Author: Super User

Los Angeles, CA–…turns it in. According to the story Man finds $140,000, then his conscience (Los Angeles Times, 4/10/08):

“Last month, Eli Estrada (pictured) found $140,000 cash in the street on his way to work. The $20 bills were unmarked, bundled into wads of $20,000 and in a bag in the middle of Gridley Road in Cerritos. The 40-year-old Highland Park man’s first thought was: ‘I’m rich.’

“But he immediately decided to turn in his find. The money would go a long way, he thought, but keeping it would be wrong.

“‘That’s just your first reaction,’ Estrada said, ‘but it’s not yours and you feel nervous and you feel like you did something wrong, even though you didn’t.’

“It’s not that he didn’t need it.

“About six months ago, Estrada opened a landscaping and artificial-grass business, Tuff Turf, and is in debt. He said his child support payments are tough to make and he supports his mother, who moved in with him last year after she lost her house to a fumbled refinancing plan and declared bankruptcy.”

An admirable gentleman. What is probably happening regarding the child support is this–Estrada’s income has dipped because he launched his new business. However, he can’t get his child support payments lowered based on the new income. He may not have even tried, since he would have to pay for legal help and might not be successful with the downward modification.

If Estrada’s business is successful and he earns more money, he’ll immediately be hit up for more child support.

Given how hard it is for child support obligors to get downward modifications when they experience a drop in income, if Estrada’s business fails, he may well become a “deadbeat dad,” with fake child support arrearages piling up. In my recent co-authored column New LA County Campaign Against ‘Deadbeat Dads” Unfairly Targets Low-Income Fathers (Los Angeles Daily News, 3/26/08) I explained:

“According to the California Department of Child Support Services, there are four primary factors creating child support arrearages in California: ‘high child support orders established for low-income obligors’; ‘a limited number of child support orders adjusted downward’; ‘establishment of retroactive child support orders’; and ‘accrual of 10 percent interest on child support debt.’ Over a quarter of these arrears is interest.

“The report was based on a study CDCSS contracted from the Urban Institute. According to the study, ‘assuming every effort was made to increase child support collections and reduce future arrears…only a quarter of the existing debt is collectible.’

“The study found that California is particularly prone to turning dads into ‘deadbeats’–California arrearages are piling up ‘much faster’ than those in the rest of the country. With only 12% of the US” population, California”s arrearages represent 20% of the nation”s whole.”

The full Los Angeles Times story is here–thanks to Kelly, a reader, for sending it.

Texas–In the highly-publicized Roman v. Roman Texas frozen embryo case, Augusta Roman and her then-husband Randy Roman had tried for several years to have a child (and had one miscarriage) before undergoing infertility treatments. The day before the embryos were to be implanted, Randy told her that he was troubled by certain aspects of their relationship and wanted to wait to implant the embryos until they had resolved their problems. They went to counseling for six months and later divorced.

Augusta, 47, still wants to have the children, and Randy has refused. While undergoing the infertility treatments they had both signed a form which clearly stated that in the event of divorce, the embryos would not be implanted.

The original trial judge in their divorce granted Augusta custody of the frozen embryos. Randy appealed the case, and in February the Texas Court of Appeal sided with him. Augusta and her attorney Rebecca Reitz appealed the case to the Texas Supreme Court. The Texas Court requested briefs but declined to hear the case.

My belief is that while it is unfortunate for Augusta Roman that she will never have a biological child, two people create a child, not one. Neither should be compelled to do so against their will.

Recently I was pleased to hear that the United States Supreme Court, like the Texas Supreme Court, has refused to hear Augusta Roman’s appeal. Their decision is here. This means that Randy is finally, finally rid of this and can move on with his life.

To learn more about the case, watch my debate with Augusta Roman and her attorney on Fox’s nationally-syndicated Morning Show with Mike and Juliet (pictured) by clicking here.

Also, see my co-authored column Texas Frozen Embryo case–In Defense of a Man’s Right to Choose (Houston Chronicle, 6/14/07, Baltimore Sun, 6/17/07).

