October 4, 2014

 

I am definitely having one of those what the “heck is going on days”. This morning I received an e-mail from the National Parents’ Organization telling me that we are all supposed to make 2015 the year of temporary custody orders. Yes, it's said temporary custody orders. Not permanent custody orders, temporary custody orders.

I've said it before and I'm going to say it again National Parents’ Organization is not working to change the problem, they are working to keep the problem going. In the various groups that I am in on Facebook and in the messages that I get, everybody wants equal custody. Am I the only one that gets it, that there are some out there that for the sake of a dollar will throw your children under the bus just so they can keep their organization going? I must be because everybody keeps sending NPO donations and keeps trying to say what a wonderful job they're doing when you are not doing a job at all.

The following is the body of the e-mail that I received this morning:

Make 2015 the Year for Temporary Custody Orders

National Parents Organization is working to introduce model legislation, to make shared parenting the norm in Temporary Custody Orders, in as many states as possible in 2015. Your gift will make this happen. Shared parenting in Temporary Custody Orders is critically important to maintain and improve the bond children share with each of their parents to insulate the child from the negative effects of separation or divorce. National Parents Organization believes we need a big push for shared parenting. One simple, model piece of legislation to promote. One national voice to engage all of our affiliates and all of our volunteers.  This is why we need your gift now. To prepare for a national push for shared parenting in Temporary Custody Orders in 2015, here is what we must work on this year: Mount marketing and public relations campaign promoting shared parenting in Temporary Custody Orders nationally and with participating affiliates.   Develop allies and partners to drive this social change. Develop strong volunteer leadership for each of our powerful affiliates and locate legislators willing to sponsor the model legislation. Make shared parenting the norm in Temporary Custody Orders. Give Today! Preserving the bond between parents and children, Rita Fuerst Adams National Executive Director   PS National Parents Organization, a charitable and educational, 501 (c)(3) organization, is focused on promoting shared parenting, in which both parents, following a separation or divorce, have equal standing in the raising of their children.

Now what is it Rita, since your organization openly blocked the last custody bill in Ohio which contained a temporary orders clause that started every temporary custody situation at equal between the parents unless there was clear and convincing evidence that it was not in the child's best interest. At the same time NPO was trying to push their own proposal which was as follows:

Sec 3109.043 (A) It is the policy of this state to assure that minor children have frequent and continuing contact with parents who if shown the ability to act in the best interests of their children and to encourage parents to share in the rights and responsibility of rearing their children after the parents have legally separated, divorced, or dissolved or annulled their marriage.

• (C) In accordance with the policies stated in division a of this section, if requested by a parent, the court shall provide in the temporary order substantially equal parenting time with each minor child to both parents, unless the court finds that such a shared parenting arrangement would be detrimental to the minor child. If either parent objects to the arrangement to provide substantially equal parenting time and request to be designated as the sole residential parent and legal custodian, that parent shall bear the burden of proof that the shared parenting arrangement would be detrimental to the minor child. If the court grants the parent’s request for the designation as sole residential parent and legal custodian it shall enter into the record of the case the findings of facts and conclusions of law as to the reason for the rejection of a substantially equal parenting arrangement.

That proposal fell far short in language of what was already introduced while they were out pushing their proposal. The language that was in the introduced bill was as follows:

Sec. 3109.043.  In any proceeding pertaining to the allocation of parental rights and responsibilities for the care of a child, when requested in the complaint, answer, or counterclaim, or by motion served with the pleading, upon satisfactory proof by affidavit duly filed with the clerk of the court, the court, without oral hearing and for good cause shown, may shall make a temporary order regarding the allocation of parental rights and responsibilities for the care of the child while the action is pending. When determining the temporary allocation of parental rights and responsibilities, there is a presumption that equal parenting is in the best interest of the children and the court shall set parenting time as equally as possible for both parents unless clear and convincing evidence can be presented as to the unfitness of either parent or the parents have agreed to an alternate schedule.

Now it's funny that Ohio's National Parents’ Organization director sat in a meeting in front of a state senator and could not explain why anyone should consider their weaker language over the stronger language that was in an already introduced bill. He sat there silent when challenged for the answer. Don, all you had to do was speak on which is something evidently you can't do. You were challenged to explain to everyone why you're weaker language should be used over language that was in the all ready introduced piece of legislation. You sat there and didn't say a word. No wonder you were a failure when you were on the child support review committee.

And then I start my day with a plea for money from NPO and a call for everybody to make next year the year of temporary custody orders. Give me a break please! Working only on temporary orders will not solve the problem. Asking people for money for an organization that has decided that this is what they wanted to next year is insanity. I do not understand why anyone would donate money to an organization that does not want to solve the problem; one that wants to keep the problem going.

We have a strong policy and Ohio Family Rights and it is one where we will only work on comprehensive legislation, not patchwork solutions that keep the problem going. It takes no more work to get a good bill introduced and passed then it does a haphazard solution.

We have a date coming up next week that is the anniversary of when I personally first testified on equal custody legislation in Ohio. It has been fourteen years since that day and nothing has changed. We bust our butts to get good legislation introduced and we have people like National Parents Organization that come in and openly lobbied against a comprehensive solution. It makes no sense. Since that bill was introduced and stalled in committee because NPO would make a phone call I have had elected officials across the state ask me why that bill didn't pass. The only thing I can tell them is the truth; that a fathers’ rights group saw fit to be more worried about getting donations than solving a major flaw in public policy and in law when it comes to families and children.

The game is on now and what I'm saying is that next year we don't make this the year of temporary custody orders ; we are going to make this the year of equal custody . The only way were going to do this is if we have the money to pay the expenses that are going to come with this. We are going to have printing costs, we are going to have gas costs, we have to get people from the four corners of Ohio to Columbus. That is parents who are crippled by high child support orders with a limited ability because they're spending all their money to take care of their children to the Statehouse to talk to lawmakers so that we can get not only the comprehensive bill introduced by passed. The only way were going to do this is if you help. The help doesn't have to be much, one dollar per month, dollars per month, that is less than you spend on coffee in the morning per week. But passing this legislation will benefit everyone.

Now please donate to the ones that are really working on this, not the ones that want to keep the problem going.