Mark Ludwig from the Americans for Equal Shared Parenting sits down with Duane to talk about his organizations efforts to bring the presumption of shared parenting to all 50 states and effect changes to Title IV-D. Mark has spent the last year meeting with state and federal legislatures as well as the executive branch to bring awareness to this problem.
CORRECTION - I incorrectly stated Title V where I should have stated Title IV-D
Show Sponsor This episode was sponsored by Hypnosis Downloads - you can find out more and support the Podcast by visiting http://www.dadsurvivingdivorce.com/hypnosis
Links to find out more!l * Website - Americans For Equal Shared Parenting * Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/afesp5050/
Introduction of Mark Ludwig 00:34 - Mark Ludwig from the Americans For Equal Shared Parenting joins the podcast today to discuss what he is doing to change the minds of federal and state legislatures in regards to child custody and the presumption of 50/50 share custody as the default when going into the family court system. Mark started the AFESP organization a bit over a year ago. He has leveraged his 30 years of political and legislative experience to champion this cause. He has two main goals. The first being the push for legislation for 50/50 shared custody right from the beginning. His second goal is to educate, enable, and empower other people to work this at their levels both state and federal.
How the presumption of 50/50 custody help? 05:37 - Duane and Mark discuss the nuances of how the family court system is abused and how changing the presumption of custody to “shared” 50/50 right from the start could positive effect the outcome and minimize high conflict divorces and custody battles. The current system encourages both parties to use the kids as pawns for money and control. The system has riled up both parties and has made things worse and created abuse where none previously existed. Mark also talks about the parents he’s talked to who have been able to make 50/50 work positively for them even though they were encouraged to fight for more custody from their attorney.
How is the message received by politicians 10:16 - Mark talks about some of his meetings with high level members of the executive branch to include the Office of the Vice President of the United States Mike Pence. The key is understanding how to reach people and now the process works. Mark also talks about the amount of people who are trying to connect with their elected officials and the care they must take to ensure they are meeting with vetting people. He also discusses the importance of building support on both sides of the isle. Mark indicated that he has created some support on the democrat side with La Shawn Ford from Chicago. It is very important for advocates for family court reform to reach the highest levels of each party as possible to effect change.
Parental Alienation and how people do not understand 17:57 - Duane and Mark talk about the nuances and complexity of people truly understanding this topic when they haven’t been through it. Most people just can not comprehend how bitter and nasty a person can be in a high conflict toxic divorce. Oftentimes when a person brings up parental alienation the person listen assumes you are being “nit picky” and blowing things out of proportions. Mark also talks about the effects of parental alienation and how it impacts young children.
The State Level Success Stories 28:31 - Mark talks about the successes they have had in Kentucky and the progress made in Missouri. Kentucky was the first state to pass a presumptive 50/50 custody but an amendment was added on that the law doesn’t count if they are any current or pending orders of protection which still opens the door for procedural abuse by false allegations. Even with this concern Mark indicated this is a good bill for 80% of people and it shows the family court judges what their direction is. There currently are dual bills in the Missouri state legislature which a good chance for success this year. South Carolina is also working on a bill and it has been submitted to legislative research.
Abuse of Domestic Violence Allegations in Family Court 32:47 - Mark and Duane discuss the issue of false domestic violence claims in family court. Oftentimes accusations are made after the divorce has been filed. Duane talks about a conversation he had with his own brother who is Deputy Sheriff who told him their procedures for abuse allegations is to take someone to jail. This means the system can be abused and then an individual is fighting both a criminal and family court issue simultaneously.
How is 2019 looking for AFESP 36:13 - Mark talks about their plans for 2019 and what they hope to accomplish. He feels as they are gaining ground and there has been a shift from public protest at local court house toward making fundamental legislative changes. He also discusses the problem of the “angry dad” image and how it undermines the argument for change. The message can be corrupted and/or lost when individuals and small groups approach this the wrong way. Mark has said in some states even mentioning “Father’s Rights” will shut down any discussion because the image is so toxic. They also discuss the phenomenon of more women becoming targets of the family court system where they are paying support and loosing custody and how that is opening people’s eyes that this is truly a gender neutral issue. Mark also talks of the importance of a collation of fathers and mothers to effect change on this issue and to counter the divide that the opposition to shared parenting is trying to create.
Title IV-D Reform and how it effects family court and enforcement 42:11 - Mark talks about the two main problems within the family court system. The first is the amount of money that can be made in family law. The adversarial nature of “winner take all” in family court encourages lawyers and clients to fight everything they possibly can. This generates and enormous amount of billable hours for the attorneys. The big problem, according to Mark, is the federal incentive money. The program start with a good intent back in the 1970s in a time where most, if not all, mothers did not work and were stay-at-home. This system recognized a problem where these mothers ended up on welfare because the fathers, of that time, oftentimes would not pay to support their children. In 1997/8 the system was changed and everyone was included in the system instead of just the people who were on welfare. The program provides $0.66 on the dollar for enforcement of child support collection. Mark clarifies that this isn’t on the exact amount collect but instead is on the money spent to enforce the collection. The result is these state programs have a vested interest in increasing collection and staff to support it. Mark also unravels the other issue where states get access to another federal pot of funding of $5.5B depending on the amount of money they do collect from parents. This creates an issue where the counties/states will focus on easy targets such as middle class families where they have consistent employment and higher child support amounts so they can show a higher collection success rate.
End of show wrap-up 51:21 - Duane and Mark close out the podcast and provide links for where people can learn more about Americans For Equal Shared Parenting and other ways they can have use their own unique skill sets to effect change. Mark also talks about big convention in June 28th and 29th in Washington D.C. where he is pulling together state leaders from all across the country to help them implement change throughout the states.