F.R.E.E.[tm]

F.R.E.E's Virtual Library

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NOTICE Some of these items marked with * are for F.R.E.E.[tm] Members Only!

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The Changing Role of Fathers in Today's Society

oAre Today's Dads Different?"
by Richard Laliberte
Children's Telivision Workshop (the folks behind Sesame Street) asked this question, and hundreds of dads answered. Here's what these dads said about fatherhood today.
oRaising the Standards for Good Fathering
by Glen F. Palm
There are many current efforts to illuminate and support good fathering in contemporary US culture. This article summarizes much of this current thinking.
oChugging Along the Daddy Track
by Greg Forman
It's the "New Fatherhood"--a term that sounds like it was invented by a PR person and probably was...
oFathers Strongly Influenced by CultureNew
by Tori DeAngelis
The fathers' rights' movement contends that fathers have a unique, useful and rightful place in children's lives. But are men products of more general outside cultural forces? Provocative reading...
oAmerica's Fathers and Public PolicyNew
Report of a Workshop
ed. by Nancy A. Crowell and Ethel M. Leeper
Report of a Workshop by the National Research Council. The importance of fathers in children's lives has received growing recognition in recent years. This emphasis has been prompted, in part, by the growing number of families without a father present. This report reflects the workshop discussions, augmented by research findings that were either noted in the discussions or provided as background reading by participants.
oBringing Daddy Home:New
The Fatherhood Movement
By Patrick and Gwen Purtill
For thirty years social analysts have attempted to persuade Americans against common sense, and increasingly against common experience, that family disruption does not seriously harm children. That effort is rapidly losing ground.
oLife Without FathersNew
by William O'Hare
From American Demographics Magazine. American kids are increasingly likely to grow up without a father in their home. In two of America's biggest counties--Washington, DC and Bronx County, NY--single mothers are the majority of families.
oFathering: The Man and the FamilyNew
The Department of Health and Human Services' Response to President Clinton's June 16, 1995 Memorandum to Strengthen the Role of Fathers in Families. For short attention spans, there is also a Executive Summary.
oIs a Bad Man Worse than No Man at All?
by David Throop
Kids need dads. How should we handle it when dad's a drunkard?
oThe Lost Art of FatherhoodNew
by Dan Fost
From American Demographics Magazine. Forty percent of American children currently don't live with their biological father. The consequences of these absences can be severe...
oPablo, Juan and Richard:
A True Story of What Fathers Do
by Jack Kammer
Stranded and alone, hauling a heavy suitcase along Washington Boulevard east of Lincoln Avenue, unable to find a phone that made sense or a taxi dispatcher interested in my fare, I was running late for my plane at LAX. I decided that this was a chance I needed, no, wanted to take. I approached three young Hispanic men standing outside their car in a fast food parking lot...
oAn investigation of fathers with 3- 5-year old children
Social research-institute, Ministerratskonferenz Stockholm
Translated into English, of course! In Denmark, like in America, the divorce rate has soared. Unlike America, though, where custodial fathers are now the fastest growing segment of the population, in Denmark the proportion of father-headed single parent households has experienced a proportional decline.
oNot All Men Are Sly Foxes
By author/F.R.E.E.[tm] member, Armin Brott.
oThe Price of a Broken Home
The godmother of the backlash against divorce curls in a couch before a window overlooking San Francisco Bay. "I don't know whether the right word is backlash," she admonishes. "That implies that there's no logic to it. I hope what we're talking about is something more rational." But, yes, Judith Wallerstein allows, "I'm glad people are concerned now."
oReuniting Fathers with their Families
by Stuart A. Miller and Rich Zubaty
85% of prisoners, 78% of high school dropouts, 82% of teenage girls who become pregnant, the majority of drug and alcohol abusers -- all come from single-mother-headed households. Less than 1% of any of these categories come from single-father-headed households. This seems to indicate that the problems children encounter are not related to single-parent households, but are related specifically to single-mother-headed households...
oNotes From an Invisible Father
by Armin Brott
An essay on the effect of gender stereotypes on the way men and children together are treated.
oHow Fathers Care for the Next Generation: A Four Decade Study
By John Snarey
Most men today want to be good fathers. Many also have come to see that fathering is potentially the most satisfying and probably the most demanding task that the life cycle has to offer them.
oChanging the Single-Parent Mix
From the New York Times: A growing portion of single-parent households are headed by men.
oU.S. Commission on Child and Family WelfareNew
Minority reports are available...
oNon-Custodial Parents' Participation in Their Children's Lives:New
Evidence from the Survey of Income and Program Participation
Divorce and non-marital childbearing have become commonplace and have dramatically altered children's lives. It can no longer be assumed that most children will spend their entire childhoods living with both parents. Unfortunately, a common pattern is for the non-residential parent to become increasingly detached over time, paying minimal or no child support and visiting infrequently if at all. The costs to the children involved and to society at large of this disengagement are far from trivial.
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On Being With Your Kids

