A form of child abuse has been associated with anxiety, depression, criminality and even suicide in child victims.

A new billboard campaign will spotlight a form of child abuse called parental  alienation.

Parental Alienation is associated with anxiety, depression, criminality and even suicide in child victims.

The billboard image shows a child being pulled out of the loving arms of her father while declaring:

"I am not parental prey. Help me keep mommy AND daddy."

SOURCE: Canadian Association for Equality

Introduction to Parental Alienation from Stan Korosi

Nearly half of all marriages end in divorce. When they do dads are being made increasingly irrelevant in the life of their kids, often as a result of spite or malice, with tragic consequences on children, families and communities.

Parental Alienation-What is it? How Does it Happen? How Does it Affect Children? from Stan Korosi

We have a Civil Right to be presumed "FIT AND EQUAL" Parents to our Children

"We have a Civil Right to be Parents."

an essay by John Murtari, Group Coordinator, AKidsRight.Org

In 21st Century America many believe all our Civil Rights have been recognized. To mention a few: freedom of speech and religion, personal liberty, equal treatment for women and people of color. All foundations of a healthy society. But what about the security of family, the right of parents to raise and nurture their own children?

When my son Domenic was born I'd never thought about Family Rights. I had a two-parent family. None of my friends had been in a custody battle. I assumed I'd be able to share the same love and attention on my son as my parents did with me. The painful experience of a divorce taught me that I was very wrong.

I discovered, as have many parents, that if my relationship with my child is challenged by a former spouse or even a social worker, my child and I have no right to family. A trial may occur, but there will be no jury of my peers. A lone judge will decide what's in the "best interest" of my child. This could include limited or no contact with a loving parent for an entire childhood. 

I've come to believe we have a Civil Right to be presumed FIT & EQUAL parents to our children, unless you are convicted in a criminal court of being a demonstrated threat to your kids.

Good, average, and poor parents are all FIT & EQUAL parents.

Why? Because one foundation of morality is the supremacy of individual conscience - what many know as "let your conscience be your guide." What more natural obligation does any parent have than to care for their own kids? To be present in their lives in the many roles that only a parent can fill.

Reference From the Vatican web site:

1778. Conscience is a judgment of reason whereby the human person recognizes the moral quality of a concrete act that he is going to perform, is in the process of performing, or has already completed. In all he says and does, man is obliged to follow faithfully what he knows to be just and right....

1782. Man has the right to act in conscience and in freedom so as personally to make moral decisions. "He must not be forced to act contrary to his conscience. Nor must he be prevented from acting according to his conscience...."

Question for Presidential Candidates How would you better the Family Court System?

Equal Constitutional Parental Rights and any needed reforms to the family law system to ensure them.

How would you better the court system on Child custody?

I am a children's rights activist. I have watched my stepson go through torture from his own mother before the courts actually did anything about it.

His mother had TWO evaluations done that said exactly what kind of person she is, yet the judges refused to even look into this and continue to give her unsupervised visitations

Now, a new judge has taken the place of the other judge due to the old judge getting a promotion. This new judge has given the biological mother way more than what she deserves and has even stated that she has not done her homework on the case, but gives into this narcissistic persons demands.

If you were elected president, how would you fix the corruption in child custody areas?

Please remember our children are our future. If our children are mentally, psychologically, emotionally, etc. abused, how are they suppose to lead future generations?

What is your stance on equal constitutional parental rights for all parents and any needed reforms to the family law system to ensure them?

Do you support constitutional parental rights for all?

Dear Media, Government, and Society

Operation Family Law~CPS Reform

 Letter Campaign

In all indications of the talk out of the legislative bodies, 2017 will be the year of reform of the social programs of Child Welfare Divisions. Although funded by the Federal Government, each State and county will have their own policies and procedures drafted around the new legislative actions in 2017. The new bills could be the means for some states to adopt a 'family friendly' policy of helping families to remain together, and some states will cling to their standard practice of seizing kids for federal dollars. The only way to end the incentivized profit gain off children is to end ASFAct. We encourage all writers to demand this end to ASFA. 

In the year of 2017, the group will decide how to restructure our efforts to change the current justice system of Family law/dissolution and custody. As family law in relation to child custody, child support, is a federal justice problem, our need to write legislative bodys will end our refocus will be on addressing the justice system and the avenues available to bring a change, whereas prior change to the Child welfare divisions focused on a social program and policy change and not a justice system change.

Focusing on Gender Inequality

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Source: United Nations

Psychiatric Ploys in Family Courts

Florida Psychotherapist Patient Privilege 

Protecting Mental Health Records in Divorces and other Family Law Cases

Divorce and family law cases sometimes get ugly.  And, in ugly cases, it is not uncommon for one or both of the parties to have a personality disorder or other mental health condition.  Under certain circumstances, a party's mental health is legitimately relevant to a proper determination of child custody or alimony.  Many times, however, there are improper motivations for seeking confidential mental health records and information.  Your family law attorney should know when this evidence is subject to discovery.

