Center for Parental Responsibility (CPR)
WEEKLY UPDATE (A Few Highlights): Monday January 10, 2005
Website: cpr-mn.org       Email contact: info@cpr-mn.org   Voicemail: 651/490-9277
For: non-custodial parents (moms and dads), grandparents, second spouses, and others interested in family law justice

No Parent Left Behind: To protect our children’s future we need to stop alienating parents today!

“If it is to be, it’s up to me!” - Your input and participation is needed for reform

PLEASE forward this email to anyone you know who is interested in family law reform!

“With the Lord, one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow about His promise as some count slowness, but is forbearing toward you, not wishing that any should perish … be zealous to be found by Him without spot or blemish, and at peace … there are some things that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction …” 2 Peter 3: 8, 9, 14, 16.

The Overview (details below):

1. NEW, MARK YOUR CALENDAR – Sunday  January 16, 2005 CPR General Public Educational Meeting from 5pm-8pm at William Mitchell Law School – Our honored guest speaker will hopefully be one or more current or past legislators who have been intimately involved in creating or changing current family law in Minnesota. Four KEY LEGISLATORS have been invited to speak, followed by Q&A. The legislators create the law that have attacked your rights. The topic “Legislative Change: Effectuating Change and Removing Obstacles to enhance family stability.” Prepare your questions.

1. THANKS TO YOU – to all who responded to the request for COURT WATCH in Washington County regarding the custodial mom who was charged with felony deprivation of parental rights. The outcome was a success; your response was overwhelming. YOU MADE A DIFFERENCE.

1. NEW, MARK YOUR CALENDAR – The Hennepin County IV-D Child Support Office is holding a public “information session” Thursday, Jan. 13, 2005 from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Brookdale Library at 6125 Shingle Creek Pkwy., Brooklyn Center.

1. NEW, IMPORTANT REPORT TO READ – The Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) 2004 Child Support Performance Report is now available on the CPR website.

1. NEW,  MARK YOUR CALENDAR – COURT WATCH - Constitutional Challenge to child support guidelines being heard at Minnesota Court of Appeals on Wednesday January 12, 2005 at 12:40 pm (Arrive early - it may be earlier than scheduled because the other hearings moved). Location: Minnesota State Appellate Court.

1. NEW, IMPORTANT ARTICLE TO READ – member recently found 1998 article on the internet, “Lagging behind the times: parenthood, custody, and gender bias in the family court,” by Cynthia McNeely.

1. NEW, IMPORTANT ARTICLE TO READ – articles by Baskerville, “Homicide Takes Toll,” which is about the demonized father.

1. NEED VOLUNTEERS TO TALK TO LEGISLATORS. Is your daytime schedule flexible? Can you take time off during the day to provide information to legislators? CPR provides the information, you make the appointment and you present the designated information in 5-15 minutes. Meetings rarely last more than 15 minutes. CPR will provide back up support for any tough questions.

1. BILL TO ENSURE A PRESUMPTION OF JOINT PHYSICAL CUSTODY. There is a strong movement to change Minnesota Law so that there would be a presumption of joint physical custody instead of the current practice and automatic mother-custody.

1. YOUR SUCCESS STORIES – don’t quit, don’t give up, don’t give in, cling to the hope; “they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and He delivered them from their distress; He sent forth His work and healed them, and delivered them from destruction.” Psalm 107:19-20

The Details:

1. UPCOMING CPR
GENERAL SUNDAY NIGHT MEETING –
Sunday January 16, 2005 at 5pm - FREE

NEW, MARK YOUR CALENDAR – Sunday January 16, 2005 CPR General Public Educational Meeting from 5pm-8pm at William Mitchell Law School – Our honored guest speaker will hopefully be one or more current or past legislators who have been intimately involved in creating or changing current family law in Minnesota. Four KEY LEGISLATORS have been invited to speak, followed by Q&A. The legislators create the law that have attacked your rights. The topic “Legislative Change: Removing Obstacles and Effectuating Change that enhances family stability.” MORE DETAILS AND REMINDERS - WATCH YOUR EMAIL. We are waiting to hear what legislator is willing to participate.

