Notice any progressions, any devolution, any connections among the language of conferences, commissions, task forces, projects and books about?

• Domestic Violence IN the family law system
• Protecting Children & Families (and animals)
• Batterers IN their families and in the family law system
• The Jargons of the Psycho-Legal-Sociologist Expert Collaborations

The visits involved a child who allegedly was victimized during a visit at Children Services offices on Reeves Road on April 27, 2011. The biological parents are charged with raping the child, accused of sodomizing her.

Nick Kerosky, Children Services executive director, could not be reached to clarify whether Moon supervised the visits directly or whether she supervised employees who handled the visits. Kerosky confirmed earlier this week that one employee had been disciplined for her involvement in that child’s case but didn’t identify her until Friday.

Kerosky said an internal investigation of the incident is ongoing, so there might be additional disciplinary action forthcoming. Moon has a “good work record,” a letter attached to the form says.

The alleged sexual assaults, supposedly videotaped on a cellphone, have touched off criminal investigations of the parents and Children Services, as well two administrative reviews by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.

A man repeatedly shot his adult son and two sisters-in-law in his living room, killing them in front of his terminally ill wife, then fatally shot himself on the front porch as family tension about the cancer-stricken woman’s care apparently boiled over, authorities said.

An earlier dispute about whether the woman should have been fed tea and toast or the orange her husband had peeled for her apparently set off the shooter Monday, 63-year-old Paul Gilkey.

The sick woman, 59-year-old Darlene Gilkey, who’s dying of cancer, witnessed the shootings from a hospital bed in her living room but was uninjured, Hocking County Sheriff Lanny Northsaid. . .

Killed inside the home were Darlene Gilkey’s sisters, Barbara Mohler, 70, of New Straitsville, and Dorothy Cherry, 63, of New Plymouth. Also killed was Paul Gilkey’s son, Leroy Gilkey, 38, of Columbus.

. . .Investigators say Leroy Gilkey had power of attorney over his mother, a fact that added to Paul Gilkey’s stress, according to Peggy Gilkey.

 and

If this weren’t enough, Ohio is now collaborating with the Battered Women’s Justice Project:

The Ohio IPV Collaborative Builds Competency Within Child Protective Services

The Ohio IPV Collaborative works to build Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) competency within child protective services agencies and fosters enhanced partnerships among child welfare, courts, DV/IPV service providers and other critical stakeholders, consistent with several recommendations in the Greenbook, a landmark 1999 publication.  The Greenbook set forth guiding principles and sixty-three recommendations from the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges.

Why is it so hard to accept?

Year, 2009

Development of a Framework for Identifying and Explicating the Context of Domestic Violence in Custody Cases and its Implications for Custody Determinations

SERIOUSLY?

(apparently, yes!) 

Battered Women’s Justice Project, Praxis, AFCC & NCJFCJ as paid for (funded) by the OVW and its May, 2010 workgroup moderated by a Canadian Sociologist.  (That seems “appropriate” for something funded by American taxpayers):

BWJP and its project partner, Praxis International, are expanding recent multidisciplinary efforts to more effectively protect the safety and wellbeing of children and their parents in the family court system by crafting a more practical framework for identifying, understanding and accounting for the contexts and implications of domestic violence in custody arrangements and parenting plans.

Why should there be ANY parenting plan after certain levels of assault, battery, death threat, or sexual abuse of minors?  I am sure it would send a very clear message to the nation if a solid rule would set up:  You beat your wife, you molest your kids, you don’t get second chances.   We, the public, are simply unwilling to finance your desire for second, third, fourth, fifth, or other attempts to create a warm family feeling for men (or women) who lack understanding of what’s criminal and what’s not, and what children are — and are not — for.  You will have to go find work, or someone else, who also will have the right to report your assaulting behind if you don’t get it straight.

But no — instead, the practitioners (networking with other practitioners)  apparently endorse the concept is that such parents are going to stay “IN” the family court system, despite domestic violence by (a parent), for a good while.  This is wonderful for getting along with organizations which profit from the same funding source — HHS, and DOJ — and avoids antagonizing those in the family law system by reporting on what they are actually doing! I mean, financially!