I had the pleasure of having lunch with Randy in December–he’s a nice guy, and hardly the villain Augusta makes him out to be.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   
April 21, 2008
Dr. Ned Holstein, M.D., M.S.
Executive Director,
Fathers & Families
(617) 542-9300
nedholstein@fathersandfamilies.org
 
TEXAS POLYGAMY CASE: Authorities Ignore Expelled Boys, Need to Find and Help the Lost Boys

Boston, MA–Recent news reports about the Texas Yearning for Zion Ranch polygamist group highlight the abuse of young teenage girls who are compelled to marry older men. Yet very little attention has been paid to an equally important issue–the abuse and neglect of the group”s boys.

The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) removed all children under age 18  — numbering 416 children  — from the compound. Of these 416, only 27 are teenage boys. Demographics indicate there should have been about 65 teenage boys. Thus there are about 38 missing teenage boys–most of them likely expelled by sect leaders prior to the DFPS raids.

Other communities of this sect have expelled boys as young as 13 from the compound, forcing them to fend for themselves without education, friends, or adult guidance. The order is usually given by the spiritual leader of the compound, and the parents of the boys are too fearful of excommunication to object.

According to one exiled boy, now in his twenties, 70 percent of the boys in his school class were expelled.  In a polygamist society in which some men have many wives, simple math tells us that many men will have no wives at all. One way to deal with this inevitable imbalance is to expel the extra men, even if they are still boys.

As indicated by our discussions with DFPS official Chris Van Duesen, Texas apparently has no plans to locate and assist these lost boys. According to Van Duesen, the lost boys problem does not exist in Texas. He offered no explanation for the preponderance of girls in state custody.

This is an unacceptable oversight on the part of public officials whose job is to ensure the safety and welfare of children. Fathers & Families calls upon Texas authorities to address the needs of expelled boys. DFPS must search for the boys, locate them, and provide them with shelter and services.

About Fathers & Families 
Based in Boston, Fathers & Families is a non-profit advocacy organization protecting children”s right to the love and care of both parents after separation or divorce. Through education and legislative outreach programs, Fathers & Families seeks to shape public policy and change well-meaning but misguided laws, judicial traditions, and government policies that drive many loving fathers out of their children’s lives after divorce. More information on Fathers & Families and its programs is available on the organization”s website at www.fathersandfamilies.org or by calling (617) 542-9300.
 
 

Below are some recent articles and items of interest from Fathers & Families’ latest News Digest.

Tennessee takes tax refunds from parents owing child support (WVLT.com, 4/14/08)

State in search of deadbeat moms (WSMV.com, 4/14/08)

Immigrant spouse must be provided for despite divorce (The Star-Ledger, 4/14/08)

Homemakers could be big losers in divorce ruling (Tennessean, 4/15/08)

Some gay couples are having trouble obtaining divorces (Associated Press, 4/15/08)

Police nab suspect who owes $80,000 in child support (Middletown Journal, 4/16/08)

Divorce, unwed parenting costing taxpayers (Associated Press, 4/16/08)

Child Support Plan to Reduce Incarcerations (Washington Post, 4/17/08)

Hasselhoff to pay $25,000 a month to ex-wife, daughters (Associated Press, 4/17/08)

Queens mom sues bakeries for failing to garnish wages for child support (New York Daily News, 4/21/08)

Marion, IL-Two mothers are suing an Illinois hospital because their newborn babies were switched at birth. Although the mistake was rectified within hours, Mary Jo Bathon and Kassie Hopkins are each demanding $50,000 for the mistake.
 
It is interesting to note the different levels of importance society attaches to mother-child mix-ups versus father-child mix-ups. Hospitals take elaborate precautions to match the right mother to the right newborn  — wristbands immediately after birth, footprints, and more.
 
When it comes to paternity, few steps if any are taken to ensure that babies are matched to the right fathers, even though a simple DNA test, now available for under $30 from RiteAid pharmacies, will do the trick.

ABC reported the snafu under the headline, “A Mother”s Nightmare.’  When is the last time a case of paternity fraud was reported as “A Father”s Nightmare?’
 
Mothers whose babies are accidentally switched for only a few hours apparently think it may be worth $50,000 in pain and suffering. Few if any fathers have ever collected a dime for having their children switched away from them for decades, even though it has often been done deliberately. And some fathers are required to pay child support for children fraudulently switched to them, even when the switch is discovered. (Under this line of precedents, perhaps Mary Jo and Kassie should each be required to pay child support to the other calculated according to the Illinois Child Support Guidelines.)
 
Other fathers turn up when they belatedly learn that they have a baby who is about to be “switched’ to adoptive parents. Such men are widely reviled.
 
