Author: Kids First - Children's Rights Activists (CRA)

 

 

 

 

To the DIDSS community

I would like to draw your attention to a new book being released by one of Australia’s leading authors – Robin Bowles. Robin was written a book about Ken, a friend and supporter of DIDSS who went to extraordinary lengths to find his son who had been abducted and taken overseas.

Here are some details from Robin, and a link to order the book should you wish to purchase it.

Hi Barry, Since December 2008, some of you will have read about the then Deputy Chief of the NSW Fire Brigade who was searching the world for his the 3 yo son, abducted from Australia by his wife. Against all odds, he succeeded, after a cycle crusade conducted over 6500kms around Europe. After more than three months of pedalling and searching, an alert teacher spotted the boy in Amsterdam. I helped the father with media advice and support and, as I am a writer (www.robinbowles.com.au) I now have written a book about this inspiring father.

Below you’ll find the links to my new book Have You Seen My Child, which tells the story from the ‘inside’ of this father’s desperate search around Europe to find his abducted son. The whole world ‘cheered’ when he succeeded. Now information not previously able to be published is contained in this gripping account, although due to very strict Australian Family laws, not much can be said about the ongoing battle to keep his son safe now he’s home in Australia..

I wonder if you could please put the links to my book, see below, so that lone fathers, or left-behind fathers, can read this father’s extraordinary story? Could you suggest that if they have a Facebook page, could they please put the links there? As we found out from the 3-year search for this little boy, Facebook is a very effective means of communication. Or simply forward the links to your email list.

Thank you..
Cheers,

Robin

LINKS: If you don’t have a kindle, you can download the story to your computer from Smashwords (second link) or download a Kindle app to your ipad and then use the Amazon link..

http://www.amazon.com/Have-You-Seen-Child-ebook

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/209332

 

Two of Australia’s leading law experts last week questioned the value of shared parenting.
The presumption of shared parenting was brought in by the Howard Government in 2006.
It means that judges deciding custody cases in the Family Court have to start with a presumption that the kids will be cared for both parents unless there is a good reason why not.
Now, the 2006 changes haven’t necessarily meant that men have had more time with their kids: shared parenting doesn’t mean equal parenting. It just means there is an equal responsibility for the children.
And in fact, many men’s advocates have been disappointed that the reality of shared care hasn’t always matched the ideal.
But I would argue it’s an important position for us to have as a society.
For too long mothers have had automatic right to sole custody and loving, good fathers have had to fight tooth and nail to get more than every second weekend with their own kids.

Where it is logistically possible and good for the kids, shared parenting should always be the standard that courts and counselors aspire to.
Children have a right to be brought up by both parents. This means dads should have the same rights as mums.
It is an absolute tragedy that one in four kids from divorced and separated families see one parent less than once a year, or never.
Sure, some of this may be the result of the media’s favourite target, the “deadbeat dad” who just isn’t interested. But you have to bet that in lots of cases men struggled like hell to see their kids regularly, but gave up because they felt were treated like second-class citizens because they were dads and not mums.
Just because a man leaves a marriage, it doesn’t necessarily mean he’s leaving his kids as well.
In some instances shared custody doesn’t work. It is best where both parents live nearby, where they get along well, and in cases where they did jointly raise the kids together at one time.
Shared custody should always be in the best interests of the children and not just the parents. This shouldn’t mean, however, that dads don’t have any rights at all.
But there is growing pressure on the Federal Attorney General to remove the shared parenting presumption in the Family Court.
The problem, it seems, is that the cases that end up in the Family Court are the very ones where shared custody doesn’t work.
In the end, both parents have a right to raise their children, but it is not an absolute right in every case.
Both parents must ensure that the needs of the children come first, and they must minimize conflict with their former partners and work co-operatively.
The rights of parents to shared parenting are worthless if it makes the lives of their children a total nightmare.
But shared parenting is still the gold standard we should work towards.

Susie O’Brien

See what Herald Sun columnist

More from the source

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Abbott boat plan causes concern in Jakarta

A SENIOR Indonesian police official has voiced concerns about Opposition Leader Tony Abbott’s plan to turn back all asylum-seeker boats, warning the policy ignores Australia’s international obligations

This seems not issue about human rights, or legal right.

