Post by TimeToUnite on Mar 3, 2009 18:57:34 GMT -5
President Obama,
I am writing you to ask that you take a hard look at the Domestic Violence industry now funded at over $150 million dollars per year. I hope you are aware that Senate Bill S.1626 SEC. 101. HEALTHY MARRIAGE PROMOTION AND RESPONSIBLE FATHERHOOD PROGRAMS, had a language chance that went from May Not Award More Than $50M to Shall Award At Least $100M. Paragraph 2 Conforming Amendments is changed from $150M to $200M. This section is tied entirely to Domestic Violence programs. Let me first say that true Domestic Violence does need to be addressed, your concerns are valid and noble. However, the current system is broken. The death of my own 17 year old son is a testament to abuses that have become today’s Domestic Violence industry. The following is a compilation of information by Media Radar, a watchdog group on Domestic Violence, currently the only oversight organization, all volunteer.
1) VAWA has been ineffective in stopping abuse.
While Violence against woman is down, it is down in all categories, not just the intimate partner category meant to be addressed. Volunteers are untrained, often creating more problems than they solve.
Restraining orders have become a tool to gain advantage in divorce proceedings. I’ve seen it first hand, I watched many times as my ex tearfully spoke with the employees in the basement of the court who patted her on the back and showed her how to fill out the paperwork. She would then cross my path later at the court house and give me an evil “Gotcha” sign, and smile as she entered the courtroom. She now has a permanent order against me, without so much as a single police report. I have no criminal record, I’m a professional accountant. There is much more information available at mediaradar.org. The report on this is 18 pages with referenced research studies.
2) Provides Incentives to file false allegations and break up families.
Award of residence, sole custody, near complete control in the courts. The costs to fight enriches attorneys and social workers. It’s guaranteed income.
Many woman that know how to work the system use shelters for free rent, food and medical treatment. It’s in the shelter’s best interest to keep it full, it keeps the funding coming in. Just talk with former shelter volunteers.
3) Betrays Woman
There is no proof that the current programs are reducing violence. There are studies that suggest current policies may increase the likelihood for serious violence.
Real victims have to compete with minor cases to get help.
Shelters often encourage woman to see themselves as victims.
4) Spreads one-sided and biased information
The best example of this is the ABA Commission on Domestic Violence fact sheet 10 Myths about Custody and Domestic Violence and How to Counter Them. This report is filled with more half-truths and misrepresentations than truths. The Media Radar report states nine other major problems in reporting and training.
5) Allow States to expand the definition of Domestic Violence to encompass virtually all types of family disagreements, even raising your voice.
By State, there are 32 different definitions of Domestic Violence, 17 states include harassment, and 22 states include stalking. 46 jurisdictions have broadened their definitions to include fear, emotional distress, and other psychological states.
6) Promotes Immigration Fraud in eight ways.
Provides Free Legal Services to Those who Claim to be Victims.
Broadens the Definition of Extreme Cruelty.
Eliminates the Need for Hard Evidence.
Removes the “Substantial Connection” Requirement.
Bans Evidence by the Alleged Abuser Showing that the Petitioner is Illegal.
Educates Persons on How to Work the System.
Affords a Loophole for Persons Undergoing Deportation Hearings.
Eliminates Penalties for Illegal Aliens Who Fail to Leave.
7) Encourages the issuance of restraining orders, even in the absence of physical violence.
The abuse is rampant. Children are separated from loving caring parents. I have a good friend that was nearly arrested, made to put his hands up and lay down. His wounds required over 200 stitches. I myself suffered years of mental and emotional abuse, only to have the courts issue restraining orders and separate me from my children. No my son is a statistic, killed drunk driving one month after attempting to contact me. He was a good, college bound kid. I found out he was so terrified his mother would find out he saw me, that he was 20 feet from me and would not get out of the car.
8) Funds harmful mandatory arrest policies.
This requires a lengthy look at the process, but a basic problem is arrest an incarceration on a civil restraining order. This lacks evidentiary and due process standards. Last November there was a person I know in NH arrested and held for over 2 months in state prison. He is out now, but not before it significantly affected his business. His ex wife said she saw him drive by the house, that’s all it took. This is not an isolated incident. Steve Brown was arrested in Jackson Ohio last year, his offense, having his picture taken with the Governor Ted Strickland. He was within 1,000 ft of where his ex worked, someone saw the picture in the paper and filed a complaint. It’s a small town, it’s hard not to get near it.
9) Biases the Judiciary.
This is another complex issue, but the bottom line is that Guilty Until Proven Innocent is no longer the standard measure in many courts.
10) Condones the mismanagement of Federal Funds.
In 2006, the Office on Violence Against Woman was charged to revamp it’s measuring system. 3 years later, it has not been done. DHHS Domestic Violence record keeping is a mess. The whole system from the DoJ, to DHHS, to the Grant recipients is an out of control system. The OIG is rife with these reports, it’s been known for years.
11) Costs taxpayers $20 billion per year to help at-risk children who are harmed by family break up.