BWJP and Praxis staff  have formed a National Workgroup with representatives from the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ) and the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts(AFCC).  In consultation with leading researchers and practitioners, {{Not mentioned:  PARENTS}}  they have begun to examine the institutional processes by which family courts commonly reach and/or facilitate crucial parenting decisions, including the use of auxiliary advisors such as custody evaluators, guardians ad litem and court appointed special advocates.  The intent is to identify the ways in which current institutional practices produce both problematic and helpful results for children and their parents.

NOTE:  The head of NCJFCJ in 2007-2008 was Susan Carbon.  How, she is heading up the Office of Violence Against Women (if I got which title straight), i.e., the DOJ funding stream.  Get it?  Before that, she was a family judge in New Hampshire, where this nice parenting coordination association got started, and has a handbook adopted from the Indiana version of the same thing.  AND so, a project coming from a nice collaboration between two or three of these groups (NCJFCJ, AFCC & BWJP) is naturally going to be entail continuing involvement of the family IN the family law system, which two out of three of those organizations are involved with already (and AFCC helped create to start with):

Again;BWJP and its project partner, Praxis International, are expanding recent multidisciplinary efforts to more effectively protect the safety and wellbeing of children and their parents in the family court system by crafting a more practical framework for identifying, understanding and accounting for the contexts and implications of domestic violence in custody arrangements and parenting plans. They intend to find some positive results of such involvements when DV or Child Abuse has happened (which tend to be a great cause of “disputed custody” which then gives the courts/state jurisdiction over the parent’s children, even if one parent is completely innocent of any child abuse or criminal activity:

The intent is to identify the ways in which current institutional practices produce both problematic and helpful results for children and their parents.

RESULTS?

I am unaware of any “helpful results” for children or their parents to date; but am sure if enough funding is produced, some will be found.  (the “helpful results” site has a few “invisible mother alerts,” this last one being from Ohio, dating to YESTERDAY (referenced above):

Dad jailed for binding daughter, locking her in dog cage (Springfield Township, Ohio)

. . .a father is accused of binding his daughter’s hands and legs with duct tape, locking her in a dog cage, photographing her and having the images posted on Facebook. . . While the girl was in the cage, he dropped small amounts of water on her face. The child was trapped in the cage for about 20 minutes until her brother let her out. . .

To get back at her father, she began pouring water on his head and in his ear, according to police.

Tapke bound his daughter again with duct tape and stuck her back in the cage. Then, he ordered his son to go to the garage and retrieve the electrical jump pack so he could electrify the cage as another means of punishment for his daughter.

Tapke never actually attempted to shock the cage, but he threatened to several times. His son obeyed his father and brought the jump pack in from the garage, which was set in front of the cage so the girl could see it.

Finally, Tapke let the girl out of the cage and her grandmother helped her remove the tuct tape.

Once again, it appears that the father here is custodial. Notice that dad JAMES TAPKE is jail, but it isn’t “clear” who is caring for these kids. There’s no mention of a mother either–just a passing reference to a grandmother. 

It seems that BWJP, however, is on the job in Ohio also, collaborating to prevent domestic violence:

The Ohio IPV Collaborative Builds Competency Within Child Protective Services

Differential Response (aka Alternative Response) has emerged as an expanded continuum of child protection responses. The model recognizes that child protective service agencies receive broad variations in incoming reports and that an investigative response is not always the most productive for the family or most beneficial for the child. It differs from traditional responses in that it is more attuned to child and family strengths and their self-articulated needs. Most significantly, services are provided without the traditional requirement of a formal disposition (substantiated or unsubstantiated) of maltreatment or risk for maltreatment. Currently, a three year evaluation of Ohio’s Differential Response is being conducted by theHuman Services Research Institute.  (CLICKED ON, WE SEE THAT):

HRSI has a history focusing on people with disabilities and mental health problems.  Is domestic violence a mental health problem?  Or are so may people interested in “treating” it that now it’s been diagnosed as one?

