Statement of David L. Levy, President, Children's Rights Council

    Our Children's Rights Council has been involved in proposals to strengthen families since 1985. Our proposals have led to legislative reform (including the first ever block grants to the states to promote child access/visitation to non-custodial parents), and greater awareness, through 13 CRC conferences, evaluation of data, and reports, on why, for children, generally, "The Best Parent is Both Parents." Our chapters in 32 states, Washington, D.C., Europe, Asia and Africa, have also been the catalyst for improvements in children's lives.

    In announcing the hearing, Chairman Herger, you said that "We also will learn more about current proposals to enhance the role of fathers in their children's lives."

    The Children's Rights Council suggests the following:

    1) A recognition that just as there are "deadbroke dads, " there are also "deadbolted dads," a term coined by noted author Gail Sheehy in a New York Times article June 21, 1998.

    "The newer reality is the Deadbolted Dad -- locked out of his children's hearts after divorce...," said Sheehy, with "little attention paid to enforcing or honoring their visitation rights."

    Some of these parents walk-away from their children, but as Sheehy stated, many are deadbolted out. Many divorced mothers are deadbolted out, as well.

    CRC believes that much of this disconnect between children and previously involved married parents occurs within 2 to 3 years after the divorce, just as many never-married parents disconnect from each other a few years after the birth of the child.

    Remedy: An understanding of what "deadbolted dads" (and moms) means, coupled with an expansion of federal funds for mediation, counseling and other low-cost programs to promote access of children to their non-custodial parents.

    $10 million a year was provided in the 1996 Welfare Reform Act for access/visitation programs, and because these activities have operated for the past four years, a total of $40 million has been spent in the states for these access programs. Each state receives about $185,000 a year, the largest federal program to date to encourage contact between children and non-custodial parents.

    And don't forget that there are nearly 3 million non-custodial mothers, many of whom (like many dads) are deadbolted out of their children's lives, unable to make phone or personal contact, access (visitation) interfered with or denied, the custodial parent moves far away with the child, a child is given denigrating messages by one parent against the other parent, etc.

    2) A recognition that the states with the highest amount of shared parenting (including Montana, Kansas and Connecticut) subsequently had the lowest divorce rate. See data from the National Center for Health Statistics and the Census Bureau first reported by CRC in the Children's Rights Council newsletter, "Speak Out for Children," Vol. 12, No. 4, Fall 1997/Winter 1998 issue, available from CRC; later cited in the Indiana Law Journal, Spring 1998, Vol. 73, No. 2, by Margaret Brinig and F. Buckley, law professors at George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia.

    Shared parenting (joint physical custody) is defined by researchers as at least 1/3 of the time spent between a child and a parent on a year round basis. The knowledge that parents will have to continue to be involved with each other for the sake of the child is apparently the inducement that enables some parents to avoid divorce in the years following the liberal awarding of shared parenting in their state.

    One of the first acts of President Bush when he became governor of Texas was to sign a presumptive joint custody law on June 16, 1995 (see Vol. 10, No. 3 of "Speak Out for Children.")

    Increase contact between children and their non-custodial moms and dads. Federal government data has shown a correlation between financial and emotional child support.

    3) A recognition that "Safe Haven" Child Access Centers are helping children and families.

    When parents appear before a judge, they sometimes disagree as to whether access (visitation) has taken place or not. So the judge will order the transfer at a "Safe Haven" if one exists, or possibly at a police station if one does not exist. CRC operates 14 "Safe Haven" Child transfer Centers in 6 states and Washington, D.C. They are located in church day care centers. At the sites, parents peacefully transfer their children from one parent to another for the weekend.

    Some children are seeing their parents for the first time because of these sites. Even if CRC does not have a grant to manage a particular site, we do not charge the parents. We do not believe a parent should have to pay to see his or her child. A surprising 40 percent of parents who use these sites are women, and about 40 percent are never-married parents. The churches often provide the monitors, but any grant is supervised by CRC. Supervision of the grant by CRC insulates the church from direct funding by the government, but the church helps to deliver the family services. Some sites are developing parent education components.

    Thank you for the opportunity to present testimony.