New Link Addition - Nevadans For Equal Parenting

I have added a link to the site of Nevadans for Equal Parenting. This site contains various information relative to parents in Nevada, a listing of support groups in Nevada, recommended literature and they host their own blog: Nevadans For Equal Parenting Blog.

You may recall the Nevada Senate recently passed a *basically* useless bill regarding child custody. The bill, initially sponsored by Senator Maurice Washington, was pretty much gutted of its initial intent which "originally sought a legal presumption that joint custody is in the best interest of a child, even if both parents don't agree to it." You can read more about on this previous post: Nevada Senate panel OK's child custody bill.

Nevada Senate panel OK's child custody bill

Las Vegas SUN

Sick, sick, sick - what the hell was the point? Basically, with the amended language this will change nothing substantive in Nevada cases - the language forcing a presumption still allows for a judge to find otherwise were there are exigent circumstances such as abuse, etc... What a god awful, tax payer funded waste of time!

Excerpts:

CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) - A bill that would alter provisions governing joint custody of children was rewritten and approved Thursday by a Nevada Senate committee.

SB109, sponsored by Sen. Maurice Washington, R-Sparks, originally sought a legal presumption that joint custody is in the best interest of a child, even if both parents don't agree to it. Current law requires both parents to agree to make that presumption valid.

As amended, the bill removes the presumption and instructs courts to consider a number of factors when determining custody. They include the level of conflict between the parents, the child's relationship with siblings and each parent, whether there has been abuse or neglect and the ability of each parent to meet the child's needs.

Washington brought the bill originally because he heard from many fathers who have become frustrated with the court system while trying to get visitation rights and joint custody.

Sen. Terry Care, D-Las Vegas, said he supports the new language because it mentions the child's best interests, and also takes into account parents and siblings.

Nevada: Senate bill seeks to give divorced parents equal time with their children

Las Vegas City Life

Excerpts below:

That's why the 36-year-old Las Vegan and dozens of others are speaking out in support of Senate Bill 109 -- legislation proposed by Sen. Maurice Washington (R-Sparks), which would alter the state's child custody laws and seek to award parents joint custody and equal time with their children.

"Children need both parents," says Crawford. "What if the courts told you when you were growing up that you could only basically have one parent? What kind of person would you be today? We are not asking for power or millions of dollars. We just want what we set out to be: parents involved in our children's lives. This is not rocket science."

When Crawford's marriage ended, basically so did his relationship with his daughter. Visitation was difficult. And in 2003, a judge did the unthinkable, in Crawford's eyes, and allowed his ex-wife to move to Reno with his daughter, who had no family members living there. In Las Vegas, the girl was surrounded by family, enrolled in a magnet school and participated in horseback competitions, Crawford says.

Washington's bill would establish that joint custody is in the best interest of a child -- even when both parents don't agree to joint custody. The law would not be applied if a parent has been convicted of certain crimes, committed acts of domestic violence or it's determined through an investigation that the parent is dependent on alcohol or drugs and unfit to care for the child.

"This is a step in the right direction," says Alan DiCicco, president and founder of the Coalition for Family Court Reform. "These are fathers that want to be there. We want to put everyone on equal ground."

Opponents of SB109 could not be reached for comment prior to deadline.

Maureen Denman and her husband divorced after 21 years of marriage. The couple was awarded joint custody -- but their two children, then 13 and 15, lived with her husband.

Denman, like many others who testified, says one-sided custody -- whether in favor of the husband or the wife -- is wrong and hurts a child's emotional development. Studies show this to be true.

"Both parents need equal time," says Denman, explaining how being away from a child can wear on a parent. "It takes years to rebuild relationships with your children and it's time you can't replace."

Perhaps, says Juli Star-Alexander of the court monitoring group Redress Incorporated, it's because family law attorneys are making a good living arguing child custody cases -- and making sure, she says, they linger on.

"Family court is a cash cow," Star-Alexander says. "It's not set up for conflict resolution. It's an unbalanced system because everyone has an agenda."

"We cannot allow officials to destroy our lives at random, and we will do whatever it takes to remove any and all opponents to equal parenting from office," says Crawford. "This is our country and our lives, and we want our children back."

Nevada Group Deemed too Anti-Women

Equal Rights for Divorced Fathers, a group in Nevada started to help fathers with issues of divorce and custody, will no longer be receiving referrals from the family court.

Apparently the founder of the group has made comments like the following: "She's a mean-spirited lesbian that doesn't like me"

All I have to say is what an idiot. Look, we all have personal opinions, but this man was lucky enough to have founded an organization that was not only recognized by the family courts, but received referrals from the courts - this is something virtually no other fathers organization has been able to do. Discretion, discretion, discretion... He is a de facto member of the family court system- you simply cannot represent your organization by making these types of statements.

klastv.com

Las Vegas, Nevada

The Las Vegas Sun did a week long series on Family Courts. (Family Court: Out of Order, 1997). You can access the entire series here: Las Vegas Sun