With funding from the U.S. Children’s Bureau, HSRI is conducting a three-year evaluation of the Differential Response (DR) Initiative in Ohio, a best-practices approach to serving families reported for child abuse or neglect.** DR provides an alternative to the traditional child welfare investigative approach, rather offering families a more critical role in assuring the safety and well-being of their children. Ohio is one of three states who are implementing a DR model and the Children’s Bureau is funding a cross-site QIC evaluation of the three sites to contribute to the scientific evidence of the effectiveness of this approach; HSRI’s evaluation will significantly contribute to this effort.

Moving on  . . . ..

Year, 2008:

Reconceptualizing Child Custody:

Past, Present, and Future—Lawyers

and Psychologists* Working Together

A Continuing Education Conference

(in other words, basically ABA & APA)*

Year, 2007

Changing the Culture of Custody  (Pennsylvania)

 (more on this, below, in fact most of today’s post is on this).

Year, 2006

Rethinking Domestic Violence (Donald Dutton, book)

Presents an analysis of domestic violence research that crosses disciplinary lines, including sociology, psychology, criminology, affective neuropsychology, and criminal justice.

&

U.B.C. Law Review

BOOK REVIEW: RETHINKING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE by Donald G. Dutton, Vancouver: UBC Press, 2006, 432 pp. ¹

June, 2008

41 U.B.C. L. Rev. 179

Excerpt

In Rethinking Domestic Violence, Donald Dutton opens his book with the stated aim of refuting what he describes as feminist “dogma preservation” ² in the field.** He seeks to dislodge the perceived dominance of this perspective by providing his own “more enlightened” ³ and “dispassionate” viewpoint, one which disputes the relevance of gender to domestic violence and foregrounds a gender-neutral and exclusively psychological account of its causes. Dutton argues that because personality disorders have not been acknowledged as the real cause of domestic violence, legal responses to domestic violence have been misguided and ineffective.Dutton extends these two primary themes throughout the entire book. Dutton designates the first seven chapters to explaining why feminist accounts that identify gender and gender inequality as relevant to domestic violence are wrong and he argues that “women use violence in intimate relationships to the same extent as men, for the same reasons, and with largely the same results.” ⁴

((**a review of the same book on Dutton’s site says the book is “distinctly feminist” in viewpoint.  ”He has gathered the latest work from multiple disciplines to create a volume that will surely be a cornerstone of a radical, distinctly feminist rethinking of domestic violence practice.”I doubt it…)

(Dr. Dutton teaches in the Dept. of Psychology at Univ. of British Columbia)

MEANWHILE:

BATTERERS INTERVENTION PROGRAMS ARE GETTING NICELY ORGANIZED, STANDARDIZED, Certified, etc.

BISC-MI Welcomes You!!!

Click for additional information

. . .

Year, 2002?

The Batterer As Parent:

NOW LET’S LOOK AT SOME OF THIS PROGRESSIVE LANGUAGE CREEP, AS FACILITATED BY CERTAIN ASSOCIATIONS (see subject of post)

Year, 2007

(follow up from 2004 start of a Commission for Justice Initiatives to do exactly this type of activity)

Commission for Justice Initiatives in Pennsylvania PUBLIC RESOURCES In May 2004, at the request and with the support of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, then Pennsylvania Bar Association President Michael H. Reedestablished the Commission for Justice Initiatives in Pennsylvania. Guided by the basic tenet that the justice system needs to be responsive to the expectations and needs of the communities it serves, the commission identifies, develops and recommends the implementation of programs and practices designed to improve the administration of justice in Pennsylvania, educate the public about justice and the judicial system, and enhance the public’s trust and confidence in Pennsylvania’s justice system.

Changing the Culture of Custody  (Pennsylvania)

@@@

Also found at http://www15.brinkster.com/ncfcpgh/Report.pdf  (ALL font changes mine in the quote):

Chairman’s Introduction  (Chairman was The Hon. Thomas King Kistler)

The adoption of the Gold Standard Model set forth in this report, and the associated programs, will immediately change the course for the future of family separations and subsequent parenting arrangements. Children will be exposed to a far less contentious system, and will bear fewer emotional scars for the rest of their lives.

