Showing posts with label shared parenting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label shared parenting. Show all posts

Friday, October 6, 2017

Judiciary Ignores Custody In Child Welfare

A very interesting perspective we have here.

It seems the Center for Judicial Excellence has taken up the issue of child custody cases.


It is quite obvious these co-sponsors are not familar with all the facets of child welfare.

See, it is like this...In the video, below, there is not one mention of Child Protective Services (CPS).

There is no mention of the entire concept of Guardian Ad Litem as the first stage for termination of parental rights in the foster care system.



The issue of child custody only focuses on, well, divorce cases, basically.

There is no mention of foster care and adoption, the dark stain of our nation's history that built our great nation.

I speak upon the peculiar institution, but that is an entirely different issue, or rather the reason no one will speak upon it.

This is strickly an issue of property law, specifically, chattel law.

In all actuality, I am in stong concurrence with the Center for Judicial Excellence that child trafficking compases child welfare that the system is rigged against parents, particularly when it is privatized, devoid of any civil rights protections, and no ability to grieve, or, more intuitively, blow the whistle on the rampant amout of fraud and public corruption.


I speak upon the rapes, the beatings, the drug testing, the psychological experiements, the suicides,
the murders, the torture, the poor nutritien, the lack of education in foster care, for which the States are the legal guardian, the custodial guardian, an issue silently omitted.

Even if the term silently omitted is seen as redundant, then I believe I have gotten my point across that this House Concurrent Resolution is nothing more than posturing, because these people do not have a damn clue as to the magnitude of onerous activities perpetrated by even crueler individuals for profit.

But of course, in the spirit of fucshia, I giveth my 2 cents.

115th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. CON. RES. 72

Expressing the sense of Congress that child safety is the first priority of custody and visitation adjudications, and that State courts should improve adjudications of custody where family violence is alleged, with the except of any federal funded program in foster care and adoption.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 24, 2017

Mr. Meehan (for himself, Mrs. Carolyn B. Maloney of New York, Mr. Franks of Arizona, Mr. Suozzi, Mr. Raskin, Ms. Eshoo, Ms. Speier, and Mr.Carter of Texas) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

Watch Judiciary hold one of those warm and fuzzy hearings to keep in step with its promulgation of child welfare propaganda.


CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of Congress that child safety is the first priority of custody and visitation adjudications, and that State courts should improve adjudications of custody where family violence is alleged in foster, adoption, or any other residential institutional program for children & youth.
    Whereas approximately 15 million children are exposed each year to domestic violence and/or child abuse, which are often linked but would produced higher numbers is the same definition of domestic violence and child abuse were applied to the child welfare population under the custody of the States;
    Whereas child sexual abuse is significantly under-documented, and under-addressed in the legal system and in the child welfare system;
    Whereas child abuse is a major public health issue in the United States, with total lifetime estimated financial costs associated with just one year of confirmed cases of child maltreatment (including physical abuse, sexual abuse, psychological abuse and neglect) amounting to approximately $124 billion but the profit generated through 501c3 privately contracted child placing agencies of the States provides another justification over the inate systemic ability to engage in blatant fraud, to make this an affront for failing to apply the same definition of domestic violence to juvenile justice, residential institutions, foster care & adoption.
    Whereas according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, federally launched, funded and tracked longitudinal research into “adverse childhood experiences” (the ACEs study) has shown that “children who experience abuse and neglect are also at increased risk for adverse health effects and certain chronic diseases as adults, including heart disease, cancer, chronic lung disease, liver disease, obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and high levels of C-reactive protein” including those foster children who are used as lab rats in psychological and medical human testing;
    Whereas research confirms that allegations of domestic violence, child abuse, and child sexual abuse are often discounted when raised in child custody litigation particularly in child welfare;
    Whereas research shows that abusive parents, foster parents and the staff of child welfare residential institutions, rather the States are often granted custody or unprotected parenting time by courts, placing children at ongoing risk;
    Whereas research confirms that a child’s risk of abuse increases after a perpetrator of domestic violence separates from a domestic partner, even when the perpetrator has not previously abused the child due to poverty being codified as the crime of abuse and neglect;
    Whereas researchers have documented a minimum of 568 children murdered in the United States in a 10-year period by a parent involved in a divorce, separation, custody, visitation, or child support proceeding, often after access was provided by family courts over the objections of a protective parent;
    Whereas researchers have not documented anything dealing with rape, torture or deaths in foster care and adoption;
    Whereas scientifically unsound theories such as parental alienation syndrome, enmeshment, and others are frequently applied to reject parents’ and children’s reports of abuse;
    Whereas scientifically unsound theories such as opposition defiant disorder are frequently applied to reject children who report abuse in child welfare.
    Whereas in cases involving allegations of family violence courts should rely on the assistance of third-party professionals only when they possess the proper experience or expertise for assessing family violence and trauma, and apply scientifically sound and evidence-based theories because this is just how privatization social impact bonds operate.
    Whereas most States lack standards defining required expertise and experience for court-affiliated or appointed fee-paid professionals in custody litigation or the required contents of custody-related expert reports which means privatized 501c3s can promote their new layers of some made up programs to add on another layer of Medicaid billing in child welfare programs;
    Whereas custody litigation involving abuse allegations is sometimes prohibitively expensive, resulting in parental bankruptcy, as a result of court-mandated payments to appointed fee-paid professionals, in addition to attorneys’ fees, and termination of parental rights and adoption which generates revenue for private contractors; and
    Whereas the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights found that the United States is failing in its legal obligation to protect women and children from domestic violence and the fact that there is no civil rights in child welfare: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 