2 to 3 million restraining orders are issued per year. One study conducted by the Massachusetts Trial Court found that less than one half of all restraining orders issued involved allegations of physical violence. A conservative estimate of annual costs for West Virginia is $42M per year.
12) Illegally discriminates against male victims of abuse.
There can be no question on this. It took me 15 years of my own work to finally realize that I had lived in an abusive marriage. There is no information, there is no help. There are some scattered groups trying to help, but the whole idea is written of by the people with the money. When my friend had his head split open and required 200 stitches, there was no help anywhere for him.
Mr President, the information above comes from the MediaRadar group, www.mediaradar.org. I have put my own experiences in, but I have tried to keep this short. There are over 100 pages of documented information in these reports. The VAWA and it’s associated legislation have broken down. Not only are we throwing good money after bad, but that money is compounding into further social ills that require more money. We need to Fix VAWA.
I would like to share some personal experience. Last year, 6 middle aged white men went to a parade in Roxbury Massachusetts to hold signs. Roxbury is a poor black community outside of Boston. We held signs that said Dads Do Matter, Equal Rights For Fathers, Courts Unfair To Fathers, Children Need Both Parents. We were welcomed into the community. We had many older men and woman walk by and shake their heads in approval. We had younger people, men and woman, come up and tell us personal stories of court and family services abuses. One young woman opened her purse and handed me four dollars, she had tears in her eyes, and asked us keep working to change the system. I walked up the parade route to where Governor Patrick was speaking, and a young black man started struck up a conversation. With tears streaming down his face, he told me how the courts had removed him from his child’s life. He asked what he could do, he could not afford the lawyers and psychologists. The mother had gone on welfare and Child Support Enforcement took so much money he could not afford a place to live or food. All I could tell him was that there are many people out there fighting to change the broken system he was caught in. I told him I would keep him in my prayers, that I will never stop fighting until the system is fixed. There was one other memorable moment from that day Mr President, as we stood baking in the mid day sun, a group of 3 young woman walked by. They could not have been more than 16. They stopped, read our signs, and proceeded to call us a bunch of Dead Beats, Child Molesters and Wife Beaters. I was dumbfounded, where did girls this age pick that up? I recognize it as dogma from some Boston Political Woman’s groups, but how did it filter down to these three young woman. What are they being taught!
In closing Mr President, I ask you to take the DoJ, DHHS and OVW to task to cleaning up this mess. Our families estates are being plundered, our children are being damaged or killed, the fabric of this country is being torn apart. We are the people fighting on the front line, we see the damage every day. Please help us to help our children.
I am writing you to ask that you take a hard look at the Domestic Violence industry now funded at over $150 million dollars per year. I hope you are aware that Senate Bill S.1626 SEC. 101. HEALTHY MARRIAGE PROMOTION AND RESPONSIBLE FATHERHOOD PROGRAMS, had a language chance that went from May Not Award More Than $50M to Shall Award At Least $100M. Paragraph 2 Conforming Amendments is changed from $150M to $200M. This section is tied entirely to Domestic Violence programs. Let me first say that true Domestic Violence does need to be addressed, your concerns are valid and noble. However, the current system is broken. The death of my own 17 year old son is a testament to abuses that have become today’s Domestic Violence industry. The following is a compilation of information by Media Radar, a watchdog group on Domestic Violence, currently the only oversight organization, all volunteer.
1) VAWA has been ineffective in stopping abuse.
While Violence against woman is down, it is down in all categories, not just the intimate partner category meant to be addressed. Volunteers are untrained, often creating more problems than they solve.
Restraining orders have become a tool to gain advantage in divorce proceedings. I’ve seen it first hand, I watched many times as my ex tearfully spoke with the employees in the basement of the court who patted her on the back and showed her how to fill out the paperwork. She would then cross my path later at the court house and give me an evil “Gotcha” sign, and smile as she entered the courtroom. She now has a permanent order against me, without so much as a single police report. I have no criminal record, I’m a professional accountant. There is much more information available at mediaradar.org. The report on this is 18 pages with referenced research studies.
2) Provides Incentives to file false allegations and break up families.
Award of residence, sole custody, near complete control in the courts. The costs to fight enriches attorneys and social workers. It’s guaranteed income.
Many woman that know how to work the system use shelters for free rent, food and medical treatment. It’s in the shelter’s best interest to keep it full, it keeps the funding coming in. Just talk with former shelter volunteers.
3) Betrays Woman
There is no proof that the current programs are reducing violence. There are studies that suggest current policies may increase the likelihood for serious violence.
Real victims have to compete with minor cases to get help.
Shelters often encourage woman to see themselves as victims.
4) Spreads one-sided and biased information
The best example of this is the ABA Commission on Domestic Violence fact sheet 10 Myths about Custody and Domestic Violence and How to Counter Them. This report is filled with more half-truths and misrepresentations than truths. The Media Radar report states nine other major problems in reporting and training.
5) Allow States to expand the definition of Domestic Violence to encompass virtually all types of family disagreements, even raising your voice.
