Time for some radical acceptance: Family Court is currently functioning exactly how it was designed to. It's time for a redesign.
Time to stop saying the Family Court system is broken. It works fine. This is exactly the way it was designed to work. — It’s time to start shifting our collective energy into advocacy for policy change that evolves this system from the ground up. One that is infused with more love and care and creates health/well-being, safety, and peace — for everyone, with children as the top priority (imagine that).
Let’s review a just a few of the outcomes of the current system:
— Children are suffering from preventable ACEs, trauma and abuse (emotional, physical and psychological) causing various life-long physical and mental health issues and in some cases, death.
— Women are losing their life savings, future income (from loans taken out to protect their children), suffering from preventable post separation abuse and continued coercive control, which denies them the right to show up in the world, for their purpose, for their careers, their communities and for their children in their highest potential.
— It is consistently reported that Judges hate working in Family Court, and if you’re working in a job you hate, this can have various negative impacts on your physical and emotional well-being.
— Perpetrators face little to no consequences so the system is a means for feeding a supply that fuels more abuse (in and out of the system) which extracts health from just about everything they come in contact with, including resources from the court. In addition, the lack of accountability (i.e. mandatory mental health support) the massive fueling of their toxic and dangerous behavior also negatively impacts their own mental & physical health and increases the danger factor for society. Thus extracting more and more resources from the whole.
— CPS Worker Guidelines that do not allow them to save children in danger in white families — innocent Black families being targeted. Catastrophic consequences for all.
— Everyone: If you are a taxpayer, you are funding all of this.
So, we’re here. What’s next? Join the Global Family Court Advocacy Community It’s time to talk solutions & action.
We envision a research-led and trauma-informed family court system that acts with urgency and without bias to protect children from abuse while ensuring accountability and enforcement of their human rights, specifically:
Judges, legal professionals, our communities and elected officials are part of the solution to protect children from Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), a leading indicator of life-long health and well-being.
Trauma-informed judicial practices are integrated into every courtroom.
Legislation, based on evidence-based factors, is in place and enforced in all 50 US states and internationally to ensure children’s safety is the top priority when making decisions regarding child custody.
Coercive control is recognized as a form of domestic violence in all 50 US states and internationally.
The abuse of a protective parent and its impact on their child are accurately correlated and met with appropriate safety measures.
Judges, lawyers, legal professionals and child welfare services engage in mandated continuing education about the impacts of high conflict personalities in custody cases and are provided guidance for how to successfully navigate these cases with compassion and accountability in ways that mitigate conflict and protect safe caregivers and their children from all forms of post separation abuse.