marriage support and promotion programs.
- State Policies to Promote Marriage, Karen N. Gardiner, Michael E. Fishman, Plamen Nikolov, Asaph Glosser, and Stephanie Laud. With the assistance of Theodora Ooms, September, 2002
I googled “The Lewin Group, AFCC, Fatherhood” but apparently I’m one of the few people catching on to it, per Google anyhow. One association with the Abstinence Group, “WAIT” (Joneen Krauth — plenty on that on this blog too, I actually looked up their corporate records history in Colorado. What a group — associated with NARME, etc. What a racket, too!): This showed up under “pipl.” The site AAHMI is African American Healthy Marriage Initiative which is, by any other name, HHS… Basically… DNR if this was at Hampton Univ. or where.
The Lewin Group is pleased to share these materials developed for the …Joneen Krauth RN, BSN — NEW. Executive Director of The Abstinence and …[ Speakers List – www.aahmi.net ]
“Reference in this web site to any specific commercial product, process, service, manufacturer, organization, or company does not constitute its endorsement or recommendation by the U.S. Government, the Department of Health and Human Services, or the Administration for Children and Families (ACF). ACF is not responsible for the contents of any “off-site” web page referenced from this server or from private, third-party, pop-up, or browser-integrated software or applications.”
NOTE: A long while ago, I remember this particular AAHMI and some closely associated nonprofits I was looking up, was one key to understanding just how much the HHS is reaching out with money to set up “mouthpiece” nonprofits or groups (including with key speakers) around the country. I figure HHS at this point is about as criminally-run a US Dept. as HUD is alleged to be, by someone who knows well enough as she used to be near its top.(C.A. Fitts, late 1980/1990s).
[[2016 updated material from LewinGroup.com]]
Viewed at “lewin.com” 4/11/2016 during blog update
(Their “About Us” page, main content):
The Lewin Group is a premier national health care and human services consulting firm. We understand the industry and provide our clients with high-quality products and insightful support.
Why Choose The Lewin Group?
Proven History
We have nearly 50 years’ experience finding answers and solving problems for leading organizations in the public, nonprofit, and private sectors.
Objective Viewpoint
The Lewin Group is committed to independence and integrity in our work. We combine professional expertise with extensive knowledge and a rigorous approach to analyzing and solving problems to deliver value to each of our clients and to the larger community as well.
Real-World Experience
Our strategic and analytical services help clients:
- Improve policy and expand knowledge of health care and human services systems
- Enact, run, and evaluate programs to enhance delivery and financing of health care and human services
- Deal with shifts in health care practice, technology, and regulation
- Optimize performance, quality, coverage, and health outcomes
- Create strategies for institutions, communities, governments, and people to make health care and human services systems more effective
Who We Are
The Lewin Group employs more than 140 consultants drawn from industry, government, academia, and the health professions. Many are national authorities whose strategies for health and human services system improvements come from their personal experience with imperatives for change. The Lewin Group is an Optum company, a wholly owned subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group. We’re editorially independent, but through partnerships with Optum, we can tap into a vast body of data and resources. Optum is an analytics, technology, and consulting services firm that enables better decisions throughout the health system.
The Lewin Group provides its clients with the very best expert and impartial health care and human services policy research and consulting services.
OTHER 2016 observations on The Lewin Group: Street address: 3130 Fairview Park Drive #500, Falls Church, VA — is right near “Acentia, a Maximus Company” which is same street address #800. Maximus, we may remember, contractor to manage child support, Medicaid, other health-care related record-keeping, collections & distributions in a number of states (and at least one other country).
(3130 Fairview Dr #800, Falls Church, VA. Viewed 4/11/2016 during blog update)
Acentia, a MAXIMUS Company, is a premier employer who provides software, information technology, and management solutions that produce successful programs of national significance, while consistently demonstrating a partnership of trust and value to our federal customers and the American taxpayer.
[Holistic Data Analytics….]
“Centers of Excellence” (options: Analytics / Cloud / Mobility)
“Acentia offers a holistic approach to Big Data and Analytics. Traditional analytics can tell you what happened and why, but leading organizations are using predictive analytics to understand what could happen and prescriptive analytics to choose the next best action.”…..
ICF INTERNATIONAL, LLC
(SEE LINK in chart above; Wikipedia gives the history. Started in 1969 by a former Tuskeegee Airman as inner city venture capital, but it changed direction, bought and sold various companies and now is like, LARGE).
| Recipient Name | City | State | ZIP Code | County | DUNS Number | Sum of Awards |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I C F, INC | FAIRFAX | VA | 22031-6050 | FAIRFAX | 072648579 | $ 2,477,256 |
| Award Title | Sum of Actions | |||
| 2011 | ACF | I C F, INC | NATIONAL RESOURCE CENTER FOR STRATEGIES TO PROMOTE HEALTHY MARRIAGE | $ 1,500,000 |
(NRCSPHM — what did you think it sood for? 🙂 )
(PJ Media — Dr. Phyllis Chesler writes or wrote on there — was kind enough to print my comments here; the 2nd comment mentions ICF).
I profiled this company before, particularly when TAGGS.hhs.gov decided to bastardize its name on the database. It’s in Fairfax VA with background in Defense, Energy and in 1988 it acquired a division of Kaiser (engineering) and got REALLY large. It’s currently #64 of Forbes top 100 companies, is traded on the NYSE, and etc. HHS hired to to do even more (stuff) to promote marriage, whch is the acronym. ON this blog somewhere, no doubt:
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/news/press/2011/Grantawards2011.html
| ICF Incorporated, LLC (NRCSPHM) | Fairfax |
VA
|
$1,500,000
|
Let's Get Honest! Absolutely Uncommon Analysis of Family & Conciliation Courts' Operations, Practices, & History 