Things that make you go “Huh?” In that chart below (TAGGS list of “fatherhood” grantees — at least a few of them) notice the one “Children’s Institute, Inc.” of Los Angeles?  Grant (for 2010) two different grants — $1,000,000 + $500,000 ???  That’s a hefty amount, right? I looked at this one before, and the pattern is just TO O o o o…. common: One has to usually check at least 3 to 4 sources AFTER seeing the HHS grant:

1. State Incorporation record (SOS),

2. State Charitable Record (if they’re a nonprofit or taking donations),

3. Sample check some IRS forms (I use “Foundationfinder” or “Nccsdataweb.urban.org”) — and actually look at a tax form (it gets easier with practice) . . . . and then

4.  what does their website say as well? 

Here we go: 1. California Corporation (Sec of State) registration — there are TWO with the exact same street address (which doesn’t match address on HHS grantee, either).

(per IRS form) 2009 salaries of key officers (5 highest) were plenty high: Mary Emmons (see corp. registration) — $310K; Nena Revoyr, $136K, Jeff Catania, $161K, Hershel Swinger, $167K, Kendis Heffley, $131K. (plus retirement & other income from this or related orgs.)). These are the US Trademarks still “LIVE” with the word “Fatherhood” in them.  I didn’t find the one mentioned in the Children’s Institute  descriptions, “Project Fatherhood” But it’s interesting one of them is from a PA corporation.  You can see the details, including first use, whose idea it was and see that someone showed real forethought.  Keeping in mind that welfare reform and the loosening up of federal aid to states for diversions into fatherhood & marriage promotion, both was anticipated — and happened in 1996.

Quite a few, eh? PROJECT FATHERHOOD // Dr. HERSHEL K. SWINGER was started in 1996:

July 8, 2011

Strengthening relationships between fathers and their at-risk children

Children’s Institute Hosts 4th Annual Fatherhood Solution Conference 

(very nice youtube tribute to him at the link…)

“Due to the recent passing of Dr. Hershel K. Swinger, CII Senior Vice President and Founder of Project Fatherhood, the morning plenary was a special tribute to his life’s work and accomplishments. Project Fatherhood is a nationally-recognized program for disadvantaged fathers to become more engaged and effective parents. 

“Speakers included Dr. Ken Canfield, president and founder of the<> National Center for Fathering; <> Dr. Thema Bryant-Davis, Director of Pepperdine University’s Culture and Trauma Research Lab, an expert on partner and child abuse and societal trauma due to racism, sexism and poverty; and <> Charles Lee-Johnson, MSW, CEO of the National Family Life and Education Center,…”

In reverse order:

• Charles-Lee Johnson’s Nonprofit, that his father incorporated in 1993:

EIN# 95-4423621 ; their charity is marked “CURRENT” however they haven’t filed an IRS with the state since 2007, or an RRF (state report) since 2008.  Received a Deliquency warning 6/5/2008:

“WARNING OF IMPENDING TAX ASSESSMENT FOR WHICH YOU MAY BE PERSONALLY LIABLE ..The Attorney General has not received your organization’s annual report(s) as follows:…IRS Form 990, 990-PF, or 990-EZ report(s) for the year(s) ending: 06/30/03, 06/30/04, 06/30/06, and 06/30/07“

###

[spoiler]

IRS inconsistent between two sites (State AG vs 990finder).  One year, the top 3 officers are receivng $65,73 & 95K; (is Joyce Johnson his wife?) another year, nothing, or something.  The 2006 tax return at 990finder was stamped received in 2011; etc. etc.  Very inconsistent.  The “2009” filing below is an empty form, basically… They have no direct HHS grants but some of the RRF forms show they did receive two or three sources of gov’t support, inl. DCFS (note:  they are dealing with foster care youth sometimes).  Assets — two chevy vans; — ??

[/spoiler]

• the “Dr.” in “Dr. Thema Bryant-Davis” is licensed clinical psychologist:  Duke, Harvard, Princeton, Pepperdine (in Malibu, CA — this university puts out a lot of people who work in the courts also):

http://www.drthema.com/biography/

Dr. Bryant-Davis received her doctorate from Duke University in Clinical Psychology with a focus on the cultural context of trauma recovery, as well as the intersection of gender and racial identity. She completed her post-doctoral training at Harvard Medical Center’s Victims of Violence Program. From 2001-2004, she served as Senior Staff Psychologist and Coordinator of the Princeton University SHARE Program. Dr. Bryant-Davis is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Pepperdine University where she teaches on the topics of indivdiual and family development as well as intimate partner violence. She is a contributing author in the books The Psychology of Racism, The Complete Guide to Mental Health for Women, and Featuring Females: Feminist Analyses of the Media.