Somehow society views mothers whose babies are switched as deserving of great compassion, whereas fathers in the same situation are assumed to feel no pain. They are expected to suck it up, be a man, and get along in life. It is the same attitude that assumes that fathers don”t really mind very much if they are reduced to seeing their children only four days per month, or if their children are moved far away from them.
 
Fathers & Families has filed a bill in the Massachusetts Legislature to prevent the babies of fathers from being “switched’ at birth. It calls for DNA testing in all out-of-wedlock births to determine the true paternity of children. We persuaded the Massachusetts Medical Society to endorse the bill by pointing out the increasing importance of genetic-based medicine these days. Despite this prestigious support, the bill”s prospects are poor in this session of the Legislature.
 
Apparently, determining a child”s true father is not worth much. Tell us what you think it is worth below.
 

San Angelo, Texas–On Tuesday, I asked whether the state of Texas had any concern for underage boys who are expelled from polygamous sects. Today I have the answer:  No.

All children under age 18  —  numbering 416 children  —  were removed from the Yearning for Zion Ranch (YFZ). Of these 416, only 27 are teenage boys. The law of averages tells us there should have been about 65 teenage boys. Thus, there are about 38 missing teenage boys. Most likely they were expelled by sect leaders prior to the official raids.

But the state of Texas apparently has no concern about 38 young boys left to fend for themselves. Today I spoke with Chris Van Duesen, a spokesperson for the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. According to him, there are no lost boys roaming the streets of Texas  — the problem does not exist. He told me that if young boys were being expelled, the state would somehow know about it. Although boys are expelled in Utah, Van Deusen says it doesn”t happen in Texas. He has noticed that most of the children from YFZ are girls, but has no explanation for this peculiar fact. There are no plans to look for expelled boys. Tell us what you think below.

The 27 teenage boys in state custody have been shipped over 300 miles to the Boys Ranch of Texas, north of Amarillo. They are the only children who have been moved from the San Angelo – El Dorado area.

A separate thread is the question whether Texas officials have abused their powers by removing 416 kids from homes and families in a traumatic scene involving armored cars and automatic weapons, holding these kids in a sports arena, breaking up siblings, and confiscating cell phones. All of these actions were spurred by phone calls from one anonymous girl whom authorities cannot find. Sect members believe there was no caller  – – that a pretense was constructed to justify the raids.

All Americans are repulsed by the specter of the forced “marriage’ of underage girls to older men. But some point out that over 300 of the children are under age five, and are in no immediate danger. In other words, they say, there is no evidence whatsoever of imminent danger to the vast majority of the confiscated children. They argue that children cannot be taken from parents lightly, and that a calmer, less frightening investigation of the problem should have been undertaken. They argue that no child should have been removed from her family unless there was specific evidence of danger to that particular child.

Tell us what you think about this point of view below.

In the first thread, the sect members are the bad guys. In the second thread, the sect members are victims of official persecution. Where does the truth lie?  Maybe both are true. Life is complicated.

(To learn more, see my previous blog post Texas Polygamy Case: Don”t the Boys Count?)

Los Angeles, CA-As a judge noted, Jorge C., the father of a newborn, “did everything one would hope a man in his position would do.’ It wasn’t enough–after all, he couldn’t become a mom.

Marc Angelucci, Esq. reports on a new anti-father ruling by a California Court of Appeal:

“Mom gives birth to a boy, doesn’t tell the dad about him, puts the child up for adoption, doesn’t name the dad. The dad learns of the child when the child is 7 months old, and he immediately seeks reunification services. The trial court awards him reunification services, but the 2nd court of appeal reverses (Los Angeles) because the dad came ‘too late’, i.e., after the adoption proceedings were completed. One of the three appellate judges vigorously dissented and said the mom committed ‘outrageous lies.”‘

As we’ve discussed before, these types of scams are not uncommon, and often separate babies from their loving fathers.

C.A.: Biological Father Waited Too Long to Assert Rights
Metropolitan News-Enterprise (4/7/08)
By SHERRI M. OKAMOTO, Staff Writer

A biological father seeking reunification with his child who comes forward after the reunification period has ended must establish changed circumstances or new evidence that reunification is in the child”s best interest, this district”s Court of Appeal held Friday.