YOUR ACTION ITEM:

1)     Mark your calendar NOW and reserve the evening: Sunday, January 16, 2005, from 5pm – 8pm – same location as always: William Mitchell Law School, St Paul, corner of Summit and Victoria. Enter by the flagpole and follow the signs to the meeting room. FREE and easy street and lot parking.
2)     Don’t miss this meeting, SPREAD THE WORD, (send this email to others) and BRING others with you – the higher the attendance, the greater chance we will have good speakers in the future. Bring girlfriends, boyfriends, second spouses, and grandparents who have been impacted by family law bias.
3)     If you can, bring a snack to share for the food table (not mandatory) – if there are leftovers, take what you brought back home with you.
4)     The meeting takes a lot of volunteers to pull it all together, if you are interested in helping, let us know by email at info@cpr-mn.org. We need people to help make phone call reminders, do a short 2-3 minute devotion/inspirational thought, sit at registration table, greet people, set up, briefly share your testimony how CPR has helped you, etc.
5)     Remember the rules of Rules of Engagement for the speaker portion of the meeting:
a.      Rule #1-Keep your questions succinct and to the point, you will only be given 30 seconds to articulate your question
b.     Rule #2-DO NOT elaborate on your personal story.
c.      Rule #3-Do NOT present an image of an ‘angry white male’ – that’s not who we are at CPR
d.     Rule #4- Plan your questions carefully, write them out in advance; you may be limited to 2 questions, depending on the number of questions from the audience

2. CUSTODIAL MOM CHARGED
WITH FELONY DEPRIVATION OF PARENTAL RIGHTS
RESULTS SUCCESSFUL

THANKS TO YOU. An email was sent to the entire CPR database last week informing all of you that a trial was taking place in Washington County this past Monday January 3, 2005, for a custodial mom charged with felony deprivation of parental rights for denying a non custodial dad his court ordered parenting time. The email explained the details and the incredible (positive) significance of this action by the Stillwater city attorney, Maggie Murphy. As citizens fighting to ensure that both parents are equally involved in the lives of their children, and fighting against the bias in the system, we are so pleased that Ms. Murphy is willing to do what no other prosecuting attorney in the state of Minnesota is willing to do – prosecute a mother for interference with parenting time.

RESULTS. There were four CPR members who attended the COURT WATCH to show support and observe what happened. THANKS to those who took time out of their day to be there. With more notice, certainly more of you would have attended. We didn’t find out about the trial until a couple days before, plus it was New Years weekend; therefore it was late notice. Prosecuting attorney, Maggie Murphy has informed CPR that the quantity of responses she got from CPR people was “overwhelming.” She received over 20 phone calls of support, which had quite an impact on her.  The outcome was a success. In the end, there was no trial, but rather a plea bargain. However, this was expected and this is still a HUGE success.  The plea bargain was that this custodial mother agreed to have no same/similar violations (i.e. not depriving the other parent of any of his court ordered parenting time); and if she ever deprives the father in the next 12 months, there will be a trial. The judge scolded the mother for violating the court order. Now, at least one mother in the state of Minnesota has a year hanging over her head, and at least one prosecutor is willing to hold her accountable. This should be considered a huge WIN for all non custodial parents. YOU MADE A DIFFERENCE.

YOUR ACTION ITEM:

1)     If you are having trouble with denied parenting time, see brochure on Deprivation of Parental Rights, on our website, www.cpr-mn.org <http://www.cpr-mn.org/> , under Resources.
2)     Plan to attend the February 20, 2005 CPR meeting … the topic will be Deprivation of Parental Rights.

3. CHILD SUPPORT INFORMATIONAL MEETING
BY HENNEPIN COUNTY

NEW, MARK YOUR CALENDAR – A CPR member saw the advertisement in the Star Tribune. A FREE information session is planned for people wanting to learn how to get child support. Steps include finding the noncustodial parent, establishing paternity, and getting and enforcing an order of support. These meetings are designed mostly to tell custodial parents how wonderful the program is and focus on what they assume are “deadbeat” dads. The meetings also lead non-custodial parents (NCP) to believe that the IV-D system is equally a benefit to the NCP. There is generally no information regarding the consequences of getting the county involved.

When and where: The Hennepin County IV-D Child Support Office is holding a public “information session” Thursday, Jan. 13, 2005 from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Brookdale Library at 6125 Shingle Creek Pkwy., Brooklyn Center.
For reservations: Call 612-348-2478.

YOUR ACTION ITEM:

1)     Attend if you can and learn what the county tells the custodial parent – information is power!
2)     You don’t necessarily have to reserve a spot. However, it will probably help them ensure enough handouts and a big enough room. Be careful though, they may just be trying to add you to their database – you don’t want your name on their files if you don’t have to. You can call to reserve a spot, but not give your name and just tell them “my information is private.”
3)     If it truly is information “for the public,” they should have no problem if you consider tape recording or video taping the event. So please do so if you can, to more easily share the information with those who are unable to attend. Take good notes, take copies of any handouts for yourself, and mail a set of handouts to CPR, PO Box 130776, Roseville, MN 55113
4)     Find out what they are telling people – they focus mostly on “marketing” their program as helpful to families. Most NCPs find the county involvement is everything except helpful and actually increases the conflict between parents.
5)     Hennepin County has made some attempts to provide greater access to answers and information for NCPs – find out what those things are.
6)     Ask good questions about the government right to be involved in private family matters. Don’t be afraid to publicly challenge their information.

