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Law Fathers & Families Helped Create Leads to Victory for Military Father Deployed to Afghanistan
"Fathers & Families' Michael Robinson argued that the intent of these laws and amendments was to prevent deployed military parents from being ambushed over custody...Over the mother’s attorney’s vociferous objections, the judge stuck to the Points of Authority and ordered that the child be returned to Clinton right away.
"The judge even ordered the District Attorney to pick the child up from school immediately and meet Clinton at a counselor’s office so that the counselor could help reduce any possible trauma to the child..."
Bristol Palin Files for Sole Custody, but Levi Johnston Should Have Equal Role in Their Son’s Life
 Levi Johnston, the teenage father of Bristol Palin’s 1-year-old son Tripp, has had to fight to be a father to his child. Johnston claims (and the Palins backhandedly acknowledged) that Levi’s access to his son has been restricted, and that for a long time the Palins weren’t allowing him to take his child out of their home for visitation, effectively requiring Levi’s visitation to be supervised by them.
Now, in a power play so unfair that even feminist writer Emily Bazelon of Slate.com is criticizing it, Bristol Palin is demanding sole custody of Tripp. In Why Bristol Palin Shouldn’t Get Sole Custody (12/30/09), Bazelon writes:
[W]hat has Levi done that warrants sole custody for Bristol at this early moment in a child’s life? Nothing is the likely answer…Modeling for Playgirl doesn’t make Levi a model for decorous fatherhood, but it’s hardly enough to strip him of his right to help make decisions about his son’s life, which is what sole legal custody for Bristol would mean…
Bristol’s accusations hardly show that he’s a bad father…Levi deserves the chance to keep his promises to the judge and to Tripp.
Unwed fathers–particularly those young and poor—are often stereotyped as uncaring and irresponsible. Yet the new "Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing study"—the most comprehensive long-term study of poor, unmarried parents ever conducted–found that young, poor single fathers often see caring for and protecting their children to be their highest calling.
Harvard Sociologist Kathryn Edin, one of the study’s authors, says "When we ask guys, ‘What would your life be like without your children?’…we expected them to say, ‘Life would be so much easier, I’d be so much better off, I wouldn’t have these child support obligations.’ Instead, they say…’Everything good in my life is because of my kids.’"
Levi’s dad, Keith Johnston, told People magazine that his son is a devoted and "proud father." Levi said his son means "everything" to him.
"He’s my little boy. I don’t know what I’d do without him," he said. "When I hold him, it’s an amazing feeling. I just shake."
Fathers & Families believes that Bristol Palin and Levi Johnston should share custody of their son. Fathers & Families’ Board Chairman Ned Holstein, MD, a Harvard-trained public health specialist, explains:
Research shows that father involvement is critical for children. Many teen/young fathers like Levi Johnston are pushed aside after the relationship with their children’s mothers ends. We often hear phrases like ‘deadbeat dad’ and ‘abandonment," yet young dads are often kept out of their children’s lives by intransigent mothers and a family law system which is often indifferent to their bonds with their children.
Back in the Spring of last year, Bristol Palin and the Palin family told reporters that they were going to respect Levi’s important role in Tripp’s life, and we publicly commended them for it. It is unfortunate that the Palins have now reversed themselves.
In my experience as a physician, I’ve seen countless young fathers who are conscientious and devoted to their children. I’ve also seen many children who utterly adore their young fathers. Tripp needs Levi as an important and equal parent in his life–anything less is harmful to both the child and his father.
F & F’s Holstein Discusses High-Profile Lesbian Child Custody Battle on Radio (Audio Available)
 Fathers and Families‘ Ned Holstein, MD discussed the high-profile Miller-Jenkins lesbian custody battle on the Mike McConnell Show on 700 WLW in Cincinnati (1/6/10) and on the Cumulus radio network. To listen to the audio of his McConnell appearance, click here.
The Miller-Jenkins case is a landmark and internationally publicized custody dispute, as Miller has disappeared with her 7-year-old daughter to evade a court order to give the girl to her former lesbian partner. According to ABC News’ Mom and Daughter Go AWOL in Lesbian Custody Case (1/1/09):
Lisa Miller, 41, of Winchester, Va., was ordered by a Vermont family court judge to hand over her daughter Isabella to Janet Jenkins , 45, of Fairhaven, VT…The child is at the center of a landmark custody battle between two women she calls "Mommy," the first case to address same-sex unions when the parents cross state lines.
