Fatherhood Initiative Dangerous for Abused Children

In a recent article in the Huffington Post Anne Stevenon explains how government funding is being misued by Organizatins supporting child abusers:

 

“The top 5 HHS programs endangering women and children are:

1.      Child Support Enforcement (Access and Visitation Programs and Responsible Fatherhood Initiative. A 2011 report the Office of the Inspector General demonstrates that the States are collecting child support, but not disbursing it to the children it is intended to benefit. So where is the money going? Although previous graduates include mass murderer D.C. Sniper John Muhammad the 2012 HHS budget reflects President Obama's $1 billion endorsement of the fraud-riddled fatherhood industry.

Using the virtually unregulated child support system as a vehicle and the father's will to envade prison as collateral, the fathers are told they can risk their liberty and property attempting to pay down arrears, or alternatively, sue the mother for custody using a variety of federally funded "supports." Unlike the welfare programs for women and children which had restrictive income eligibility requirements, HHS Responsible Fatherhood program benefits are not needs based and are available to all fathers-even billionaires. Benefits from Responsible Fatherhood programs to abusers include:

• Child support obligations are suspended
• Free attorney representation in the family courts to fight for custody
• Free housing
• Direct cash incentives
• Free groceries
• Free car maintenance, gas, and other transportation costs
• Free healthcare and dental care

While many upstanding fathers honestly complain about TANF programs and the courts victimizing them, the dirty little secret in the fatherhood industry it that the grant recipients who train court personnel, social services, and child support personnel are often fathers rights groups like the Fathers and Families Coalition, the Children’s Rights Council (Founder David Levy sits on the board of the Supervised Visitation Network and the National Fatherhood Institute.

Clearly, judges understand the danger abusers pose, which is why their courts are guarded with armed deputies and not unarmed social workers. HHS programs are actually a deadly investment given that (a) abusive men win custody of their victims 70% of the time when they ask for it, and (b) regardless of the gender of the victim, it is a public safety issue when DOJ studies show men perpetrate more than 95% of violent assaults against women. A 2011 CDC study also shows that men are raped by other men more than 93% of the time, and women are raped by men more than 98% of the time.”

Top 5 HHS Programs Endangering Women and Children

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/anne-stevenson/top-5-hhs-programs-endang_b_1511613.html
Anne Stevenson,
Policy analyst, adviser and writer