Dr. Bryant-Davis served for three years as an American Psychological Association representative to the United Nations where she advocated for mental health and human rights globally

MINISTRY:

Apparently also preaches at her brother’s Mega-Church also:

Dr. Thema Bryant-Davis is a licensed preacher in the African Methodist Episcopal Church. She preached her initial sermon at Empowerment Temple AME Church where the pastor is Rev. Jamal Harrison-Bryant.:

[spoiler]

“He is the leader of a new breed of ministers who embrace the idea of capitalizing on the ever-increasing marketplace of Internet and technological innovations to spread the gospel. With more than 7,500 members attending weekly services at Empowerment Temple in Baltimore, Maryland, and approximately 35,000 followers on Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace, he believes that “God is not just in the church; He is also in technology.” His mission is to “empower people spiritually, develop them educationally, expose them culturally, activate them politically, and strengthen them economically.”

FAMILY:   Bryant has four daughters Topaz, Grace, and twins Angel and Adore. They reside in Baltimore. He is also the brother of Thema Simone Bryant Davis.

Mega church pastor Jamal Harrison Bryant and his wife Gizelle are headed to divorce court. After 5 and a half years of marriage Gizelle Bryant filed for a divorce in the Circuit Court for Montgomery County on January 9. The clergyman [i.e. Jamal] also filed divorce papers in Baltimore City Court on the same day, the Baltimore Sun reports.  . . . (then article launches into some more flattery….)

. . . Scandalous rumors of alleged affairs with several women have been rampant since the couple’s engagement. His supposed womanizing went overboard when he impregnated a church member said to be 17 at the time of the time of copulation. [“the time of copulation”?     ]When accusations of this affair surfaced in the Summer of 2007, church leaders asked him to step down while they initiated an investigation and awaited paternity test results. Months after the investigation, Jamal Bryant remains the pastor of Empowerment Temple. Court records acquired from the Circuit Court of Maryland do indicate the pastor is the father of a least one other child who was born before he got married. The couple has a set of 1-year-old twins and a 3-year-old.

As Wikipedia shows, guess he had some of the “evangelizing” [Missionary Position?] (of other women while married) issues common to some in his field.  Baltimore Sun article, 2/16/08 by Samathi Reddy:

Bryant and his wife, a former model, are known for their flashy lifestyle, which includes a Bentley and a multimillion-dollar Canton waterfront property. Their lifestyle has attracted criticism from those who say the church is more about his business enterprises and building wealth than religion. Her original divorce complaint stated that he earned more than $350,000 a year.

He is seeking a “limited divorce,” while his wife has requested an “absolute divorce,” according to papers filed in Baltimore Circuit Court.  A limited divorce is a voluntary legal separation required in Maryland for a year before most absolute divorces. Absolute divorces, however, are allowed immediately under certain circumstances, such as adultery and cruelty. In Gizelle Bryant’s filing last month, she accuses her husband of adultery, cruel treatment and “excessively vicious conduct” that caused “reasonable apprehension of bodily suffering so as to render cohabitation unsafe.” [/spoiler]

One of MANY reasons I’m not too impressed with the concept of soliciting faith-based organizations to teach responsible fatherhood!  However, Dr. Thema Harrison-Bryant is not her brother . . . . More background on their parents’ involvement in civil rights, time in Africa, social justice concern, leadership over many churches

“His efforts ( Back to Hershel K. Swinger of The Children’s Institute)  resulted in a major expansion of Project Fatherhood – through funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – to 50 organizations located in various parts of Los Angeles County.”(Very nice obituary in the LA times notes what he did):

June 12, 2011|By Elaine Woo, Los Angeles Times

Swinger, a clinical psychologist, was a senior vice president of Children’s Institute who taught counselor education and directed a state-funded child abuse prevention center at Cal State L.A. for many years.

He was the founder and senior director of Project Fatherhood, a program that has provided therapy, support and training for more than 7,000 low-income urban fathers since its inception 15 years ago. Under Swinger’s leadership, it received a $7.5-million federal grant in 2006 to replicate the program in 50 agencies in Los Angeles County. It was recognized as a model program by the Obama administration last year.

Familiar with studies showing that children with absent fathers are far more likely to be poor, abuse drugs, drop out of school and enter the criminal justice system, Swinger believed that focusing on the fathers was a crucial part of the solution.

No mention of “present mothers” or of the fact that since 1996, one of the most dangerous places to be as a mother is attempting to leave violence with children and having a father contest custody — in other words, the climate towards women because of these programs, has become literally hostile.  If indeed those facts ARE so, who is to say or not say that the real cause was “father-absence” or not something else? Is that a universal truth, like gravity — or a social construction? It helps expand a grants program if you are on the advisory council to another foundation: Federal funding allowed Project Fatherhood ^SM to expand in 2006 across Los Angeles County. Now, through a community grants program*, small faith-based and community organizations have been empowered to replicate the Project Fatherhood ^SM model in their own neighborhoods. …*The Project Fatherhood ^SM Community Grants Program is part of the Responsible Fatherhood Initiative funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Administration for Children and Families, Office of Family Assistance.