By State, there are 32 different definitions of Domestic Violence, 17 states include harassment, and 22 states include stalking. 46 jurisdictions have broadened their definitions to include fear, emotional distress, and other psychological states.
6) Promotes Immigration Fraud in eight ways.
Provides Free Legal Services to Those who Claim to be Victims.
Broadens the Definition of Extreme Cruelty.
Eliminates the Need for Hard Evidence.
Removes the “Substantial Connection” Requirement.
Bans Evidence by the Alleged Abuser Showing that the Petitioner is Illegal.
Educates Persons on How to Work the System.
Affords a Loophole for Persons Undergoing Deportation Hearings.
Eliminates Penalties for Illegal Aliens Who Fail to Leave.
7) Encourages the issuance of restraining orders, even in the absence of physical violence.
The abuse is rampant. Children are separated from loving caring parents. I have a good friend that was nearly arrested, made to put his hands up and lay down. His wounds required over 200 stitches. I myself suffered years of mental and emotional abuse, only to have the courts issue restraining orders and separate me from my children. No my son is a statistic, killed drunk driving one month after attempting to contact me. He was a good, college bound kid. I found out he was so terrified his mother would find out he saw me, that he was 20 feet from me and would not get out of the car.
8) Funds harmful mandatory arrest policies.
This requires a lengthy look at the process, but a basic problem is arrest an incarceration on a civil restraining order. This lacks evidentiary and due process standards. Last November there was a person I know in NH arrested and held for over 2 months in state prison. He is out now, but not before it significantly affected his business. His ex wife said she saw him drive by the house, that’s all it took. This is not an isolated incident. Steve Brown was arrested in Jackson Ohio last year, his offense, having his picture taken with the Governor Ted Strickland. He was within 1,000 ft of where his ex worked, someone saw the picture in the paper and filed a complaint. It’s a small town, it’s hard not to get near it.
9) Biases the Judiciary.
This is another complex issue, but the bottom line is that Guilty Until Proven Innocent is no longer the standard measure in many courts.
10) Condones the mismanagement of Federal Funds.
In 2006, the Office on Violence Against Woman was charged to revamp it’s measuring system. 3 years later, it has not been done. DHHS Domestic Violence record keeping is a mess. The whole system from the DoJ, to DHHS, to the Grant recipients is an out of control system. The OIG is rife with these reports, it’s been known for years.
11) Costs taxpayers $20 billion per year to help at-risk children who are harmed by family break up.
2 to 3 million restraining orders are issued per year. One study conducted by the Massachusetts Trial Court found that less than one half of all restraining orders issued involved allegations of physical violence. A conservative estimate of annual costs for West Virginia is $42M per year.
12) Illegally discriminates against male victims of abuse.
There can be no question on this. It took me 15 years of my own work to finally realize that I had lived in an abusive marriage. There is no information, there is no help. There are some scattered groups trying to help, but the whole idea is written of by the people with the money. When my friend had his head split open and required 200 stitches, there was no help anywhere for him.
Mr President, the information above comes from the MediaRadar group, www.mediaradar.org. I have put my own experiences in, but I have tried to keep this short. There are over 100 pages of documented information in these reports. The VAWA and it’s associated legislation have broken down. Not only are we throwing good money after bad, but that money is compounding into further social ills that require more money. We need to Fix VAWA.
I would like to share some personal experience. Last year, 6 middle aged white men went to a parade in Roxbury Massachusetts to hold signs. Roxbury is a poor black community outside of Boston. We held signs that said Dads Do Matter, Equal Rights For Fathers, Courts Unfair To Fathers, Children Need Both Parents. We were welcomed into the community. We had many older men and woman walk by and shake their heads in approval. We had younger people, men and woman, come up and tell us personal stories of court and family services abuses. One young woman opened her purse and handed me four dollars, she had tears in her eyes, and asked us keep working to change the system. I walked up the parade route to where Governor Patrick was speaking, and a young black man started struck up a conversation. With tears streaming down his face, he told me how the courts had removed him from his child’s life. He asked what he could do, he could not afford the lawyers and psychologists. The mother had gone on welfare and Child Support Enforcement took so much money he could not afford a place to live or food. All I could tell him was that there are many people out there fighting to change the broken system he was caught in. I told him I would keep him in my prayers, that I will never stop fighting until the system is fixed. There was one other memorable moment from that day Mr President, as we stood baking in the mid day sun, a group of 3 young woman walked by. They could not have been more than 16. They stopped, read our signs, and proceeded to call us a bunch of Dead Beats, Child Molesters and Wife Beaters. I was dumbfounded, where did girls this age pick that up? I recognize it as dogma from some Boston Political Woman’s groups, but how did it filter down to these three young woman. What are they being taught!
In closing Mr President, I ask you to take the DoJ, DHHS and OVW to task to cleaning up this mess. Our families estates are being plundered, our children are being damaged or killed, the fabric of this country is being torn apart. We are the people fighting on the front line, we see the damage every day. Please help us to help our children.
