Press Releases

For immediate release: 18th June 2015

Families Need Fathers Charter 2015

Charter updated for Father's Day outlines key principles the charity pursues for family law reform

June 2015 is being celebrated in Britain and around the world as the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta, the Great Charter of Liberties.

The FNF family (England, Wales and Scotland) has updated its Charter ahead of Father’s Day to remind legislators and professionals involved in the administration of family law of the principles which underpin our charity.

• No child should be denied a full and loving relationship with both their parents unless it has been proven that such a relationship presents a risk to the child;
• The family justice system should promote collaboration and shared parenting between parents following separation;
• Family courts need to respond swiftly to breaches of Child Arrangement Orders, to ensure that relationships between children and the parent they do not live with day-to-day are not compromised;
• Information and support services should be easily accessible for separated parents throughout the different pathways of the family justice system;
• The important contribution of fathers, mothers, grandparents and the wider family should be promoted wherever possible, in both family policy and wider society.

Jerry Karlin, Chair of Families Need Fathers, said, “Our updated Charter details the key areas of improvement that we would like to see both within family law and wider society. This, we believe would greatly benefit separating families. The more detailed proposals set out within the Charter will provide the focus of our work. Looking forward, we will seek to achieve progress on these principles for both our members and for the thousands of families who rely on the support of the family justice system each year.”

The full details of the Charter, including specific details for each principle outlined here, can be downloaded via http://www.fnf.org.uk/about-us-2/aims-and-objectives/families-need-fathers-charter.

ENDS 

For comment, case studies or information please contact:

England & Wales: Lewkowicz, media@fnf.org.uk, 0300 0300 110

Scotland: Ian Maxwell, ian.maxwell@fnfscotland.org, 0131 557 2440

Note for editors:

Families Need Fathers (FNF) is a registered charity providing information and support on shared parenting issues arising from family breakdown, and support to divorced and separated parents, irrespective of gender or marital status. 

Our primary concern is the maintenance of the child’s relationship with both parents.

Founded in 1974, FNF helps thousands of parents every year.

What do you think?

Send us feedback!

PRESS RELEASE

For immediate release                                                                    20 October 2016

Detachment of child support from wider family life impoverishes children and can damage both parents

Families Need Fathers tell Work and Pensions inquiry into child support it is open to them to step beyond the polarised way the discussion on child support has been long entrenched

Current approach provides perverse incentives to minimise time children spend with their non-resident parent

The continued detachment of child support from the wider picture of family life is contributing to the impoverishment of children whose parents live separately and creates a perverse disincentive to meaningful co-operation between the parents.

In its submission to the current select committee on work and pensions inquiry into child maintenance Families Need Fathers – Because Both Parents Matter report the insights drawn from the experiences of more than 800 responses to its recent consultation among members and supporters.

Comments from the biggest ever response to an FNF consultation include:

“I feel worthless as a parent. The only interest in me is that I pay!”

“It almost destroyed me” (many)

“If not for my family the CMS would have made me homeless!”

“I have less than £100 a month for food, petrol etc.” 

“As a result, the children consider me to be stingy”

“the lack of means testing or consideration of circumstances results in callous extraction of finances”

“I earn £20,000 a year my ex earns approx £60,000 I struggle to pay my bills and am denied access [by my ex] to my children. This should be taken into account”

“[the CMS/CSA calculation] has a perverse incentive to for the resident parent to keep contact as low as possible”

“Total mental breakdown. I will never work again”

Jerry Karlin, Chair of Families Need Fathers says: “Our child maintenance system is poorly thought through and (perhaps unintentionally) actively undermines shared parenting. It discourages both parents from working and pushes many into severe hardship and poverty. For the sake of our children, it must be reformed.

It isn't just the moral mark of a civilised society that fatherhood should be respected and supported for the benefit of children after separation and divorce. There are shelves full of research findings that children do better when both parents are involved in their life. The tunnel vision of CMS and its various predecessors has done great damage to our children by polarising the interests of separated parents. Too many dads have been degraded and abused by the blunt instrument of the CMS in its present form.”