In a split decision, Div. Five found that Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Emily Stevens abused her discretion, concluding that a father whose paternity was hidden from him by the mother is a presumed father entitled to reunification services without regard to the best interests of the child and reversed the dependency court”s decision.

Vincent M.”s mother–children in dependency cases are only identified by name and initial– surrendered him for adoption at birth, and declined to identify his father. The judge found Vincent a ward of the court, and because his parents” whereabouts were unknown, did not order reunification services. Stevens set a permanency planning hearing, with adoption by Vincent”s de facto parents as the plan.

The mother had allegedly deliberately concealed the pregnancy and birth from Vincent”s asserted biological father, identified in the opinion as Jorge C., who had relocated out of state and was allegedly expecting mother to join him and continue their relationship. Jorge C. said the mother finally told him about Vincent when the baby was seven months old, and he flew back to California to try and obtain custody.

He appeared at the permanency hearing, claiming paternity. He filed a petition under Welfare and Institutions Code Sec. 388 requesting presumed father status and reunification services.

Stevens found that Jorge C. was Victor”s presumed father under case law, and held that because he “came forward at the earliest possible time,’ she had “no choice’ but to find him the presumed father, entitled to reunification services regardless of the child”s best interests.

Writing for the appellate majority, Justice Sandy R. Kriegler reasoned that because a child”s de facto parents have an interest in the companionship, care, custody and management of the child, and that these rights and interests were injuriously affected by the dependency court”s ruling, Vincent”s prospective adoptive parents had standing to appeal.

Citing Civil Code Sec. 7004(a)(4), Kriegler said Jorge C. was not a presumed father because he did not receive

Vincent into his home and hold the child out as his own. Relying on In re Zacharia D. (1993) 6 Cal.4th 435–which held that a man who fails to achieve presumed father status prior to the expiration of the reunification period is not entitled to reunification services unless he can establish, in a Sec. 388 petition. changed circumstances or new evidence demonstrating that the child”s best interest would be promoted by reunification–Kriegler concluded the trial judge had abused her discretion in disregarding Vincent”s best interests.

Presiding Justice Paul A. Turner sided with Kriegler, but Justice Orville Armstrong argued in dissent that Jorge C. occupied a “completely different position than the biological father in Zacharia D,’ because Zacharia D. involved a father who learned of his child”s birth after he had abandoned the child”s mother and who waited until the court was about to terminate the mother”s reunification services before coming forward. In contrast, Armstrong noted, the mother in this case had “engaged in a web of lies’ to conceal the pregnancy and birth from Jorge C., who “did everything one would hope a man in his position would do’ upon learning of Vincent”s existence.

“It is an odd conclusion indeed to deem the hoped-for result–a family”s reunification–a legal injury to the foster parents,’ Armstrong added, disputing the majority”s conclusion the same Sec. 388 requirements applied to all biological fathers who appear after the end of the reunification period, regardless of whether his paternity was concealed from him or not.

The full article is here.

“The way the advertising industry portrays men has drawn increasing scrutiny in both the trade press and the mainstream media. Defenders of the status quo — in which men are depicted as irresponsible fathers and lazy, foolish husbands — are starting to feel outnumbered. It’s an understandable feeling…

“The evidence is clear: ‘Man as idiot’ isn’t going over very well these days.”

Los Angeles, CA-My new column, Advertisers: Men Are Not Idiots (Advertising Age, 4/14/08), co-authored with Richard Smaglick of www.fathersandhusbands.org, appeared today in Advertising Age, one of the largest advertising industry publications. To write a Letter to the Editor, click on editor@adage.com. 

The piece is part of Advertising Age’s “CMO Strategy” section–a section directed towards marketing and advertising executives [Chief Marketing Officers]. Our column there is an opportunity to, as they say, “Speak truth to power.”

In the column, we gave three specific suggestions for the advertising industry:

“Create more ads that are father-positive. Some recent examples include AT&T’s touching father-daughter ad ‘Monkey’; First Choice Holidays’ ‘Slow-Motion Hugs’; and Ford’s father-son ad ‘We Know.’

“As we consider whether it’s wise to make men the butt of every joke, we should also consider the joke itself. Many see the 1960s as the golden age of advertising. Those who crafted the ads of that era created work of superb quality, seldom if ever resorting to the contempt, shame and aggressive ridicule of today’s ads.

“When an ad does need to poke fun at somebody, stop automatically defaulting to men as fools.”