(Please note absence of parent representatives on the committee:)

Beginning in 2005, at the request of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, a Committee of experienced practitioners from many disciplines began the process of seeking a truly new and innovative way to resolve “custody” cases with less cost, delay and anguish. Through their dedicated and continuous efforts this Committee now offers the following report.

Over the last two years, the Committee has held 21 full day meetings, and conducted research projects and numerous investigative visits to courts to determine the best options for separating families.

Best according to whose definition?

Arnold Shienvold, Ph.D.,** brought great understanding of the dynamics of separation, as a clinical psychologist; Judy Shopp, {{Hover cursor for some of her qualifications & associations}} contributed vast knowledge on Alternative Dispute Resolution and mediation, and edited this report; Kathy Morrison {{PCADV}} represented the Domestic Violence community and their suggestions; Kim Nieves and Don Harris brought the expertise of the AOPC office, and its statistical gathering muscle; Maria Cognetti** {{AFCC presenter}} spoke for all of the family law practitioners {{??}}; Cindy Stoltz and Amy Ross added the perspective of Court Administration who will have to ‘run’ any system created; Gregg Warner illustrated the legislative interests and needs; Frank Cervone* spoke tirelessly on behalf of children and their needs; and Common Pleas Judges Manny Bertin (Montgomery), Chet Harhut (Lackawanna),** Katherine Platt (Chester), and Larry Kaplan (Allegheny) contributed their vast and varied experiences with family court matters over thousands of cases. This group was brought together and coalesced under the guidance and efforts of Marie Queen, of the Pennsylvania Bar Association. My sincere thanks and admiration go to each of them.

Some of the Personnel above:

SHIENVOLD appears to be lead personnel here, which basically says that AFCC’s standards are going to be the Gold Standard.

Dr. Shienvold’s name appeared on protests at the Lackawanna County Courthouse in recent months as a problem professional.  Nevertheless, his firm is part of a contract for expert witnesses hired by (don’t quote me, but I did look it up) the State of Pennsylvania.  Not mentioned:  He’s AFCC Board Member and I heard President-Elect.  Surprise, surprise, they recommend a Rule of Civil Procedure for Parent Coordinators.  Past models from Florida (where Parenting Coordination was successfully lobbied for, with the help of establishing a Florida Chapter of AFCC first, etc. Next up (if not there already) — pass a law in Pennsylvania (as in Florida) allowing judges to order parenting coordination over the objections of either parent.

You should read the report (I did).

**Ms. Cognetti — “Vice President of AAML” presenting alongside Dr. Shienvold at a JOINT AFCC-AAML conference, this past December, in Phillie:

ADVANCED ISSUES IN CHILD CUSTODY:  EVALUATION, LITIGATION & SETTLEMENT   “An exceptional, advanced-level training opportunity co-sponsored by two premier family law organizations”

• Learn the latest advanced practice skills and strategies • Earn continuing education credit • Expand your practice through unparalleled networking opportunities • An interdisciplinary faculty of leaders in the field • The latest research on children, custody, separation and divorce

Topics include:

Witness Preparation Direct and Cross Examination Child Development and Attachment Child Relocation Disputes Mental Health Consultation

Parental Alienation  Psychological Testing Domestic Abuse Bias and Opinion Formulation Ethics: Best Interests or Zealous Advocacy?

Cognetti & Shienvold  (Cognetti is probably also AFCC member, but I’m not sure):

Program Committee

Kenneth P. Altshuler, Esq., AAML President-Elect Nancy Zalusky Berg, Esq., AAML Fellow Maria Cognetti, Esq., AAML Vice President Gaetano (“Guy”) Ferro, Esq., AAML Past President Madeline Marzano-Lesnevich, Esq., AAML Vice President Arnold T. Shienvold, Ph.D., AFCC President Elect Robert M. Smith, Esq., AFCC Past President

Frank Cervone (I didn’t know the name) testified recently in re:  Penn State Child Abuse Allegations;

About Frank P. Cervone

Mr. Cervone currently serves as the Executive Director of Support Center for Child Advocates, the nation’s oldest and largest program dedicated exclusively to providing pro bono legal services for abused and neglected children. Since its founding in 1977, Child Advocates has trained more than 3,500 attorneys who contribute pro bono services valued at more than $4.6 million annually.