oHow Dads Can Run a Tight Ship
by Dr. Michael Obsatz
Tips for instilling responsible values in your children.
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On Being Away From Your Kids

oDivorced Dads and the HolidaysNew
by Waylon M. Ward
The holidays, particularly Thanksgiving and Christmas, are tough on divorced dads and their kids, and the first couple of years are often the roughest...
oCustody Arrangements:
Making The Most Of What You've Got
by Laura King
There are no sure-fire written instructions to make post-divorce parenting easier. Here are a few tips...
* In Our Hearts and In Our Minds
Keeping in touch with your kids when they are far away.
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From the Children's Perspective

oA Rainbow of Emotions
Many children are flooded with emotion after the divorce, loss, or absence of a parent. The intensity of these emotions can frighten a child who has not felt them before...
oWhat I Wish My Parents Knew
About Life In A Single Parent Family
Have you ever wished you could get inside the mind of your child? Have you had problems with communication and yearned to understand his or her thinking? Youth across the country desire to have their opinions known.
oMy Dad is my Hero
by Gabriel Red Thunder
He's America's longest missing fugitive kid.
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The Effects of Divorce on Children

oEmpirical Studies Related to Access/Visitation with Regard to the Family Dynamics of Divorce, Separation and Illegitimacy
by Stuart A. Miller & Mark Price, Esq.
Report of the American Fathers Coalition to the 1994 Virginia Legislature
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Custody and Child Support

oThe Hypocrisy of 'Equality' in a Family Law Context
by Anne P. Mitchell
F.R.E.E. founder Anne P. Mitchell explains the origins and extent of maternal bias in the American family court system.
oDead Broke Dads
by Stuart Miller and Armin Brott
Why cold, hard cash just isn't enough...
oEXECUTIVE ORDER 12953
The text of the executive order by President William Jefferson Clinton committing the resources of the federal government to the collection of child support monies. Attempt to find the directives for parent - child contact...
oSpare the Custody Fight, Save the Children
by Mimi E. Lyster
Every year, a million children see their parents divorce. And often, the most pressing concern of those two million parents is: "Who gets the kids?"
oEqual Protection Under the Law?
by Anne P. Mitchell, Esq.
Are fathers seeking custody of their children subject to the protections of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment? The answer may surprise you. Sadly, perhaps it won't.
oDeadbeat Forum
by Tom Goff
California's Child Support Formula has led to a flood of litigation...
*Questions NOT Frequently Asked
California's new child support guidelines hit middle-income NCP dads hard.
oThe Myth of Deadbeat Dads
by Stuart Miller
Child-support collection has recently become a big issue in Washington. President Clinton issued an executive order this week requiring all federal agencies to facilitate the payment of father's debts. In fact, Republicans and Democrats alike count on increased child support collections as a cornerstone of their welfare reform plans.
oHow to Raise or Lower Child Support in California
by Judge Roderic Duncan
and Attorney Warren Siegel
You may order a copy of this book from Nolo Press.
oTrials and Tribulations: Gordon Clark
by Anne P. Mitchell, Esq. and Dr. Wolfgang Hirczy
Gordon Clark has finally talked, in an interview which recently hit the newsstands. "Who," one may ask, "is Gordon Clark?" Who indeed. He is perhaps more recognizable by role than by name: he is the ex-Mr. Marcia Clark.
*How the "Economists" Calculate Child Support
A Simplified Explanation
oWho Receives Child Support?
In the past, the Census Bureau has published data only on mothers who receive child support; in this brief, for the first time, they also present information on fathers who receive it!
oDeadbeat Poets Society
by Steve Watters with Joel Thollander
The "deadbeat dad" craze has allowed the blame of several social ills, from poverty to welfare costs to social pathology, to be placed squarely in the laps of fathers. Four well-known "deadbeats&quopt; give their perspectives in verse...
oWin Your Child Custody War
By F.R.E.E.[tm] member Charlotte Harwick. If all else has failed, and you must have a custody fight, go in to win. The full book may be ordered.
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Joint Custody

