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Two programs for children in custody cases in jeopardy Date published: 4/3/2008
BY AMY FLOWERS UMBLE
When he took the bench 8 years ago, Judge Joseph Ellis saw many child custody cases get ugly. Separated parents would come into his Spotsylvania County juvenile and domestic relations courtroom after getting into fistfights while exchanging custody of their children. They'd flood court dockets with show cause orders, complaining the child came over in dirty clothes or that the child hated to see the other parent. In the past five years, those situations have almost disappeared. "I expect I'm going to see them again," Ellis said Monday. Two programs that helped calm volatile emotions of custody cases will close April 30. Family Solutions has offered the programs--Safe Exchange and supervised visitation--for nearly five years. During that time, the state-licensed agency near Spotsylvania Courthouse has lost considerable money on both programs. Director Anne Henley didn't give an exact figure but said her agency lost several thousand dollars last year alone. "The programs are so valuable, you can't really measure it by figures," Henley said. Since November 2003, both programs have served hundreds of children. Safe Exchange offers a neutral place for custody swaps, allowing separated parents to drop off their children without seeing each other. Before the program, Ellis sometimes ordered parents to exchange their children in public places or sheriff's offices because they couldn't see each other without fighting. He heard about Safe Exchange at a judges' conference and was amazed at its simplicity. He brought the concept home, and Henley, a licensed clinical social worker with a private agency, took on the project. She saw benefits right away, and people came from as far away as Maryland to participate in Safe Exchange. But it lost money from the beginning. It cost participants $20 per exchange, and Henley increased prices to $30. But she worried that if she kept increasing the price, parents couldn't afford it. Liability insurance and staffing cost more than the agency earned. The program requires trained, experienced monitors willing to work on weekends. Henley said she couldn't hire just anyone. "I mean, these parents can't even be in a room together," she said. The supervised visitation program provides neutral supervision when the court says a parent could only be with their child if another adult is around.
Date published: 4/3/2008
I DID NOT REALIZE THAT JUDGE ELLIS STARTED THIS PROGRAM, AND I DO HATE TO SEE IT GO.....I HAVE BEEN IN HIS COURTROOM AND I DO BELEIVE THAT HE TRIES TO PROTECT THE CHILDREN, BUT I HAVE SEEN THAT DONE AT THE CHILDRENS EXPENCE, ALSO. PARENTS WHO ARGUE AND FIGHT IN THE COURT ROOM WITH ALLEGATIONS SHOULD HAVE THE WHOLE SITUATION INVESTIGATED. BUT WHEN NOTHING IS PROVED BY THE INVESTIGATION, AND THERE IS NO PROOF OF ABUSE, JUST AN ANGRY, IMMATURE PARENT, SHOULD THE CHILDERN NOT BE RETURNED TO THE PROPER PARENT?
Perhaps the solution would be to keep the program open and charge higher fees to non-county residents who want to use it. It sounds too valuable to lose, and the ones who will be hurt by the closure are the kids who are in the middle of these battles.
Exchange children at the local PD, for free.
The media has long history of ignoring the busiest court, Family Court, and Grand Jury reports indicating state personnel are incompetent.
Yesterday, from the CA Court of Appeal (although most states follow), at
http://judicialcampaigns.blogspot.com/
or,
http://judicialtransparencynow.blogspot.com/
and www.FamilyLawCourts.com,
or parents murdering their children after flipping out from draconian family court rulings; www.FamilyLawCourts.com/kids.html
This is a great program that is needed. Its too bad that they were unable to make it work financially.
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