. . .

Mr. Cervone serves as Chair of the Pennsylvania Children’s Trust Fund. He chaired the Advisory Committee on Child Welfare Services and served as member of the Advisory Committee on Adoption Law, of the Joint State Government Commission, the research arm of the Pennsylvania General Assembly.. . .

He also serves as a member of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania Juvenile Court Procedural Rules Committee, and as member of the National Advisory Committee for the National Quality Improvement Center {{“QIC” pops up later on this post; learn the term}} on the Representation of Children in the Child Welfare System. He is a member of the Board of the Philadelphia Children’s Alliance and member of the American Bar Association Section of Litigation Children’s Rights Litigation Committee Working Group. He is a founder and co-director of the National Children’s Law Network.

Mr. Cervone is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and Villanova University School of Law, and he has a Masters Degree in Theology and Ministry from LaSalle University.

Here’s an update on his RECENT testimony after the Penn State Abuse:

CHESTER HARHUT:

Well, here’s a 2008 article stating how concerned he is there aren’t more volunteer to protect the kids in the court:

Finding allies for children in court

For President Judge Chester Harhut, the idea of bringing in volunteers to help children in the court system has been a long time coming.

BY ERIN L. NISSLEY STAFF WRITER Published: Monday, May 5, 2008 1:00 AM EDT

For President Judge Chester Harhut, the idea of bringing in volunteers to help children in the court system has been a long time coming.

The county received grant money more than five years ago to launch a program that paired children in abuse and neglect cases with advocates who would spend time getting to know their needs. But Judge Harhut and other court officials had a hard time finding an agency that would take a leading role in the project, including screening volunteers and coordinating training.

I think what speaks most loudly for The Hon. Harhut is how the FBI has raided his court, after repeated complaints about abusive practices by the GAL, he appointed — it turns out, she is without lease, without contract, not an employee, and taking advantage of public property to work her magic on the families.  The community also expressed repeated concerns also about supervised visitation and parenting coordinator Ann Marie Termini, including parents being forced to pay cash, and in short, they are pretty well upset and picketing the courthouse weekly.

FBI VISITS LACKAWANNA COURTHOUSE   (Note:  Lackawanna County is just north of the more famous Luzerne County, where 3 judges went down in a racketeering scandal).

PREDICTABLY (given who was on the Commission for Justice Initiatives, Changing the Culture of Custody Committee — a whole lot of AFCC) (incl. Harhut), the next order of business was pushing through PARENTing COORDINATION in Statute form.  Who better to “evaluate” this than some of the same folks, and here it is:

http://www.momjiananderer.com/articles_pdfs/steve_articles/article.pdf  A Task force of course has to issue a report.  Here’s who was on the Task Force (The document is only 15pp double-spaced, might as well read it, too!).  Notice:  Ph.D.’s, Ed.D.s (a few), Esqs & JD’s, and Judges.

• $$$  Steven J. Anderer, J.D., Ph.D. – $$$
• Rachel L. Baturin, MPH, J.D.
• The Hon. Robert J. Bigham
• $$$ Steven Cohen, Ph.D.  (see 2006 article cowritten by 3 members of this task force:  Cohen, Orlow & Iannuzelli)** (see his ad/link for PC’s, below)
• Kimberly Cox, Esq.
• $$$ Mark B. Dischell, Esq.
• John C. Howett, Jr., Esq.
• $$$ Jane Iannuzelli, M.Ed.D., M.A.
• Samuel Knapp, Ed.D.
• The Hon. Robert J. Matthews
• $$$ Eve Orlow, Ed.D., M.S. {Member of PA State board of Psychologists)
• The Hon. Katherine B.L. Platt
• $$$ Arnold Shienvold, Ph.D.
• $$$ Michele Southworth, J.D., LMFT**
• $$$ David J. Steerman, Esq.  (List reads “David Michele Steerman” @ PCCentral)
• Cynthia K. Stoltz, Esq.
• $$$ Anne Marie Termini, Ed.D., M.S., LPC ** (and why I bothered to type out this list!)
• The  Hon. Jeannine Turgeon
• The Honorable David N. Wecht

$$$

For Comparison, Several of the Above are already listed at PARENTING COORDINATION CENTRAL.  Marked with $$ signs next to their bullet, above!