Turning the boats back is the safest and humane way forward.

The Labor murderous policy of belligerents against the High Court decision and fundamental inaction has encouraged and exasperated the situation causing up scale danger and masses of deaths, including young children.

Reality is the world is over populated; Australia itself is at breaking point, mass extinction of Australian wildlife species from habitat loss, remembering we ourselves are not an indigenous species. Moving the problem from one place to another is not a solution.

The real problem is breach of integrity and trust by government worldwide. Question is how to enforce integrity and trust from treacherous rouge governments, like Syria and so many others as needed in the past, present and future.

Systemic civil rights breaches by the Australian judiciaries and bureaucracies, pushing us towards civil war. We need to demand and fight for anti-corruption law in all bureaucracies and the judiciaries.

All we have now is law against treachery against the Sovereign and the Commonwealth, these have to be extended to ALL Australians.

Australian courts, bureaucratic and lawyers are treacherous and dangerous, exploiting vulnerable Australians.

http://fathersaustralia.com/

I am holding a Child Support Forum 6pm next Thursday at Magpies Mackay Sporting Club. If you have concerns about the child support system please contact my office via email at george.christensen.mp@aph.gov.au to register your attendance at this forum.

By Linda J Gottlieb

In your professional opinion, on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest, what is the influence of parents on children prior to adolescence? (this should be a high #, and if not, the expert/therapist should be asked to justify a low # eg. who has the great influences.)

And after adolescence? (this should be a relatively high # at least)

Do you believe that parental conflict generally has an adverse effect on children and/or causes the child to react negatively in response? Please rate that effect on a scale of 1-10. (this should be a high #, as even the lay person would acknowledge the impact of parental hostility on children. If the expert doesn’t give a high #, he/she should be asked to justify the answer.)

So you would (or would not—depending on prior answers) agree with Christopher Barden, PhD., JD., who has received 2 national research awards in psychology and a law degree with honors from Harvard Law school, when he stated, “There can be no credible controversy about the power of parents to influence children.” (The International Handbook of Parental Alienation Syndrome, p. 420)?

Would you also agree with Barden when he stated that custody cases require “the critical obligation to carefully review the influence of parents, therapists or other adults on the attitudes, beliefs and memories of children.” (pp. 419-432)?

Could you describe what some of these effects are?

Can you give some examples as to how children get caught up in their parents’conflicts.

You have just confirmed that you recognize the great influence of parents on children as well as the detrimental affects on children due to being exposed to the parental conflict. Yet I did not hear you express how you acquired your expertise in family dynamics.  In fact, is it true that you are not licensed in your state of X as a Marriage and Family Therapist?

Can you state what training in family dynamics you had in your education for your psychology degree? (I can confirm that they had no more than family therapy 101, IF they had that at all. The LMFT degree, in virtually all states, requires 60 credits, including 2 internships in the provision of family therapy services.)

Are you aware of your X State’s criteria for obtaining this expertise and being qualified as a specialist for the licensing of a marriage and family therapist. How much of that criteria do you meet?

So could you please state how you are qualified as an expert in assessing family dynamics as well as the adverse effects on children resulting from the dysfunctional parental dyad?

What has been your experience in the treatment of families?

What is the difference between individual therapy and family therapy?

What % do you practice in family therapy and in individual therapy?

How many families have you treated?

How do you justify individual treatment of the child outside of assessing the influence of the parental conflicts on the child?

Have you published books and/or articles on family therapy?

Are the X children being reared in a family?

Could the behaviors and reactions of the children in this case be indicative of being triangled into the parental conflicts?

What causes the symptoms for which you are treating the X children? (Individual therapists will be unable to account for the causes of a child symptoms because there is no empirical evidence for the existence of intra-psychic or biochemical disorders. A family therapist, on the other hand, has much empirical evidence as a family’s therapist can see how the child negatively reacts to the parents’ arguing when observing the family in the session.)

What is your empirical evidence for the causes you have just expressed?

Could you describe any parental interactions which have affected the children in this case?