A party to a divorce or family law proceeding normally has the right to prevent disclosure of communications or records made for the purpose of diagnosis or treatment of a mental or emotional condition, including alcoholism and other drug addiction.  See Fla. Stat. § 90.503(2).  This privilege applies to communications between a patient and a psychotherapist, or persons who are participating in the diagnosis or treatment under the direction of the psychotherapist.  Id.  The term "psychotherapist" is broadly defined, and includes doctors, psychologists, therapists, social workers, drug and alcohol abuse counselors, and nurse practitioners who are engaged primarily in the diagnosis or treatment of a mental or emotional condition. See Fla. Stat. § 90.503(1)(a).

This psychotherapist-patient privilege, however, is not absolute.  In a child custody dispute, the mental and physical health of both parents is a factor that must be considered by the trial judge in determining the best interests of the children. See Leonard v. Leonard, 673 So. 2d 97, 99 (Fla. 1st DCA 1996).  A party does not waive the psychotherapist-patient privilege merely by seeking child custody. See Leonard, 673 So. 2d at 99.  But, in situations where a calamitous event such as an attempted suicide occurs during a pending custody dispute have courts have found that the mental health of the parent is sufficiently at issue to warrant an exception to the statutory privilege. See, e.g.,Miraglia v. Miraglia, 462 So. 2d 507 (Fla. 4th DCA 1984); Critchlow v. Critchlow, 347 So. 2d 453 (Fla. 3d DCA 1977).

In extreme circumstances, evidence concerning the party's mental health is so vital to a proper determination of custody that a patient-litigant exception to the privilege is justified.  Id.  The rationale for this exception is that a litigant waives the psychotherapist-patient privilege by proceeding on a claim for custody where the party's mental condition is an essential element.

Absent a "calamitous event," the law requires courts to preserve the privilege. See, e.g., Koch v. Koch, 961 So. 2d 1134, 1135 (Fla. 4th DCA 2007). Courts will not find a waiver of the privilege based on mere allegations of mental or emotional instability. See Leonard, 673 So. 2d at 99. Competent substantial evidence is required. "To hold otherwise would eviscerate the privilege; a party seeking privileged information would obtain it simply by alleging mental infirmity." Peisach v. Antuna, 539 So. 2d 544, 546 (Fla. 3d DCA 1989).

If evidence of mental health is still necessary in a custody case, the more appropriate method of securing the information is to require an independent psychological or psychiatric examination of the parent or parents. Schouw v. Schouw, 593 So. 2d 1200, 1201 (Fla. 2d DCA 1992). In this way, the trial court balances the need to determine the parents' mental health as it relates to the best interest of the child, and the need to maintain the confidentiality between a treating psychotherapist and the patient.  Id.

Courts have also upheld the psychotherapist-patient privilege when a parent is trying to obtain information or records concerning a child's mental health. See Attorney ad Litem for D.K. v. Parents of D.K., 780 So. 2d 301, 307 (Fla. 4th DCA 2001); see also Kasdaglis v. Dep't of Health, 827 So. 2d 328 (Fla. 4th DCA 2002) (holding that social worker is under no obligation to furnish privileged therapy records of a sixteen year old to the child's mother without the child's consent).  The statutory privilege applies to children, and parents do not have standing to waive the privilege.  See Attorney ad Litem for D.K., 780 So. 2d at 307.   If a child lacks the age or maturity to make a decision concerning the waiver or invocation of the privilege, the court should appoint an attorney ad litem for the child.  Id. at 308.

In Attorney ad Litem for DK, the court explained its reasoning:

We recognize the tension apparent in the law between the rights and responsibilities of parents and the rights of children. Certainly, to promote strong families, parents should be involved and active in the lives of their children, including their health care, for which the parents are held responsible. Unfortunately, sometimes the parents are the cause of abuse, both emotional and physical, of their children. Allowing parents complete access to their children's health care records under all circumstances may inhibit the child from seeking or succeeding in treatment. The tension between the child's need for confidentiality and privacy to promote healing may conflict with the need of the court for information to inform its judgment as to the child's best interest. 

See Attorney ad Litem for D.K., 780 So. 2d at 308.  Courts have also held that even a court appointed guardian ad litem for the child may be excluded from accessing the child's confidential mental health records.

If you have questions about how mental health issues might affect your rights in a family law case, contact an experienced Florida family law attorney.

Post by Childrens Rights Florida.

Attorney David Schorr slapped a court-appointed shrink with a defamation lawsuit for telling the judge deciding a custody battle with his estranged wife that he was an unfit parent — for refusing to take his son to the fast food joint for dinner.