Ohio Childrens Parental Involvement Act Ohio Pass Out-1

8/7/2019 Ohio Childrens Parental Involvement Act Ohio Pass Out-1

1/6

1

-The OHIO CHILDRENS PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT ACT-

Introduced as SB144Legislative& SocietalGoal:

To maximize a childs involvement and access to both parents in a divorce.

State of Ohios Interest:

To protect the best interests of a child.

Legal Presumption:

Parents are presumed to be fit parents unless there is a finding by clear and convincing

evidence of parental unsuitability.

Constitutional Concern:

Children have an associational right to maximize their relationship with both parents.

Satisfaction of States Interest:

Maximizing a childs involvement and access to both parents in a divorce is clearly in the

childs best interests.

Failure of Ohios Current Statutory Scheme {Civil Rule 75(N), ORC 3109.043; ORC 3109.04}:

Children are unnecessarily restricted from access to, and denied involvement with oneparent in a divorce, where the lack of a uniform framework in the currentstatutory scheme

places restrictive limitations on the childs involvement with that parent (usually the father).

Enactment ofTheOhio Childrens Parental InvolvementActWill Provide Structure & Uniformity

to the Judiciary:

Maximizing the childs time with each parent will permit the court to retain discretion of

the childs best interests based on each parents circumstance. The Ohio Childrens Parental

InvolvementAct will provide the domestic judge a specific framework to structure the childs

maximum involvement with each parent.

Ease of Implementation of theOhio Childrens Parental InvolvementAct:Upon the filing of a divorce, each parent is required to promptly provide their individual

work and availability schedule to the domestic court. The domestic judge shall prepare a

schedulethat maximizes the childs access and involvement with each parent. The domestic

judge retains discretion to provide the child an equitable relationship pursuant to the schedules

of each parent.

Enforcement of the Ohio Childrens Parental InvolvementAct:


2/6

2

The Ohio Childrens Parental Involvement Act requires no further legislation for

enforcement. The current statutory remedy provides for a parent to file a citation for contempt

of court to enforce a court order.

BENEFITS to Ohios Children

Enactment oftheOhio Childrens Parental InvolvementActwill:

y Maximize the Involvement of Both Parents with Their Childreny Maximize a Caring and Loving Relationship Between Each Parent and Childy Provide a More Stable Environment to a Child of Divorcey Reduce a Childs Emotional Upheaval about aMissing Parenty Reduce a Childs Anxiety by Lessening the Disruptive Impact of a Divorcey Eliminate Using Children as Leverage in a Divorce and De-Emphasizes Emotional

Button-Pushing

y Eliminate an Adversarial Divorce by Equalizing the Playing Fieldy Provide the Domestic Relations Court a Uniform and Structural Framework to Address a

Childs Best Interests

y Reduce False Accusations (whereby proven false could jeopardize the accusing parentscustodial rights)

y Protectthe Childs Involvement with Each Parenty ProtectEach Parents Involvement with Their Childy SignificantlyReduce the Costs of Litigationy SignificantlyReduce Court Caseloads & Judicial Resourcesy Change Adversarial Divorce to Compatible Divorcey Protectthe Childs Financial and Emotional Support from Each Parenty Reduce the Social Costs of Single-parent homesby reducing teenage pregnancies,

criminal and disruptivebehavior, truancy, school suspensions, school expulsions, time

spent alone without adult supervision, drug and alcohol abuse, et al.

y Increase a Childs Self-Esteem and Self-Worthy Increase a Childs Interest in Self-Improvementy Increase a Childs Familial Ties with Siblings, Grandparents, & Relativesy Increase a Childs Extra-Curricular Activities and Eventsy Increase Each Parents Active Participation with their Child in School, Familial, and

Extra-Curricular Activities and Events

y SignificantlyReduce All Associated Societal Costs and the Residual Costs of Divorce thatCripple Families and Communities

Facts About the Legislation

Fathers with joint custody pay 90.2% of all child support ordered.

Those with visitation rights pay 79.1%.

Those with no access/visitation pay only 44.5%

Source: Census Bureau report. Series P-23, No. 173


3/6

3

Almost half of all mothers see no value in the father's continued contact with his children

following separation or divorce. And approximately 40% of divorced mothers report interfering

with the father's relationship with the children.

Source: Sanford Braver, Arizona State University

66% of all support not paid by non-custodial fathers is due to inability to pay.