(1) child safety is the first priority of custody and parenting adjudications, and courts should resolve safety risks and claims of family violence first, as a fundamental consideration, before assessing other best interest factors;

(2) quasi-scientific evidence should be admitted by courts only when it meets admissibility standards for scientific evidence and be introduced by a privatized, tax exempt, quasi-governmental organization that has no obligation to document reports of fraud, waste or abuse;

(3) evidence from court-affiliated or appointed fee-paid professionals regarding adult or child abuse allegations in custody cases should be admitted only when the professional possesses documented expertise and experience in the relevant types of abuse, trauma, and the behaviors of victims and perpetrators where this definition excludes law enforcement to investigate abuse and neglect in child welfare;

(4) States should define required standards of expertise and experience for appointed fee-paid professionals who provide evidence to the court on abuse, traumatized behaviors of victims and perpetrators, should specify requirements for the contents of such professional reports, and should require courts to find that any appointed professionals meet those standards and provide opportunity for children, families and staff to engage in whistleblower activities without any form of retaliation;

(5) States should consider models under which court-appointed professionals are paid directly by the courts, with potential reimbursement by the parties after due consideration of the parties’ financial circumstances because the state court administration in child custody cases is seperate and distinct from current child abuse and neglect cases which allows for more privatizing the ability to expand a child welfare population by identifying poverty as abuse, and parents & guardians are in the child welfare system due to the fact that they meet the poverty criteria of Title IV-A and cannot afford, nor find an attorney willing to take a case that may get them blackballed; and

(6) Congress should schedule hearings on family courts’ practices with regard to the objective, fair, and adjudication of children’s safety and civil rights because civil rights do not exist in child welfare, where one is guilty until proven innocent as it takes a judicial determination to turn on the federal funding spigot.

If this ever comes up for hearing, I am willing to wager that there will be no mention of custody in child welfare.

I need to hasten the first installment of my book.

Voting is beautiful, be beautiful ~ vote.©

Friday, July 28, 2017

Rep. Runestad seeks public input on child custody reforms

Image result for jim runestad
Michigan House Judiciary Chairman,
Jim Runestad
Michigan State Rep. Jim Runestad has scheduled two public meetings to gather input on proposed child custody reforms.
Runestad, chair of the House Judiciary Committee, is working on legislation establishing shared custody with equal parenting time as the starting point for all child custody deliberations in Michigan.
“I want to get as much input as possible from people involved with the family court system throughout our state, including parents, attorneys and other experts,” said Runestad, of White Lake. “This information will allow me to move forward and make meaningful reforms that improve child custody laws in Michigan.”
Public meetings will be at the following times and locations:
·         Aug. 21 at Studio D2D, 401 Hall St. SW in Grand Rapids, from 6 to 8 p.m.
·         Aug. 22 at Antonio’s Cucina Italiana, 2220 N. Canton Center Road in Canton, from 6 to 8 p.m.
Anyone unable to attend one of the meetings is encouraged to contact Runestad’s office at (517) 373-2616 or email JimRunestad@house.mi.gov.