Do you know how the discipline of family therapy labels the family interactional pattern which puts children in the middle of the parental disputes?

(It is called triangulation. Child psychiatrist, Murray Bowen, labeled it the “pathological triangle. ” Indeed, Bowen and was so convinced about the family’s role in creating and maintaining the child’s symptoms, that when he hospitalized the child, he also hospitalized the entire nuclear family.)

Are you aware, Dr. X, that the psychiatrist, Murray Bowen, was so convinced that the parents’ conflict and this triangulation was at the root of the child’s symptoms so that when he hospitalized a child, he simultaneously hospitalized the entire nuclear family?

Have you heard of child psychiatrist, Salvador Minuchin? (In 2007, he was rated by a research study of therapists as being one of the 10 most influential therapists in the history of psychotherapy. He has written more than 11 books on family therapy. There would not be even a single person trained in family therapy or child psychiatry who has not heard of him.)

Do you know what Dr. Minuchin stated about the adverse effects of triangulation on children?  (He asserted that it is the basis of virtually all dysfunctional family relationships adversely affecting children, and the concept of triangulation can be readily found in his book entitled, Family Therapy Techniques, 1981. Dr. M actually labeled this triangulation as a cross-generational alliance between the child and a parent who is in conflict with the other parent. This is the key interactional pattern in the PAS family.)

So as you confirmed that the X children are being reared in a family, on what basis do you claim your expertise to justify making recommendations for the X children regarding their relationship with their targeted/alienated parent?

You really don’t have any expertise in family dynamics, do you, to make any assessments  and recommendations for the X children and their parental relationships?

You testified that the children in this case have reservations about, fear of, and hatred for their targeted/alienated parent. Can say with any certainty that they were not influenced by their other parent?

How does the pathological triangle or family dynamics in this case influence what the children say and do?

Do you believe that children the age of the X children are cognitively competent and emotionally mature enough to make decisions in their own best interests?

What does Piaget state about the cognitive development of a child the age of: (give age of each child). ——Until the age of adolescence, children do not have the ability to think for themselves, and abstract thinking only begins at age 13. (Piaget wrote the bible on the development of epistemology in children as follows:

0-2  sensorimotor

2-7  preoperational

7-12 concrete operational

13-adulthood  formal operational = abstract thinking.

Given the immature level of these children’s cognitive abilities, how do you distinguish the alienating parent’s influence on them their own ideas and feelings?

Can you rule out with any certainty that the alienating parent is not influencing them adversely against their targeted/alienated parent?

Have you observed the interactions between the children and their targeted/alienated parent?

How can you diagnose for a relationship you have never or virtually never observed?

Would a doctor recommend heart bypass surgery without having examined the heart?

Should a child decide whether to go to school? To medical appointments?

Would you say that deciding whether to have a relationship with a parent is as at least a significant decision as attending school or medical appointments?

Then why should they decide on whether to visit a parent or to have a relationship with a parent?

What specific examples did the child cite to justify the adverse opinions about and refusal to have a relationship with the targeted/alienated parent? (Generally these (experts) do not follow-up with questions for specific information. If they do, they an answer like   “She/he lies. She/he is annoying, etc.” The expert should be questioned about her/his willingness to accept such frivolous rationalizations.)

How reliable is client self reporting? (It is not at all, and we accept that as truth in the mental health profession.)

Would it not be logical to conclude that the immature emotional and cognitive development of a child would make their reporting even less reliable?

Do you know any research on the effects on children if a parent is not meaningfully involved in their lives?

When a parent is significantly minimized and excluded from a child’s life, what do you think children fill that emotional vacuum with?

(Educate the “expert” about such research by using the statistics from Fatherneed and the SPARC statistics. A summary is in the PAS help file which I previously sent to anyone who had requested it.)

Would you not then conclude that having a parent eradicated from a child’s life leads to emotional distress and behavioral difficulties for the child?

And if such eradication was facilitated, either consciously or unconsciously, by the other parent, would you not consider that to be emotional child abuse?

Are you aware of any tactics the alienating parent/residential parent employed to interfere with the visits and/or relationship with the child and the targeted parent? (This is a case specific question and should be supported by documentation from the particular case by citing examples of the alienating behaviors.)