Source: U.S. General Accounting Office Report, GAO/HRD-92-39FS, January 1992

Custodial mothers who receive a support award: 79.6%

Custodial fathers who receive a support award: 29.9%

Non-custodial mothers who totally default on support: 46.9%

Non-custodial fathers who totally default on support: 26.9%

(Data obtained by asking custodial parents)

Non-custodial mothers who pay support at any level: 20.0%

Non-custodial fathers who pay support at any level: 61.0%

(Data obtained by asking custodial parents)

All the following are for custodial parents:

Single mothers who work less than full time: 66.2%

Single fathers who work less than full time: 10.2%

Single mothers who work more than 44 hours per week: 7.0%

Single fathers who work more than 44 hours per week: 24.5%

Single mothers who receive public assistance: 46.2%

Single fathers who receive public assistance: 20.8%

Source: Technical Analysis Paper No. 42, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office

of Income Security Policy, Oct., 1991 Authors: Meyer and Garansky

"Economically fathers and mothers on average fare almost exactly equal about one year after

divorce."

Source: Sanford Braver, Divorced Dads: Shattering the Myths,(Tarcher/Putnam: 1998), p. 79

1. Will increase the involvement of both parents in childrens lives society has longcomplained about the lack of father involvement but it is not the fathers at fault here; it

is the law that has allowed this to happen. US Census Bureaus Statistics had this custody

aligned as 85-15% in favor of the mothers.

2. Will place the decisions on how to raise the family in the hands of the family this willencourage the mother and the father to actively come to a resolution as to how the

children will be handled after the dissolution of the marriage.

3. Will decrease the litigation involved in divorce In a conversation with one of the topdivorce attorneys in Columbus, he lamented about the excessive and unnecessary

paperwork and motions in divorce just to protect a client. He has a copy of this bill and

is begging to testify for this legislation.

Stephan Ames 614-577-9970

4. Will decrease the impact and use of children as pawns between two divorcing parents-The change to clear and convincing evidence will reduce the use of false allegations that

have become rampant in the courts.


4/6

4

5. Will reduce the societal costs from providing counseling for children we dont screwthem up in the first place; we wont place the burden of rehabilitation on society later.

6. Will benefit businesses by reducing their operating costs and lost time expenses. If theState is to be business friendly, it must be family friendly first. One of the examples that

comes to mind on this was when I worked in a 50 man machine shop. Every machine

ran every day to produce parts. When someone had to take off for a court date because

of some petty issue within DRC their machine sat idle. No parts produced (profits for

company), worker burned a vacation day (paid), and Company lost profits from

production and the wages of worker. State lost income from taxes on both and anything

extra the worker would have spent on a real vacation which would produce income

down the road to others.

7. Will reduce the cost of operating the Domestic/Juvenile/Family courts by lessening theburdens on the courts heavy caseload Cuyahoga County Domestic Relations Court

was the subject of a Supreme Court report in which they were admonished for slowness

in dealing with cases. Numerous times the domestic court judges have complained

about their case loads.

8. Will reduce the divorce rate in the State of Ohio- Studies have shown that the stateswith the strongestpresumption of shared parenting laws have seen reduced rates ofdivorce. This legislation will take us on step farther and we expect to see those rates

drop significantly in the future.

9. Will improve the education of our children Mothers and Fathers have differentapproaches and skill sets when helping a child with their education. I caught things

about my son that the teachers did not. His elementary school was part of an

experiment that Akron Public Schools was testing out on reading skills improvements. I

was old that my son was struggling with his reading when in reality it was the material

that they were limiting him to. I suggested changes and they tried them. Result was that

they found out my son was reading well about grade level. They tried this will some

other children and it was incorporated into the final program that I think the entire

system is using today.10.Does not require that every case have equal custody, this is a starting point and the final

decision is placed in the hands of the parents of those children This is one the things

the judges will say about. They are trying to create a miss perception about the

legislation. Realistically this will encourage the parents to meditate to a settlement in

regards to custody matters

11.Does not remove judicial discretion but gives the court better definition of how tohandle custody decisions- This will give the courts the directs as to how to proceed so

that they follow Ohios stated policy of making sure that both parents stay actively

involved with their children. As it is now under Ohio law the domestic relations judges

have such broad discretion that if they order your child to play in the middle of the

freeway during rush hour then you are required to follow that order.

12.Does handle a conflict in law between the manner in which the Juvenile courts and theDomestic Relations courts handle parents. Juvenile courts place unsuitable parents on a

case plan so they can be reunified with their children. Domestic Relations Court limited

the time of the offending parent and offer no method with which to rehabilitate that

parent to make them a stronger influence in their childrens lives.

13.Does not affect the domestic violence laws of this state.14.Does not eliminate child support although it does some reform the application of

deviations by the courts in a more parent friendly manner.


5/6

5

15.Task Force Report on Family Law I have a suspicion that there will be a call for anotherTask Force when this is introduced. Frankly this will be an attempt to delay good

legislation and will be a waste of tax payer money. The last Task Force took place in

2001 and the recommendations have never been implemented and nothing has

changed with the procedures in the Family Court System of Ohio. This legislation covers

and implements the recommendations of the Task Force.