FNF notes the content of a separate (unconnected) submission to the Select Committee by Dr Christine Davies setting out how low income Non Resident Parents struggle to pay when their child support payments represent marginal tax rates of 90% or higher - sometimes even above 100%.  In other words, what they are expected to pay can exceed what they earn in certain circumstances. See Dr Davies' submission here.

FNF's complete submission to the select committee containing our consultation findings, including further quotations from respondents can be downloaded here.

FNF - Because Both Parents Matter is a charity that primarily supports non-resident parents (NRPs) – a perspective that tends to be dismissed as special pleading.

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For immediate release: 16th June 2015

'Weekend Daddy' Album Release

Musician releases album based on experiences as a separated father in the run up to Father's Day

Musician Jack Ezra has released an album inspired by his experiences as a separated dad. The  father of 2 from Bishop’s Stortford based many of the songs on the album on his heart-wrenching experiences of divorce and struggling to maintain a relationship with his children through a high conflict separation. 

Dads who no longer live with their children after separation often find the run up to Father’s Day to be one of the most difficult times of the year, where the distance between themselves and their children can become unbearable. Jack’s aim with the album is to give a voice to the experiences of thousands of dads who will not be able to spend time with their children this Father’s Day, and to draw attention to the impact that high conflict separations can have on children and parents over time.

Jack Ezra, the musician behind Weekend Daddy, said, “I have wanted to produce this album for many years, but as anyone who has been through separation and struggled to see their children will know, it has only been recently that I have been able to put these overwhelming emotions and experiences into words. My experiences took me to some very dark places, and it was only with the support of my family and friends that I was able to make it through. Not every dad who struggles to see their children has that luxury, and with this music I wanted to let them know that they are not alone this Father’s Day. I hope that it will inspire any dads still struggling to maintain a relationship with their kids to keep going, and to let them know that support is out there.”

Jerry Karlin, Chair of the charity Families Need Fathers, commented, “Whilst Father’s Day will be celebrated across the country on 21st June, for many of the parents we work with be a very difficult time spent apart from their children. I know that many dads will connect deeply with the messages in Jack’s music, and I hope that this will raise some much needed awareness of the struggles that many fathers face just to try and remain a part of their children’s lives."

Weekend Daddy can be purchased online via Itunes (https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/weekend-daddy/id991328582). Jack Ezra is donating a portion of all sales to Families Need Fathers, to support the charities work in communities across the country. More information about Jack Ezra and his music can be found on the following link: http://www.3dexperience.co.uk/2015pages/jemusic.html. 

ENDS 

For comment, case studies or information please contact: media@fnf.org.uk, 0300 0300 110.

Note for editors:

Families Need Fathers (FNF) is a registered charity providing information and support on shared parenting issues arising from family breakdown, and support to divorced and separated parents, irrespective of gender or marital status.  

Our primary concern is the maintenance of the child’s relationship with both parents. 

Founded in 1974, FNF helps thousands of parents every year.

What do you think?

Send us feedback!

For immediate release: 13th June 2015

Rebecca Minnock Case: FNF Comment

News reports this morning (13/6/2015) confirm that Rebecca Minnock, the mother who appears to have absconded with her child before a court hearing to determine child arrangements, has been found safe and well with her son. The child has now been reunited with his father, who has not known his whereabouts for over 2 weeks.

This case is clearly incredibly difficult for all parties involved, and there are certainly no 'winners' in any dispute which needs to be resolved in the family courts. The charity is very happy to see that it is being resolved positively. One of the most important issues raised by this case is the importance of family courts taking firm steps to ensure that their orders are enforced.

Jerry Karlin, Chair of Families Need Fathers, said, "It is clear in this case that the court is standing by its responsibility to ensure that its orders are followed by both parties, and that it is to be commended. In too many cases, we see orders which have been made in the child's best interest simply ignored by a parent intent on forcing their former partner out of their child's life.  Breaching orders and making false allegations causes serious harm to children and parents. It is important that courts send the clear message that compliance with Child Arrangements Orders is not optional, and that such breaches will always be treated with the utmost importance.