oJOINT CUSTODY: Legal and Physical Distinctions
by Henry S. Gornbein, Esq.
I was recently e-mailed a question about different types of custody. Custody is a very important issue. The term joint-custody is often misunderstood...
oIn the Name of the Children
by Edward Sosnick, J.D.
It's now 8:30 a.m. I am now on the Bench looking at the crowded courtroom and the line of lawyers checking in with my clerks. I wonder what time I'll see an empty space on the courtroom benches.
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Rights for Second Spouses

o10 Co-Parent Projects For Re/marriage and Stepfamily Success
By Peter K. Gerlach, MSW
" I've come to believe that most successful re/married co-parents complete 10 major projects, over time. I've also come to believe that there are 5 interrelated reasons why most re/marrying men and women eventually call it quits."
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Birth Father Rights

oPlanning for Your Child's Future
Some frequently asked questions of unmarried birth fathers are addressed by Bethany Christian Services.
oBirth Father?
by Steve Hosier
Why do adopted children ask so many questions about their birth mother, and so few about their birth father?
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Child Abuse

oWhat is Child Abuse?
A good definition of the term courtesy of Parents Anonymous, Inc.
oA Shameful Death
by David Van Biema
Let down by the system, murdered by her mom, a little girl symbolizes America's failure to protect its children. You will not have a dry eye after reading this. From Time, December 11, 1995.
oChild Abuse, the Hidden Bruises
The statistics on physical child abuse are alarming.
*Male Victims of Child Abuse
Throughout the past decade, there has been an increase in reports of child sexual abuse, largely because of improved education and prevention efforts. But the focus historically has been on female victims, with minimal attention to boys and adult male survivors.
oChild Sexual Abuse
Child sexual abuse has been reported up to 80,000 times a year...
oChild Abuse: Statistics, Research, and Resources
By Jim Hopper, M.A.
Do researchers skew sexual abuse data? Is "Recovered Memory" nonsense? This treatise, written by Jim Hopper, M.A., a Ph.D. candidate in Clinical Psychology at the U of Massachusetts, appears to conclude that the answer is "No" in both cases. Interesting argument though there is a touch of, "The world is wrong, we're right."
oShouldn't Children Have the Right to Speak Out Anonymously?
by Nancy Faulkner, Ph.D.
When a shy, frightened pre-school victim was asked if her grandfather had hurt her when he touched her, she responded, "Only in my heart."
oFAMILY MEDIATION: SCREENING FOR DOMESTIC ABUSE
by Alison E. Gerencser
Florida State Law Review, Summer, 1995. This Article begins by providing an overview of the family mediation process. It then proposes that all legislatures mandating family mediation allow exemption from mediation when participant screeners determine that, because of the level of domestic abuse, mediation is inappropriate. Next, this Article argues that legislatures also must mandate that all participants screen for domestic violence. To implement the required screening, participants must receive training about domestic violence. The Article concludes by discussing the multi-tiered screening process and the roles of the various participants in screening for domestic abuse.
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False Allegations of Child Abuse

oTHE SEX-CRIME CAPITAL
by Margaret Carleson
Time Magazine, November 13, 1995. Who is molesting whom in Wenatchee?
oRecovered Memories or Modern Witch Hunt?
by Douglas E. Hill
There was a time when allegations of child sexual abuse were not believed...we seem to have gone from a time where nothing was believed to a time when anything is believed.
oModern Witch Hunt - Child Abuse Charges
by Richard A. Gardner, Ph.D.
Provisions of the 1974 Mondale Act works to encourage people to bring child abuse charges that are frivolous, and sometimes malicious, fabrications.
o"First of All, Do No Harm"
A Recovered Memory Therapist Recants
by Mark Pendergrast
The author, a member of the Skeptics Society, exposes the pseudoscience and New-Age quackery behind "Recovered Memory Therapy." This method is used in many cases of false accusations of abuse. It is shown to be nothing more than theatrical claptrap.
*Faulty Assessment of Child Sexual Abuse
Legal and Emotional Sequelae
Increased awareness of child sexual abuse has caused the pendulum to swing the other way. Unsubstantiated reported cases may now outnumber documented ones.
*Investigator's Guide to Allegations of "Ritual" Child Abuse
The FBI manual casts a skeptical eye at the hysteria.
oTHE FINAL SOLUTION: False Allegations of Abuse
by Anne P. Mitchell, Esq.
"John, don't go crazy and don't say anything to Jennifer, but last week I took Jennifer to Child Protective Services and they called the police. The officer wants to see you. Here's his card." Thus one victim of a false allegation of abuse was made aware of the charges against him.
*Buried Memories - Shattered Lives
Elizabeth F. Loftus and Laura A. Rosenwald take on the "Recovered Memory" industry.
*The Problem of Unfounded Reports
Statement of Douglas J. Besharov before the Select Committee on Children, Youth, and Families.
oYOU MUST REMEMBER THIS;
Science: How The Brain Forms "False Memories."
By Sharon Begley with Martha Brant
The fallibility, and malleability, of memory is old news to anyone who has ever had his vivid recall of a third-birthday party shattered by a grainy old home movie...
oMemory on Trial
By Christine Gorman
In a closely watched case, a judge will rule on the credibility of witnesses who repress and then remember incidents of rape, incest and murder. Time Magazine, April 17, 1995.
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Battered Husbands