Key Points of the Legislation explained in detail

y Equal legal and physical access throughout this bill. This corrects what we havecalled a major conflict with the 14th Amendments equal protects clause. With custody

being awarded 85% of the time to women this will give men an equal chance to be

involved with their children. We know the statics that support father involvement and

their influence on a child. Life and the benefits to society.

y Clear and convincing becomes the standard of review - This corrects the use ofdiscretionary decisions and requires the courts to use facts not affidavits as their basis

for awarding custody. This will also eliminate the use of fasle allegations which are a

major problem for the courts and commonly used to take a parent out of a childs

life.

y Automatic deviations on child support A parenting time adjust has long been soughtand this will correct the situation for parents that have their children 50% of the time

and are currently paying child support as if they are seeing them only a minimum. This

does not eliminate child support. What this will do is make the support amounts fair for

both parents and responsible for the costs of raising a child.

y Guardian Ad Litem become a may instead of a shall and costs are taxed equally Atpresent the costs of the Guardian Ad Litem are not divided equally burdening one

parent with the costs of involvement that effects both parties. I have expectations that

the use of GALs will diminish in the future as the full effects of this law takes effect.

y Psychological, medical and psychiatric exams are by written motion with costs taxed tomoving parties or divided equally The costs involved with these exams are very high

and often unnecessary and brought on by false claims that are presently very prevalent

in the courts. Often these are verbally motioned for or suggested by an attorney as a

method of dragging the process out longer. The purpose for dragging the process on

longer by an attorney can have multiple reasons, the run up the fees or to further

establish the Status Quo situation brought about by temporary orders that were

established without a hearing and only by affidavit. Affidavits do not have to be

supported by fact even thought they are sworn statements.

y Courts must support with finding of facts and conclusion of law in any order when theyreject a plan This one will have a far reaching effect as this will make life easier on the

Appellant level courts in the state. With the current discretionary standard that is usedin the family law system in Ohio, the decisions of the courts are based on the personal

biases of the judges opinions rather than supported facts and law. This causes a

problem for the Appeals Courts when often the only method of challenging a decision is

to make the calm that a trial court abused their discretion (Blakemore V Blakemore is

controlling Ohio Case just so happens the winning attorney in this case was my divorce

attorney) The court will now have to fully support their decisions.


6/6

6

y If a court awards less than equal they have to set up a plan of action so that theunsuitable parent can remove the unsuitability. I use the example that it currently is

easier for an unfit parent to be reunited with their child than a fit parent that goes thru

a divorce. This is done in juvenile court all the time and will this will bring this to the

Domestic Relations Courts for the first time. The methodology is plain and simple if the

court find that a parent has a defect that means that they are unable to be an equal

part of their childs life, that parent will have the chance to correct that defect so that

they can once again become the fit parent that we as a society want them to be. This

would be the procedure when it is provable that a parent has a drug or alcohol

problem.

y The use of child support as method of blocking equal access is addressed by nowconsidering whether a parent had the ability to pay. This is one that few know is

within current law. Often we have parents that fall behind because of work or

unreasonable orders. The unions pushed for child support and custody to be separate

issues because of layoffs and plant shut downs which were often mandatory. These

often created a situation of being unable to pay, same as with the unreasonable orders,

which then causes a person to be in arrears. With these two issues supposed to

separate, why are we still allowing it as part of the custody determination process? Thisone is common sense.

y The use of potential harm is removed. - No more crystal balling by the courts.Removal of this clause and procedure is part of the addition of the clear and

convincing standard and the supporting of all decisions with fact. Clear and convincing

evidence is the Federal Procedural Standard for Civil cases and these determinations

are part of civil cases.

y Old orders can be revisited and change once this is signed into law Going back anddoing this will be up to the individual parents involved but this will make the option

available should a parent know that the original decision was wrong and that they were

fit and should have had equal custody from the beginning.

y Temporary allocations are equal unless clear and convincing evidence suggestotherwise. - The status quo long used by temporary orders to prevent changes is gone

with this as there will have to be a full evidentiary hearing instead of the courts making

their determinations on temporary orders based on affidavits.Under the current

scheme the court often use the Status Quo as their reason to not change from what

they set at what is supposed to be a temporary hearing making the temporary hearing

anything but temporary.

y Putative fathers will now stand on an equal basis with the mother in allocation of rights.- The road block to unmarried is removed by placing the unmarried mother and father

on an equal basis from the birth of their child.

Ohio Childrens Parental Involvement Act Ohio Pass Out-1

Documents

Transcript of Ohio Childrens Parental Involvement Act Ohio Pass Out-1