You made reference to the alienator’s many allegations against the other parent. Do you have no independent verification of those allegations?  You really don’t, do you?

Why would you accept such allegations carte blanche without independent verification?

In your professional opinion, what would be the justification or motivations of the residential parent for not encouraging the relationship between the child and the other parent?

Do you believe that children are generally healthier if 2 parents remained meaningfully in their lives?

You have recommended that contact between the child and the nonresidential parent the only gradually reinstated? What is the research that supports this gradual reunification? (There is none! The propensity for the judicial system to only gradually reinstate visits is not supported by any research whatsoever.)

How do you explain that children of military families and who never met their deployed parent, excitedly run to, hug, smile at their deployed parent when that parent returns home from deployment?

Is it not true that it is because the caretaking parent talks up the deployed parent and enthusiastically encourages the child to greet the deployed parent explains it?

Is it not also true that the psychological and instinctual need and desire to have a relationship with a parent is so overwhelmingly strong that children will easily accept meaningful involvement from a parent from whom they have been estranged?

Do you accept the belief of your profession that mental health treatment is curative?

What medical records of Mr. X did you examine? What was the timeframe of those records?

So those records are not contemporaneous?

Have you reviewed the affidavits and/or spoken to his former under care psychologist and psychiatrist when they discharged him from treatment in updating your impressions of Mr. H?

Why not?

You really have no idea as to the current status of Mr. Xs mental health, do you?

What percentage would you say of mental health disorders are accurate with high probability and that the patient would receive the same diagnosis by several evaluators?

So if a patient was tested for a medical problem, with all the tests that are given, such as MRIs, EKGs, bloodwork, urine analysis, etc, it would seem that the diagnosis would be pretty uniform by a variety of examiners? What tests are given for the diagnosis of a mental health disorder?

The same consensus among mental health experts cannot be said about mental health disorders as for medical disorders, is that not correct?

What is the empirical evidence for mental health diagnoses?

What accounts for the discrepancy in the diagnoses given to Mr. X as well as the various estimates of his prognosis?

In general, what accounts for the varying diagnoses that different mental health professionals will give to the same patient?

Is the diagnosis of mental health disorders  a science?

You referred to Mr. X being given 18 different anti-depressant medications. Would that not possibly indicate that his diagnosis was uncertain and the medication had to be continuously changed for that reason?

If a patient received an antibiotic for an infection, you would agree that there would be a high probability that the medication would be effective, correct?

So why do antidepressants continually need to be changed?

Could it be that mental health diagnoses are not accurate?

What in your estimation accounts for the source of depression?

What is the empirical evidence for the cause of depression?

How do you make a differential diagnosis for the cause of depression between situationally caused v. bio-chemical or intra-psychic based.

In your opinion, is it possible that the end of one’s marriage and being deprived of a relationship with one’s children could cause depression.

If so, how would you determine that these circumstances  do not account entirely for such a person’s depression.

You really can’t say with any certainty as to whether Mr. X was clinically depressed were situationally depressed, can you Dr.?

Are you aware of his current functioning in his personal life?

In his professional life?

What do you really know about current mental health status?

How much would you pay for today’s appearance and for your report?

Linda J Gottlieb

 

 

 

 

From The Honorable Jarrod Bleijie MP Attorney-General of Queensland

Click HERE for the source…

The Newman Government has established a Commission of Inquiry to chart a road map for the state’s child protection system for the next decade.

Premier Campbell Newman said the Government was delivering on its election commitment to set up the inquiry and develop the terms of reference within its first 100 days.

“The aim of this inquiry is to ensure Queensland has a high-performing and sustainable child protection system that delivers the best outcomes for children and young people,” Mr Newman said.

“The inquiry will examine the current response to children and families in the child protection system, including service standards and court and tribunal processes.

“The commission will conduct a full and careful review in an open and independent manner.

“Improving the safety of Queensland’s children is a priority and the Government will do whatever it takes to ensure they are safe.”