*Backlash and the Fact of Battered Husbands
by James Sniechowski, Ph.D. and Judith Sherven, Ph.D.
One way to trivialize and dismiss a point of view is to claim it is part of a backlash. That is the contemptuous and derogatory characterization often applied when the topic of men's issues arises. Domestic violence is a case in point.
oUnder Attack:
The lonely cry of battered husbands.
By Karen A. Woudstra
His eyes filled with tears: "Is this what I get for trying to make a go of things?" he sobbed.
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Gender Discrimination

oGender Bias in the Media:
The Other Side of the Story
by Armin Brott
The effects of the Lace Curtain revealed...
oFirst Wives Club:
Thelma and Louise Exhale
By Warren Farrell
For every rejected wife, there is a rejected husband...
oDo fathers have the edge in divorce?
by Cathy Young
It is a common perception that while women may face bias in some areas, men are on the receiving end of discrimination when it comes to child custody - which goes to fathers, recent data show, only 16 percent of the time.
oFathers deserve equal justice
by William N. Fetzner
The message that men can't win in divorce courts is passed on to already discouraged men by their lawyers. What sensible father will risk thousands of dollars and the welfare of the children he loves in a hopeless custody battle?
oSpousal Murder Defendants in Large Urban Counties
By Patrick A. Langan, Ph.D. and
John M. Dawson
..and for short attention spans, there is the Executive Summary
U.S. Department of Justice NCJ-153256, September 1995. "In a sample of homicide cases in 75 of the nation's most populous counties, state court judges or juries during 1988 acquitted 6 percent of the husband defendants, compared to 31 percent of the wife defendants. Jury trials ended in acquittal for 27 percent of wives, but none of the husbands..." There is also a fact sheet to accompany the report.
oOn Heroes and Victims
by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas
The full text of Justice Thomas' September 22 speech to the Federalist Society's Ninth Annual Lawyers Convention. Thomas criticized contemporary society for exalting victims -- in not only the political realm, but in the courts as well.
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Member Poetry

oThe Fight for Freedom
Song Lyrics from Maine Area Coordinator Rob Rand.
oFor Liam
New Zealand coordinator Darryl Ward shares this.
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The Fathers' Rights Movement

oMake Room for Daddy
by Stephanie Goldberg
From the February 1997 issue of the ABA Journal: Divorce horror stories are commonplace in the fathers' rights movement, although not much else unites the various factions, apart from beliefs in the importance of father involvement in families and the justice system's indifference, even animosity, toward letting men play this part.
oDad's Rights Advocates Come of Age
by Thom Weidlich
Suddenly, every day is Father's Day. Dads are in demand. The new father focus is due in no small part to grass-roots campaigning by a "subspecies," the divorced dad.
oIf courts won't listen to dads, will dads listen to courts?
by Clair Wiederholt
From the October, 1995 issue of Today's Dad. If courts continue to stymie the grievances of fathers, will they seek other avenues of redress?
o10 Suggestions for Helping Fathers be Fathers
The Minnesota Institute of Public Health makes ten recommendations for the restoration of the importance and the practice of fatherhood.
oA Million Men Minus One
EVEN IF THE NEED FOR JOURNALISTIC DETACHMENT did not preclude my participation, I would not join the Million Man March this week in Washington.
*The Battered Statistic Syndrome
Many feminist activists and researchers have so great a stake in exaggerating the problem of domestic violence. And so little compunction about doing so.
oAdvocates for Fathers Cheer Award
A San José man, wrongly accused of child molestation, has won a $43,900 jury award from his ex-wife.
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This page last updated Saturday, 11 June, 2005 by:

Brent Wellman wellman@vix.com