 Miller and Jenkins were married in a civil union ceremony in Vermont in 2000. They split in 2004 when Isabella was 17 months old…
Miller, who is the biological mother through artificial insemination, fled to Virginia, where those civil unions are not recognized. There, she denounced homosexuality and became an evangelical Christian. The custody battle has raged ever since.
When the civil union was dissolved, the Vermont judge awarded custody to Miller but granted liberal visitation rights to Jenkins. But after Miller failed to show up for scheduled parental visits at Jenkins’ home, the court reversed the ruling on Nov. 20 and awarded custody to Jenkins.
The supreme courts of Virginia and Vermont ruled in favor of Jenkins, saying the case was the same as a custody dispute between a heterosexual couple…
Though it has surprised some, Fathers & Families supported Janet Jenkins from the beginning. Fathers & Families’ Board Chairman Ned Holstein, MD, a Harvard-trained public health specialist, explains:
Most of Miller’s tactics in driving Jenkins out of their daughter’s lives are quite common–the only difference is that this time the target is a lesbian social mom instead of a noncustodial father. Millions of children have their access to their noncustodial parents interfered with or blocked by custodial parents.
Miller violated visitation orders for years, moved far away from Jenkins, and pushed Isabella’s grandparents out of their lives.
Miller is, of course, entitled to choose her own sexuality and religion. But she chose to have a child with Jenkins and shouldn’t be able to obliterate this because it doesn’t fit in with her new beliefs. And however one feels about gay marriage, it is enormously damaging to children to have one of the two people they love the most in the world — a parent — ripped out of their lives. The saddest part is that children usually blame themselves, asking, "What did I do to make mom not want to be with me anymore?"
What’s needed are strong legal protections for parent-child bonds. This begins with a rebuttable presumption of shared custody after a divorce or separation...
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F & F Concludes Most Successful Fundraising Campaign Ever--in the Face of the Worst Economy Since the Great Depression! |
More people gave money to Fathers & Families in 2009 than ever before, and our revenues shot up almost 80% from 2008.
In a year when almost all non-profits' revenues have declined and many are laying off employees, F & F's revenues are up and we are expanding.
More revenue equals more staff, which means more work, more progress, and more victories. We thank all of you who stepped up.
Fathers & Families is succeeding because we are devoted to the critical task of engaging in the political process on a professional level.
As they say, "money is the mother's milk of politics." Next month we're introducing half a dozen family court reform bills--give to the organization which fights for you by clicking here.
Together with you in the love of our children,
Glenn Sacks, MA
Executive Director, Fathers & Families
Ned Holstein, M.D., M.S.
Founder, Chairman of the Board, Fathers & Families |
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F & F Action Items--Have You Participated Yet? |
Action Item #1: Campaign to Ask DSM to Include Parental Alienation in Upcoming Edition
A group of 50 mental health experts from 10 countries are part of an effort to add Parental Alienation to the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM V), the American Psychiatric Association's 'bible" of diagnoses. Fathers & Families wants to ensure that the DSM-V Task Force is aware of the scope and severity of Parental Alienation. To this end, we are asking our members and supporters to write DSM. If you or someone you love has been the victim of Parental Alienation, we want you to tell your story to the DSM-V Task Force. To do so, simply fill in our form by clicking here.
Fathers & Families has already physically mailed over 500 of your letters and stories to the DSM Task Committee, and we have many more to go. To learn more about our campaign, click here.
Action Item #2: F & F Submitting Military Parent Cases to Secretary of Defense for Upcoming Report
Are you a military parent who has had family law problems? Fathers & Families is submitting military parents' cases to the Secretary of Defense—to be included, please fill out this form.
Partly due to the efforts of Fathers & Families' legislative representative Michael Robinson, federal HR 2647 mandates that the Secretary of Defense produce a report on child custody litigation involving members of the Armed Forces, as well as international intrafamilial abductions of servicemembers' children.
The Secretary of Defense will submit its report to the Armed Services Committees of the Senate and the House of Representatives by the end of March. If you are a military mother or father whose custody rights have been adversely affected due to your service, we want to make sure your story is included in the Secretary of Defense's report. To submit your story for inclusion, please click here.
Become an F & F Activist/Supporter by Filling out Our Volunteer Form |
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