Voting is beautiful, be beautiful ~ vote.©

Thursday, June 22, 2017

Shared Parenting Bill: They Forgot To Include The State Of Michigan

If you are going to promulgate a piece of legislation which promotes a presumptive joint custody doctrine in dealing with child custody and guardianship between parents, you must include the State of Michigan.

What about the State of Michigan's parental rights?
Michigan House Representative
Jim Runestad, Chairman of
House Judiciary Committee

What about Michigan Children's Institute?

What about Title IV-D funding, double-dipping fraud schemes?

What about legally defining and codifying the term "parent"?

What about termination of parental rights?

What about reinstatement of parental rights?

What about defining parental rights?

What about parents with disabilities?

What about incarcerated parents?

What about staggering sentences?

What about deportation of parents?

What about previously being charged with abuse and neglect cases, where many, many of these cases are based, waist deep, in the claim of moral turpitude for "failing to provide for the best interests of the child", otherwise known as having exclusive BRIDGE card carrying membership as "The Poors"?

If a parent is dependent upon the State of Michigan to provide for the necessary needs of the child, then the state is the de facto parent, and, as such, qualified to jump into any custody/guardianship case.

Image result for giggling girlOne cannot just allow legislation to cut into the State's privatization child welfare schemes.

Duh.

Notice there is no fiscal analysis as of yet because they know, and they know well, that I am going to rip it apart.

Jim Runestad has been rolling in the mud of Michigan Child Welfare for as long as I have been, so all I can do is honor him for listening to the people, which is more than that thief, Michigan State Representative Rosemary Robinson, and her nefarious son have done.

Rose Mary Robinson voted in the Michigan House Judiciary Committee in opposition to this Bill, just to let you know.

Oops, did I just say all that? (snicker)

Required joint custody bill passes Michigan House panel

LANSING — Absent reports of domestic violence, judges would be required to award joint legal custody of children to divorcing parents under a bill that passed the House Judiciary Committee today.

With the standard of parenting changing dramatically over the past 40 years — from including same-sex marriage to an increasing number of people having children out of wedlock — reform is needed to remove discretion from judges in child custody cases, said state Rep. Jim Runestad, R-White Lake, who sponsored the legislation.

“We looked at county by county statistics on what happens in custody situations and what we found out is that the custody arrangements are not determined by the kind of parent that you are, but the judge in the county,” he said. “We have study after study of the benefits of shared parenting. It’s a tremendous benefit for the children.”

Linda Wright, of the National Parent's Organization in Michigan, earlier this month said she saw the ill effects of a single parent family when her husband died in 1998.

"While we can't protect our children from the loss of a parent resulting from death, we certainly have the ability and responsibility to do everything possible to prevent the loss of a parent that occurs through divorce," she said. "The children are innocenvictims here."

But the bill aroused a flood of opposition from judges, advocates against domestic violence, family court employees and the family law section of the State Bar of Michigan.

“This bill presumes that one form of custody is best for all families and that’s equal time,” said Rebecca Shiemke, of the Michigan Poverty Law program. “And that’s not necessarily true.”

Logistically, shared parenting time would make it difficult for some parents to find jobs, children could feel lost between two households and child support awards could become a bargaining chip for a parent who doesn’t want to pay a higher amount, she said.

“Some studies report that children complain that they don’t feel they have their own home in shared custody situations," Shiemke said. "We’re a much more mobile society now and with a focus on parents needing to work and have to split time with their children, it’s going to make it harder for parents to find work.”

And child support is based on the number of overnights the parent has with the child. The bill would require that no parent receive more than 200 overnights with their children in a year.

“That would reduce the child support burden that one parent would have to pay to the other,” Shiemke said.  “So a parent could get a lower child support obligation and then just not exercise their equal time.”

In testimony prepared for the committee, judges Kathleen Feeney and Brian Kirkham of the Michigan Judges Association said the bill puts the best interest of the child behind the interest of the parents.