So, those on the task force have been found:  writing together, training as parent coordinators together, presenting at AFCC/APA conferences together, and etc. , and their websites are pretty uniformly pushing HARD for parenting coordination, which I’ll spare you here (but have seen enough of!).  Whether or not all those makred $$ have taken their trainings with Boyan/Termini, I don’t know — but here are the elaborate details of how much participants will be charged to learn what:

http://www.parentingcoordinationcentral.com/pg91.cfm.   To register, go to the amazing, the invisibly incorporated (that I can see) http://www.cooperativeparenting.com/:

Susan Boyan and Ann Marie Termini are co-founders of the Cooperative Parenting Institute (CPI). The CPI is an organization {{WHERE??}} whose mission is to promote the healing and enhancement of family relationships. The Institute offers a wide range of services and resources to assist families as well as professionals with a successful transition from a one to two home family. The professionals at CPI are dedicated to educating the public, judges, legal and mental health professionals on the effects of divorce and time-sharing arrangements on the development of children.

Family Law Judges and Attorneys don’t know this already?   Hey, but if it’s tax-deductible as CLE or something, bring it on!

As I read the references to this short piece (found at Anderer site, above), it’s clear they are basically AFCC professionals citing AFCC professionals, in typical language:  Other states have done it thus (not mentioning, which AFCC professionals were involved IN those other states).   By this rationale, we should just “go with the flow.”

What happened to the concept of independence of the Judicial and Legislative Branches?  The report rationalizes:  We already have a civil rule that allows this and “Judges in at least 15 counties have appointed parenting coordinators”  -(see the list.  I wonder how many are AFCC members!).   A THIEF could use the same rationale:  ”But I’ve already been in the habit, shouldn’t you decriminalize theft?  All this debate over it is causing undue conflict for the parties in question!”

None of the august assemblage seemed to think that an actual layperson (they’re apparently the priesthood, so I call others “laypeople”) to keep them honest, among other things, or inject a little new blood into the deliberations!  Particularly as Ms. Termini has an obvious conflict of interest, being a parent coordinator already, and advocate of it.

***Steve Cohen, Ph.D. Page promoting Parent Coordination as if it were just something that “just happens” bcause of litigious parents.. It’s addressed to attorneys, to handle families that “just don’t want to change”:

Attorneys:  why should you consider a parent coordinator for your client?

You have probably heard the old joke: How many psychologists does it take to change a light bulb? One — but it really has to want to change.

Many family law clients don’t really want to change . .  (etc. . ..  )

Speaking of Mandatory Services Ordered:

For Dr. Orlow’s link (above) I notice that the link to Center Psychological Services also talks about Montgomery County’s Mandatory Parent Education Services “Our Children First” (cf.  KidsFirst out of some other counties, which I blogged on plenty, see “Muklewicz”).  $60 a pop or not custody modification hearing for you!  The Montgomery County Parent Seminar Registration site doesn’t even tell viewers who the provider is — it’s a website contact form, and parents “will be contacted.”

Enclosed form (same link) says:

Pursuant to Montgomery County Local Rule N. 1915.3, in an action for custody, partial custody or visitation, both parents must attend an approved educational seminar on the general responsibilities of separated and divorced parents.

About The Seminar

OUR CHILDREN FIRST seminar is a four-hour workshop in which instructors and participants will explore the potential social, emotional, psychological and economic implications on children during the divorce process. This seminar is for adults only; no childcare is available and children are not permitted to attend.

PRE-REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED. To Register:

1) Complete the form below; 2) Enclose your $60.00 check or money order, payable to CPS

Dr. Orlow’s blurb on Center for Psychological Services:

Eve Orlow, Ed.D., M.S.