4. DHS updates ANNUAL REPORT
“CHILD SUPPORT PERFORMANCE REPORT”

NEW, IMPORTANT REPORT TO READ – The Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) 2004 Child Support Performance Report is now available on the CPR website. The past 5 years of reports should be and has been available on the DHS website, but the links are dead. A DHS contact tells us that they are having problems with this aspect of their website. The report is updated annually in October and is completed for the fiscal year ending June 30, therefore the report is for state fiscal year 2004, ending June 30, 2004.

YOUR ACTION ITEM:

1)     Find and read the report on the website, www.cpr-mn.org, and click in the “What’s New” section.
2)     If you have questions about the report, email us at info@cpr-mn.org.

5. COURT WATCH – MN Court of Appeals Hearing
CONSTITUTIONAL CHALLENGE OF Child Support GUIDELINES

NEW,  MARK YOUR CALENDAR –A  Constitutional Challenge to child support guidelines is being heard at Minnesota Court of Appeals on Wednesday January 12, 2005 at 12:40 pm (Arrive early – the hearing may begin earlier than scheduled because of other hearings moved).

This is a fabulous opportunity to hear some of the main arguments that have been made by those who believe the Minnesota Child Support Guidelines are unconstitutional because: they are arbitrary, they are based on NO sound reasoning, they do not consider both parents income, they are not based on the cost to raise children, etc. The hearing won’t last long. Each side is limited to less than a total of 30 minutes, including presentation and rebuttal. Try sit on the side of the non-custodial parents, not the state, so it is more clear to the appeals court judges who you are there to support. Familiarize yourself with courtroom protocol: dress nice, no gum, no talking or whispering, no outward reactions to attorney presentations, no cell phones on, etc.


This case is a combination of two cases: Randy Starr (Mark Olson attorney) and Joseph Barnell (Tom James attorney).

Location: Minnesota State Appellate Court at 25 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, St. Paul, 55155. Call for directions or clarification of time at 651/297-1000, court of appeals information. It may be held in Room #200, but ask the receptionist when you arrive to clarify the room number for you.

YOUR ACTION ITEM:

1) Attend and learn how an appeals court hearing works and learn more about the constitutional arguments. Watch the judges, listen to their questions.

6. GREAT ARTICLE – VERY WELL RESEARCHED
PHYSICAL CUSTODY: why there is bias and how to fight it.

NEW, IMPORTANT ARTICLE TO READ – member recently found 1998 article on the internet, “Lagging behind the times: parenthood, custody, and gender bias in the family court,” by Cynthia McNeely. This is wonderful information regarding how the bias towards mother-custody has evolved and provides you ideas on how to “break the code” to argue for equal participation in the lives of your children.

YOUR ACTION ITEM:

1)   Find the article on our website, www.cpr-mn.org <http://www.cpr-mn.org/> , under resources, articles, then find the topic “custody.”
2)   Send this to the chief judge in your county, your local judges, county commissioners, state legislators, US Congress Senator and Representative, and your lawyer.

7. GREAT ARTICLE – VERY WELL RESEARCHED
About the demonized father.

Dr Stephen Baskerville is a highly regarded author on the bias against the non custodial parent, which is mostly (but not always) the father. The latest piece is called “Homicide Takes Toll.” His last piece, "The Doofus Department <http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig2/baskerville6.html> ," made the top 10 Best-Read articles for the last week of the year.

YOUR ACTION ITEM:

1)   Find article “Homicide Takes Toll” at http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig2/baskerville7.html
2)   Find article “The Doofus Department” at http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig2/baskerville6.html

8. LEGISLATIVE ACTION NEEDED

The Minnesota legislator began last week. Family Law reform will most certainly be a topic. The legislators made the law that has impacted your life. The legislators can change the laws that impact your life. The judges say “we just follow the law the legislators made.” Legislators must know your story – they must know how their laws and judicial bias impact your lives. Email them your story, in 2 pages or less. Set up a meeting and talk with them face-to-face. We also need people willing to commit to be involved as regular attendees of the CPR Legislative Committee, and learn 5-15 minute presentations prepared by CPR to help educate legislators. We need people who have a flexible daytime schedule, because that is when most legislators are willing to meet – during the normal work day.

