A 50-50 Shared Parenting Bill:
Not a Solution for Children Being Abused by a Parent
A March 1, 2023, CT Mirror opinion post is authored by three members and advisors of The National Parents Organization (NPO), formerly known as Fathers and Families, before a rebranding marketing campaign. NPO was founded right here in Connecticut. "This is akin to the Fructose Corn Syrup Industry trade association rebranding themselves as the Corn Sugar Association." A 50-50 Shared Parenting presumption bill should never be recommended for Family Court Cases before a Judge dealing with Coercive Control, contested custody and financial abuse. As always, CPM recognizes that 95% families of the 30,000 annual Connecticut divorce cases make it out of the family court system with some bumps and bruises, but the parties are usually good parents and understand what is best for the child by putting the child's needs before their own divorce issues. The other 5% of cases are mistakenly labeled as "high conflict" which is a red flag for domestic abuse being present in the family. These are the cases that come before a judge in an adversarial courtroom and protective mothers fear for their children's emotional and/or physical safety. In fact, the majority of our CPM moms are told by their lawyers not to mention abuse allegations for fear of being called a liar and losing custody of their children to an abuser.
What is the Fatherhood Rights Agenda you Ask? Link Here To Find Out Each year across the US, NPO and Sharedparenting.org march forward to introduce a 50-50 presumption of shared parenting bill in most states. Please note that in our opinion, we believe a 50-50 shared parenting presumption bill is an agenda to reduce child support from a custodial parent, even where there is domestic abuse present. Beware, fatherhood agenda representatives cross-pollinate across many organizations, joining forces to reform family court, which is badly needed to protect children in every state. "In general fathers’ rights groups appeal to familiar, esteemed values such as the protection of families, the guarantee of equal rights, and the welfare of children. These powerful rhetorical devices link the desires of divorcing fathers with established norms, making their arguments appear plausible and rational. Often fathers’ rights groups illustrate their claims and demands using stories about individual incidents. These accounts create an emotional link between the public and the fathers who seek support and understanding."
Shared Parenting In Connecticut Connecticut Legislators are being lobbied every year by fatherhood groups as well as a few litigants with real heart-wrenching awful family court custody cases. The legislators have an empathetic ear and good intentions for family court reform. But again, the pitch for a 50-50 presumption bill and criminalizing custodial interference is a fatherhood agenda, wrapped in a warm and fuzzy court reform wool blanket for ALL litigants. This year, NPO has upped the ante with a new PR campaign focusing on coming to the aid of minorities AND domestic abuse victims in family court. A 50-50 Marketing Campaign 2023 NPO Tactics
Infiltrate the Minority Caucuses to gain sponsorship and votes from those legislators to protect minorities in family court.
Appeal to Domestic Abuse advocates to influence an agenda of 50-50 Shared Parenting presumption bill to protect victims of domestic abuse. This does not help victims of domestic abuse- men, women or children - in family court. Please see why here:
NPO is backed by big money to launch their strategic and aggressive PR campaigns for 50-50 shared parenting presumption bills. This smoke and mirror approach of their attempt to protect domestic abuse victims and minorities is egregiously false and harmful to children suffering in abusive homes. For a whole host of reasons - trauma, lack of access to resources and/or good legal representation, bias - Domestic Abuse victims face an incredibly difficult struggle to prove abuse allegations for themselves and their children. A family court not addressing abuse does NOT mean abuse is not occurring, and so for those cases - under a 50/50 presumption bill - children would automatically go 50% time to an abuser. Please take the time to educate yourself about the historical fatherhood agenda and the 50-50 shared parenting presumption bill across the US and why it is not safe for those family court cases with domestic abuse. Link here