Areas of Interest/Specialty:
Individuals; couples; Families, Individual Psychotherapy; Parenting issues;

Parenting adolescents with adjustment issues.

Separating parents, divorcing parents, Parenting coordination.

Ardmore

Was this blurb the same before she was assigned on the task force as to whether to mandate parenting coordination?

ABA, APA, AFCC & AAML — so far (above), right?

Lackawanna Bar site highlights Termini’s PC operation:

Cooperative Parenting Programs

ADMINISTRATOR:
Ann Marie Termini, Ed. S., M.S.
Lackawanna County Family Court (963-6512) -
and Clarks Summit, PA (586-5669)

HISTORY: 
In effect for three (3) years in Lackawanna County

COMMISSION ON JUSTICE INITiATIVES (etc) says, “Bring it on! for high-conflict families!”

But:

PARENTS + FBI in LACKAWANNA COUNTY, PA, see it a little differently.

Here is selected feedback from “Scranton Political Times” on the Co-parenting/Termini thread!

Lackawonderful wrote: Let me see if I have this straight…. Ann Marie Termini lists her credentials as Ed.S. (Education Specialist), M.S. (Master’s in Education) and L.P.C. (Licensed Professional Counsellor).  She does not have her Ph.D. and she is not a psychologist! From the invoices for this year, through August 2011 she has billed Lackawanna County for consultation and as the CoParenting Coodinator (???). over $44K! Basically, we, the taxpayers, will be paying (based on her billing so far this year) $80k + to a Social Worker…. Someone in the county should take a walk up the street to Scranton Counselling and see what a social woker position in Scranton really commands, and I assure you it is no where near $80K…. Again the taxpayers are getting the raw end of the stick!!!

or, by “resignation please” (Oct. 2011)

Are we going to find out what Termini did to earn all that cash?  Funny how that job didn’t go out for advertising every year.  Most contract work is supposed to be bid out, isn’t it? This stuff pisses off everybody who reads it.  Everybody who works at 200 Adams Ave is so disgusted they want to walk out.  That Court Administrators Office run by Claire is a shinning example of deplorable work ethic and professional conduct. More like a barn full of fat animals if you ask me.

or, by “redrider” (oct. 2011):

no not bad day at the office  anne marie terminni testified in another county during a custody case she was just a consultant for lackawanna county i was ordered in wyoming county court to attend coparenting with terminni i started getting bills in the mail from lackawanna county but my case has nothing to do with lackawanna county how can someone whos seeing you in her private practice  all of a sudden start sending you bills from lackawanna county courts and she would only accept money orders for payments i think that something fishy goin on

Why don’t we just centralize it — one class, one idea, nationwide — and at least cut down on the opportunities for overbilling.  This guy from California seems to have the concept down– get certified with the court, get the classes online, pay people $45 per referrals, and sit back with the on-line ATM machine!   (found when i looked for the Wyoming class — good SEO placement, Dr. Ari!)

(PROBABLY UNRELATED TO OUR Ms. TERMINI, HERE>>>)

http://www.onlineparentclass.com/About-Online-Parent-Class.aspx

(What this really is all about is professional expansion for educationists and psychologists anyhow….)

(CONT’D @ Here is selected feedback from “Scranton Political Times” on the Co-parenting/Termini thread!)

or by Joe Pilchesky summarizing her earnings — which he took the time to ascertain:

\

And finally, here’s the image of a “Right to Know” letter (from Mr. P.) re: Termini.  Images of the payment vouchers are on the same thread.  How many other people in ANY other counties have even asked?

Summarized from images above (and his responses from the RTK), he writes:

However, it seems that the Hon. Chester Harhut (see “Commission for Justice Initiatives” “Changing the Culture of Custody Committee”) DID by court order (not contract bid out, not competitive process, that we can see) appoint GAL Danielle M. Ross for this county, in approximately 2008.   When Joe Pilchesky discovered this information, he filed the civil suit against those who hired her improperly — it’s a good filing — and after the FBI came in and said, “We’ll investigate!” that apparently removed his standing to sue!