YOUR ACTION ITEM:

1)     Attend the meeting CPR General public meeting Sunday January 16, 2005 at William Mitchell College of Law (mentioned above) to learn more about how to and why talk to legislators.
2)     Email us at info@cpr-mn.org if you are willing to take time and volunteer to help educate legislators, with guidance from CPR citizen volunteers.

9. LEGISLATION: PRESUMPTION OF JOINT PHYSICAL CUSTODY

A significant issue legislators are willing to discuss this 2005 session is a change in law that would no longer pit one parent against the other and remove one fit parent from the child(ren)’s life, by forcing a “custody decision” in every divorce or paternity action. A law establishing a presumption of joint physical custody would assume that both parents will participate as equally valued and responsible parents. Current laws assume that unmarried parents can not co-parent. Research shows those prevailing assumptions have no merit.

YOUR ACTION ITEM:

1) Email CPR at info@cpr-mn.org if you are interested in participating in the effort to educate legislators on the reasons that both parents can, will, and should be equally involved in the lives of their children.

10. YOUR SUCCESS STORIES

We try to include successes that you have had in family court. Let us know if you have had a success we can share to encourage others. We use initials only to keep it somewhat confidential.




SPECIAL NOTE regarding the weekly update:

ADDITIONALLY ---- IF YOU WANT TO GET INVOLVED IN FAMILY LAW REFORM AND HELPING OTHER NON CUSTODIAL PARENTS, AND WE HAVE NOT APPROACHED YOU OR FOLLOWED THROUGH WITH YOU TO CONNECT YOU WITH OUR ORGANIZATION AND OUR VARIOUS VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES, PLEASE, PLEASE EMAIL US AT cpr-mn.org and TELL US AGAIN HOW, SPECIFICALLY, YOU MIGHT WANT TO GET INVOLVED. WE ARE A 100% VOLUNTEER ORGANIZATION AND WE NEED STRONG LEADERS WILLING TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR COMMITTEES AND OTHER VOLUNTEERS, AND WE NEED THOSE WILLING TO COMPLETE SPECIFIC DUTIES ON A REGULAR BASIS. LET US KNOW HOW YOU WANT TO HELP.
AS A NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION WITH NO PAID STAFF, WE NEED YOUR HELP TO CONTINUE TO PROVIDE SERVICES TO MEMBERS. IF YOU CAN’T HELP BY SHARING YOUR TIME/TALENTS, WE ALSO ACCEPT YOUR TAX-DEDUCTIBLE FINANCIAL DONATIONS AT ANY TIME.


SPREAD THE WORD: PLEASE FORWARD THIS EMAIL ALONG TO ANY NON-CUSTODIAL PARENT or ANYONE else who is concerned for the non-custodial parent, and the negative impact on the children that comes from bad discriminatory legislation, nasty case workers who treat you like a criminal, and unfair & bias judicial practice impressed upon the fractured family. Those interested and affected include: children of divorce or out-of-wedlock birth, non-custodial parents, second wife, grandparents, girlfriends, employers, etc).
WE NEED NAMES: WE are EAGER to add the names to our email list of all citizens who are AFFECTED OR INTERESTED IN HELPING TO REFORM FAMILY LAW AND ANY NON-CUSTODIAL PARENT NEEDING ASSISTANCE IN THEIR FAMILY LAW CASE. We do the best we can to help with the limited volunteer resources we have. CPR does not provide legal advice, but rather information that can help guide you to better outcomes as you battle the bias of the government system.
Please forward names to CPR of other citizens interested in these issues. We want to add them to our list to keep people informed and show legislators there is a LONG list of effected and interested people in Minnesota. Without your support and involvement, no change will occur.

WE NEED HELP: WE WELCOME YOUR PARTICIPATION AND WE NEED ALL INTERESTED NAMES so AS A GROUP OF CONCERNED CITIZENS we can ORGANIZE AND MOBILIZE (like Martin Luther King Jr did!) to prove to legislators that these family law issues matter to their constituents, and TO ACHIEVE THE GRASS ROOTS PUSH needed to DRIVE the MUCH NEEDED Family Law REFORM to encourage EQUAL PROTECTION for both parents and their children, because parents maKe the best decisions for their children, NOT the government.
ADDITIONAL NOTE to unsubscribe: You are receiving this email from CPR-MN because you have indicated interest in the group, or have attended a like-function where someone met you and thought you would be interested. If you would like to discontinue receiving these emails, please reply with "unsubscribe" in the email subject and your name will be removed from our list immediately. CPR-MN holds their membership information as very private information and will only use information for internal and informational purposes.