Purpose of this group (KS location):

LIVE SEMINARS ON STRENGTHENING FATHERS. EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS PROVIDED FOR FATHERS. PROVIDE LEADERSHIP TRAINING FOR FATHERS. RESEARCH FOR ABOVE SERVICES. SEE ATTACHED SCHEDULE OF PROGRAMS.

One employee listed got $62K — that turns out to be severance pay:

“KEN CANFIELD, THE FOUNDER, RECEIVED PAYMENTS FOR SERVICES PROVIDED DURING 2007.

JIM MOORE RECEIVED PAYMENT IN ACCORDANCE WITH HIS SEVERANCE AGREEMENT. ($62K)”

The National Center for Fathering seeks to improve the well-being of children by promoting responsible fatherhood and equipping men to be more engaged in the lives of children. Programmingissummarizedinfourareas: Research,Training,ProgramsandResources.

Training (notice how many are trademarked. (from 2007 tax return: of its budget, $914K that year was “government grants.” So this is what our gov’t is sponsoring:

. TheNationalCenterforFatheringconductslivetrainingseminarstoequipmen for their role as fathers using its research-based curricula. Specific curricula developed by the National Center include : The 7 Secrets of Effective FathersTM,[+ Book, $12.99] Connecting With Your KidsTM Quenching the Father ThirstTM,Dads ofDestinyTM and R.E.A.D. to KidsTM The Center ‘s father training courses all include a version of its Personal Fathering Profile TM, a self-scored assessment that allows dads to compare their fathering practices with a national database. The Center also conducts train-the-trainer workshops to equip locally-based father trainers who work independently in their communities through faith-based,social service and other organizations to equip men.

I guess if all those fathers need train-train-trainers, maybe they ain’t nuttin’ but a hound-dog, and never will be, according to HHS!Either that, or there’s another reason for all this obsession.

Carey Casey honored as a “Champion of Change” – Watch Video

JUNE 12, 2012 BY CAREY CASEY 2 COMMENTS

  As Father’s Day approaches there are so many reasons to be encouraged here at the Center … One big reason is an opportunity I had to visit the White House. I was one of ten people honored as “Champions of Change” in the field of fatherhood.  This is an effort by the White House Office of Public Engagement and Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships to promote positive fatherhood, and it’s my privilege to be there and talk about Championship Fathering … “from the White House to the outhouse,” as I always say. I am also humbled. I know that I … [Read More…]

(ET . . .CET. . . eRA). . . .  here’s USPTO.gov — wonder how many of those “tm” items really are “tm” ed! Colorado State marketing a booklet ‘Connecting with your Kids” http://www.courts.state.co.us/userfiles/file/Self_Help/CO_Parenting_Time_Book2004.pdf

Connecting With Your Kids

Copyright © Colorado Foundation for Families and Children

But it thanks Ken Sanders of (the) “Center on Fathering” and a “Colorado Fatherhood Connection”

Notice that in the MIDDLE of “fathers.com” top row of hyperlinks (to other pages) is “STORE” The store page kinda reminds me of the “cooperative parenting institute” store page (Termini & Boyan):

Some are even on discount!

Monthly Specials For July

Forming a Lifelong Bond: For Dads of Infants by Ken Canfield $5.99  $2.99 Save: 50% off

Leaving a Lasting Legacy: For Grandfathers by Ken Canfield $5.99  $2.99 Save: 50% off

You’re a Stepparent … Now What? by Joseph Cerquone $12.99  $6.50 Save: 50% off

Boys! by William Beausay II $14.99  $7.49 Save: 50% off

Transforming Children Into Spiritual Champions by George Barna $17.99  $9.00 Save: 50% off

The 21-Day Dad’s Challenge – Carey Casey, General Editor $13.99  $11.19 Save: 20% off

Teaching True Love to a Sex-at-13 Generation by Eric&Leslie Ludy $13.99  $7.00 Save: 50% off

My Grandpa Loves Me! Kids’ T-shirts $11.99  $6.00 Save: 50% off

The Way of the Wild Heart by John Eldredge $22.99  $11.50 Save: 50% off

Preparing Your Daughter for** Every Woman’s Battle by S Ethridge $13.99  $7.00 Save: 50% off

The 21-Day Dad’s Challenge – Carey Casey, Gen. Ed. – case of 56 $783.44  $548.41 Save: 30% off

Teaching Our Men, Reaching Our Fathers by Matthew Parker $14.99  $7.50 Save: 50% off