From the payment vouchers, for example, January 2011 (link = image), “Services to Lackawanna Family Court,” part was “consulting specialist” ($20/hour) and part, parenting coordinator ($60.00/hour) for  total of $7,050 (hours for the month — 163.50).   I’d sure like to see the county payroll disbursing this.

Which just goes to show that if the right people say “parent coordinator” often enough, they will be well-rewarded for the repetitious talk by the creation of a new income stream, at taxpayer/parent cost.

Year, 2008:

Reconceptualizing Child Custody:

Past, Present, and Future—Lawyers

and Psychologists Working Together

A Continuing Education Conference

Seminar topics include, but are not limited to: • Representation of children’s interests in matters of disputed custody

• Admissibility of expert testimony • Parent coordination • Effective interventions with high-conflict families • Considering allegations of abuse and neglect in contested cases • Crafting visitation, access, and parenting time • Alternatives to the adversarial process (Other planned activities include a mock trial involving expert psychological testimony . . .. )

This was in Chicago and Cosponsored by:  American Psychological Association (APA) & American Bar Association Section of Family Law (ABA)

This was big news — if you knew enough to frequent parenting coordination sites, or had picked up the phrase among colleagues.  Here’s Matthew Sullivan, Ph.D., Parent Coordinator (etc.) advertising on his site, right opposite the link to “Child Alienation” and an ad for the AFCC conference 2012:

Reconceptualizing Child Custody:Past Present and Future- Lawyers and Psychologists Working Together, co-sponsored by the American Psychological Association and the Family Law section of the American Bar Association. Dr Sullivan will be one of numerous presenters at this amazing collaborative effort of Legal and Psychological professionals. The conference will take place in Chicago. Please see the preliminary brochure below:

And, prior to this:

Year, 2002

Batterers As Fathers:

Rethinking and Reconceptualizing Policy and Practice

Believe it or not, this is an idea posted at “VAWNet”

by David Mandel for the Non-Violence Alliance (2002)

This paper describes an approach to intervention and prevention with children exposed to domestic violence that enforces the concepts of batterer accountability and change. The author asks and addresses a series of questions about holding batterers accountable for their behavior by utilizing existing legal and social work processes, making recommendations about systems change that may best enhance the safety of battered women and their children.

Clicking on the “Non-Violence Alliance” (“endingviolence.com”) one sees “DMA (David Mandel Associates, LLC), which, a nice 2011 link to the left, leads to:

Newsletter: January 2011

QIC-NRF National Advisory Board Members

The national advisory board brings together representatives from numerous disciplines, including law, fatherhood, child welfare and child protection services, courts, front-line practice, research, policy and academia. Ten members were selected for the board and approved by the U.S. Children’s Bureau. Board members assist the quality improvement center in identifying issues and barriers to involving non-resident fathers in child welfare cases; guide the selection of research focus, requests for proposal and site selection; and act as a resource regarding multidisciplinary issues and methods that may contribute to comprehensive assessment and experimentation.

The board members are:

Scott E. Cade
Deputy Commissioner
New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance

John Chacon
Independent Community Programming Consultant  (FOR WHAT?)

Richard T. Cozzola
Supervisory Attorney of the Children’s Law Project
Legal Assistance Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago

Susan N. Dreyfus
Secretary
Washington Department of Social and Health Services

http://www.modelsforchange.net/reform-progress/96

Michael Hayes
Director of Family Strengthening Initiative
Office of Attorney General, State of Texas

Mark Kiselica
Fellow and Former President
Society for the Psychological Study of Men and Masculinity, American Psychological Association
Professor, Department of Counselor Education
College of New Jersey

Erwin McEwen
Director
Illinois Department of Child and Family Services

Fernando Mederos
Director of Special Projects, Fatherhood
Massachusetts Department of Social Services

Maurice Moore
Program Associate
Annie E. Casey Foundation (has its fingers in almost every fatherhood or children’s project around)

Stephen M. Rubin
Judge Pro Tempore
Pima County Superior Court (Arizona)