"This presumption (of shared custody) disregards the actual facts as to which parent provides day-to-day support, maintenance and nurturing of the child and instead substitutes the mere presence of a parent," they wrote.

The provision that a judge must give substantial weight to the preference of the child also will force the child to publicly choose sides, they added, "and thrust the child into the middle of a contentious battle between their parents. The ensuing animosity and hurt feelings will linger well after the custody battle is over."

The bill would:
  • Require a judge to grant joint legal custody and substantially equal parenting time, unless there’s a preponderance of evidence of domestic violence in the family.
  • Prohibit a parent from moving more than 80 miles away from the other parent.
  • If a child is 16 or older, the child's preference on custody has to be given substantial weight by the judge.
After only two days of testimony earlier this month, the bill — HB 4691 — passed the committee Tuesday on a 6-3 party line vote with Republicans voting for it and Democrats opposing.  Runestad said a vote on the bill is not expected in the full House of Representatives before they adjourn for the summer later this week.

"I want to continue the dialogue with all the stakeholders so that nobody feels left out," he said.


Voting is beautiful, be beautiful ~ vote.©

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Michigan Joint Custody Bill Fails Fitness Test

From the State Bar of Michigan

Joint Legal and Physical Custody Initiative: Reader Comment
A reader offers more policy arguments to the State Bar's objections to mandatory joint and physical custody (see Language of Petition to Amend the Child Custody Act to Create Rebuttable Presumption of Joint Physical Custody Approved ). Beverly Tran, a policy analyst, writes on her own blog:

Not only would the child protection standards of "fitness" have to be relied upon, but also the services and authorities to make these determinations. This would result in an unnecessary financial burden upon the state to provide the determination of fitness services as well and the responsibility to provide services to address whatever issues have placed the parent in a position of questionable fitness.
When it is determined by the courts that a parent is "unfit", according to current probate procedures, the state is mandated to monitor and supervise the parent-child relationship and possesses the authority to initiate termination of parental rights.
The judicial ability to make determinations would be transferred to the identified authorities who would make the determinations of fitness, and that usurps the powers of the court.

Monday, March 1, 2010

Michigan Shared Parenting Duplicates Services

The State Bar of Michigan has clearly identified the key component of HB 4564 that would create burdens in the execution of applying the presumption of joint custody.

There is no legal definition of "unfit" and "fit" contained within this bill and would leave the court to import existing state standards under child protection law., MCL 722.622 et seq. Not only would the child protection standards of "fitness" have to be relied upon, but also the services and authorities to make these determinations. This would result in an unnecessary financial burden upon the state to provide the determination of fitness services as well and the responsibility to provide services to address whatever issues have placed the parent in a position of questionable fitness.

When it is determined by the courts that a parent is "unfit", according to current probate procedures, the state is mandated to monitor and supervise the parent-child relationship and possesses the authority to initiate termination of parental rights.

The judicial ability to make determinations would be transferred to the identified authorities who would make the determinations of fitness, and that usurps the powers of the court.

I oppose HB 4564 on the grounds of its negative fiscal impact and lack of clarity on the statutory definition of "fitness".

Joint custody is a wonderful concept but the realities make it not so.

Joint custody would alleviate the burdens of child support but would increase the financial responsibilities of both parties to provide and maintain housing and its amenities. This is what I call a duplication of services.

Duplication of services, for each parent to maintain and provide separate households may be feasible for those who are financially secure, but what about the individuals who are barely making ends meet?

Michigan currently views economic hardship as a standard of "unfitness", so I am concerned that poverty will be used as grounds for determining custody of the child in these domestic cases, the same way it is used in Child Protection proceedings. This is a duplication of services on the part of the state, because, now, services must be put in place to allow equal treatment under the law in the determination of the domestic custody.

What concerns me the most of this bill is, at any time, a party may make allegations that a parent is unfit. These allegations would be filed with the local Child Protective Services Office, weighting the powers of the state to intercede in the judicial decision of custody. At this point, if there is an allegation of "unfitness" there could be a subsequent case opened in child protection proceedings, thus, transferring the case outside the jurisdictional venue of a custody proceeding.

The idea is novel but immature. Until there is clarification whether this will be a Child Protection issue, I would recommend the bill be sent back into committee for further evaluation.