The inquiry will review the progress of recommendations made in the 1999 Commission of Inquiry into abuse of children in Queensland Institutions and the 2004 Crime and Misconduct Commission of Inquiry Protecting our Children: An Inquiry into the Abuse of Children in Foster Care.

The commission has been directed to deliver recommendations on:

• reforms to ensure that Queensland’s child protection system      achieves the best possible outcomes to protect children and support      families;
• strategies to reduce the over-representation of Aboriginal and      Torres Strait Islander children at all stages of the child protection      system, particularly out-of-home care;
• any legislative reforms required; and
• any reforms to improve the current oversight, monitoring and      complaints mechanisms for the child protection system.
• Attorney-General and Minister for Justice Jarrod Bleijie announced      the appointment of the Honourable Tim Carmody SC as the Commissioner.

“During the course of his distinguished legal career, Mr Carmody has worked on many high level trials and appeals in state and federal courts,” Mr Bleijie said.

“Mr Carmody was admitted to the bar in 1982 and made a judge of the Family Court of Australia in 2003, a position he held until 2008.

“He was Counsel assisting on the Fitzgerald Inquiry and the Criminal Justice Commission Inquiry. He was also Queensland Crime Commissioner from 1998 to 2002.

“Mr Carmody is the right person for this job and the Government has every confidence his recommendations will ensure the best protections are in place for our children in the future.”

Under the Terms of Reference, the Commissioner is required to provide a detailed report containing his findings and recommendations to the Premier by 30 April 2013.

The Commission of Inquiry www.childprotectioninquiry.qld.gov.au will be live from Monday 2 July.

 

 

QUICK NOTE … FUA HAS JUST HIT 1007 MEMBERS … 999000 TO GO TO HIT CRITACAL MASS… Together we stand for change for the good.

Now for a new post from the Nobel, Honourable, Illustrious and Mighty Mr. Paul Elam…

The most important video you will watch this week

New post on A Voice for Men

by Paul Elam

New post on Leon Koziol.Com by Administrator

 

They came, they made noise and most importantly, they were HEARD!

It all started in the early morning hours of Friday, June 15, 2012, as the first rally goers began assembling along the sidewalk area directly in front of sprawling concrete steps leading up to The United States Court of Appeals. Some carried banners, while others proudly displayed signs designed to raise awareness of various parental rights related issues. This was their big day! The moment they had all been waiting for, had finally arrived. This was their once in a lifetime opportunity to get one very important message out, “Justice for John Parent;” only two days before Father’s Day.

Within minutes, passing motorists en route to the nearby Wall Street financial district, began lending an additional show of support by honking their horns as they exchanged eye contact with the dedicated rally goers who had eagerly gathered. As the morning went on, a growing numbers of rally goers had continued to steadily arrive and take part in an event that was successfully organized in under two months. By noon, a full fledged media entourage was taking place only a small distance away, prompting many of those in the rally to pursue additional news outlets to further disseminate their message.

Friday’s Rally for Fathers’ event was a tremendous success as a large number of individuals and numerous parenting groups from Connecticut, Upstate New York, New Jersey and Long Island had converged upon Foley Square. The rally was in support of equal rights for fathers in a case being heard on June 15, 2012. The case, John Parent v State of New York, asks a federal appeals court to place limits upon support and custody abuses in our nation’s domestic relations courts. “John Parent” is a fictitious name allowed by court order to represent abused parents in this precedent seeking case.

The staff here at Leon Koziol.Com is asking all of our friends and supporters to share this story with the news media in hopes that they will prepare a timely story for Fathers’ Day. We encourage you to contact the major print newspapers by way of telephone for the purpose of reaching a reporter. Any media inquires should be directed to Dr. Leon Koziol at (315) 796-4000. Additional coverage of the event can be found on FaceBook at: New York Families for Kids

A special thank you goes out to everyone who worked diligently behind the scenes as well as those of you who committed to attending the rally. Again, thank you for helping to make the entire day a tremendous success!