A parent putting their own interests above their child by flouting a court order is intolerable. This case should serve as a reminder to parents that failing to follow court orders can have very serious consequences.  It should also signal a renewed intent on the part of the family justice system to ensure that the orders they make in the child's best interest will be enforced."

ENDS 

For comment, case studies or information please contact: media@fnf.org.uk.

Note for editors:

Families Need Fathers (FNF) is a registered charity providing information and support on shared parenting issues arising from family breakdown, and support to divorced and separated parents, irrespective of gender or marital status.  

Our primary concern is the maintenance of the child’s relationship with both parents. 

Founded in 1974, FNF helps thousands of parents every year.

What do you think?

Send us feedback!

PRESS RELEASE – 24^th March 2016

Spare a thought for Fathers this Easter as

Family Court Orders Are Ignored

FNF Survey of Holiday Parenting Time 2016

Thousands of children are denied a meaningful relationship with a parent after separation and this Easter Families Need Fathers draws attention to the failures of compliance and enforcement of family court orders made in children’s interests.

FNF carried out a survey of members and supporters to help gain an understanding of their experience of parenting arrangements post-separation last Christmas. We received 402 responses.

Almost half of respondents’ (46.1%) children did not see their other parent this Christmas.

A notable finding is that half of respondents (50.8%) had a court order in place for contact with their children during this period. However, in 56.6% of cases the order was not obeyed.

Of those who were not seeing their children, almost three-quarters did not even receive a card or gift from their children (72.9%) or have the opportunity to speak to them on the telephone (76.2%).

For many respondents, whether there was a court order in place or not, the difficulties are not new. Almost half (46.6%) did not see their children the year before either, a further quarter (26.0%) had not seen their children in the last 3 - 5 years and over a quarter of respondents (27.4%) had not seen their children at Christmas for over 5 years!

For those whose children were lucky enough to have parenting time with both parents this Christmas/New Year period it was reassuring to find that over two-thirds (68.7%) spent more than a day with their children. A further 7.4% enjoyed a day with their children. However, a quarter (24.0%) spent less than half a day over the entire period with their children and 13.4% had less than three hours of parenting time.

FNF’s CEO, Jerry Karlin, said “These are very dispiriting but not surprising results. Christmas is a sensitive time for children and parents alike. That so many people are reporting that court orders made in the interests of children are not being complied with reflects badly on the family justice system. That so many supporters report that they have not seen their children for many years just adds weight to this”.

The comments made by respondents support this with many saying that “the contact order was worthless” or “she has never stuck to the court order ever and got away with it” or “I wanted to see them or to speak to them but was told ‘no’ by the mother” or “I have no idea if my daughter sees cards and gifts sent”. Many respondents also reported Parental Alienation (PA) being an important factor.

A smaller number expressed joy at a change of heart by their ex “I have seen them for the first time at Xmas for 3 years, it was wonderful” and “FNF gave me the moral impetus to fight for contact and win”.

FNF have shared these results with the Minister of Justice and the judiciary with proposals to address these serious deficiencies in the workings of the family justice system e.g. judicial continuity of cases restored to the courts for enforcement and granting of court costs against parent failing to comply with court orders.

For comment, case studies or information please contact: media@fnf.org.uk or call Michael Lewkowicz on 0300 0300 110.

Notes for editors:

Families Need Fathers - because both parents matter
FNF is a registered charity providing information and support on shared parenting issues arising from family breakdown, and support to divorced and separated parents, irrespective of gender or marital status. FNF is NOT a fathers' rights group - we support the best interests of children - namely mature and collaborative parenting by both parents - an objective which is inadequately promoted in the family court system and associated services.

Our primary concern is the maintenance of the child’s meaningful relationship with both parents.

Founded in 1974, FNF helps thousands of parents every year.

What do you think?

Send us feedback!