As we prepare for similar future events, it’s imperative that we embark upon a major fundraising campaign in order to help defray the high cost of court filing/copy fees, signage, transportation and other related expenses. Kindly consider making a donation to the Parenting Rights Institute today. If everyone impacted by the issues expressed on www.leonkoziol.com made a small donation that was equivalent to no more than a one hour consultation with an attorney, it could make a world of difference for our cause. Also, be sure to check out www.familyretention.com for conflict resolution, litigation avoidance and a reduction of court costs.

Click HERE for full story …

PLEASE JOIN THIS EVENT AND CHANGE YOUR PROFILE PICTURE FOR THIS ONE DAY TO HONOUR THE SACRIFICE OF SERGEANT THOMAS JAMES BALL.

https://www.facebook.com/events/399213803462156/

June 17 is Father’s Day. 2 days after the one year anniversary of Thomas James Ball’s self immolation. The 58 year old soldier set himself on fire in front of a New Hampshire courthouse on June 15, 2011 to protest the crooked child support and custody laws in North America. To all my male friends, please read his story below regardless of your opinions of the men’s rights movement. After all, his becoming of an MRA (Men’s rights activist) started with his desire to preserve his rights as a father…

Thomas was an involved and loving father with no prior track record of domestic violence, as his ex-wife and three children have testified several times in court. April 2001, trying to put his then 4 year old daughter to bed after a 14 hour work day, Thomas lost patience and slapped the child causing a cut on her upper lip. His wife called the local family help line where a female operator threatened her that if she didn’t call the police, she would be the one accused of child abuse. Thomas James ball was arrested the following morning.

Thomas was acquitted of all the charges based on his prior track record but denied unsupervised visitation to the children. This dragged on for 10 years where he was presented with one legal barrier after another just to be able to see his own children. In 2009, at the peak of the global economic recession, Thomas lost his job. Now he started to struggle with the child support payments and lost touch with his children completely. Thomas James Ball, after serving 21 years in the army, was facing a prison sentence for his inability to pay a $3000 child support payment as charged by his ex wife. He sat on a park bench and wrote the following shortly before the suicide:

“It was clear the legal community was in fear of these feminist groups…It had been fifteen months since this first started. Now I was at the end of my DEFENSIVE game. I was free to go on the offensive. I wonder if this would just be wishful thinking, another dream that quietly dies from INACTION. I knew I should go after those who messed with me and my family. The myth that they were protecting my kids had long evaporated from my thoughts. I could have rolled over and played dead that the legal system wanted me to do. But I would have spent the rest of my life wondering, “What if?”

“Nah. Time for me to be the JERK.”

Women initiate 90% of divorces in North America. Women get sole custody of the children 84% of the time. 1 in 5 children under 15 years old (Roughly 38 million) are growing up fatherless.

• 90% of all homeless and runaway children are from fatherless homes

• 80% of rapists motivated with displaced anger come from fatherless homes

• 71% of all high school dropouts come from fatherless homes

• 85% of all youths sitting in prisons grew up in a fatherless

“I ain’t never seen a calf following a bull. They always follow the cow. So I always give custody to the mammas.” (Robert Noland, family court Judge, Georgia, USA)

On June 15, 2011 the self proclaimed “Jerk”, Sergeant Thomas James Ball set himself on fire and left his fatherless children a note. Let me share his note with the 38 Million fatherless of North America.

“I have three things to say to my children. First, Daddy loves you. Second, you are my three most favorite people in the world. And last, that you are to stick together no matter how old you get or how far apart you live. Because it is like Grandma always said. The only thing you really have in this world is your family.”

JUNE 15 IS INTERNATIONAL FATHERLESS DAY

JUNE 15 IS THE DAY TO…STAND UP > SPEAK UP > EDUCATE > AGITATE > ORGANIZE > CHANGE.

ONCE AGAIN, PLEASE CHANGE YOUR FACEBOOK PROFILE PICTURE FOR THIS ONE DAY TO HONOUR SERGEANT THOMAS JAMES BALL. HE WAS NOT VIOLENT, NOT A DEAD BEAT, NOT AN EXTREMIST…JUST AN EVERYDAY 9-5 WORKING DAD, PUSHED TO THE BRINK WITH NOTHING LEFT TO SACRIFICE BUT HIS LIFE TO TRY AND OPEN OUR EYES.