Abusegate: Submit Testimony for Today's Hearing on Fatherhood Promotion

From Abusegate Bob:

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An important hearing is being held today on Capitol Hill on ways to promote parental involvement. As we know, false allegations of domestic violence are a commonly-used tactic to deprive fathers of their parental rights.

Each year, 2-3 million restraining orders are issued in this country. So submit your testimony on the need to curb evidence-free restraining orders! The deadline to receive your thoughtful and polite testimony is July 1.

Congressman Jim McDermott (D-WA), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Income Security and Family Support of the Committee on Ways and Means, announced today that the Subcommittee will hold a hearing to evaluate the effectiveness of responsible fatherhood programs. The hearing will take place on Thursday, June 17, 2010, at 10:00 a.m. in B-318 Rayburn House Office Building. In view of the limited time available to hear witnesses, oral testimony at this hearing will be from invited witnesses only. However, any individual or organization not scheduled to appear may submit a written statement for consideration by the Subcommittee and for inclusion in the record of the hearing.

BACKGROUND:
Up to $50 million in Federal funds per year is now available in competitive grants to States, territories, Indian tribes, and public and non-profit community organizations to operate Responsible Fatherhood Initiatives. The program is designed to promote responsible fatherhood through: parenting activities, fostering the economic stability of fathers, marriage promotion, and collaborating with non-profit fatherhood promotion organizations to develop and advance media campaigns to encourage parental involvement. Funding for the program expires on September 30, 2010.

President Obama included a proposal in his FY2011 budget to redirect funds from the current Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood Programs into a new Fatherhood, Marriage, and Families Innovation Fund. The new program would provide competitive grants to States to develop, implement, and evaluate comprehensive responsible fatherhood programs and comprehensive family demonstrations that improve child well-being by improving the outcomes for families experiencing severe barriers to self-sufficiency. The proposal would provide $500 million in FY2011 and $150 million per year for FY2012 through FY2015.

In announcing the hearing, Chairman McDermott stated, “I look forward to hearing how Responsible Fatherhood Initiatives have helped men play a bigger role in the lives of their children, and how the program might be built upon to improve the overall well-being of vulnerable children and their families.”

FOCUS OF THE HEARING:
The hearing will focus on the effectiveness of Responsible Fatherhood Programs in improving the relationship between non-custodial parents and their children, as well as their ability to provide financial support.

DETAILS FOR SUBMISSION OF WRITTEN COMMENTS:
Please Note: Any person(s) and/or organization(s) wishing to submit for the hearing record must follow the appropriate link on the hearing page of the Committee website and complete the informational forms. From the Committee homepage, http://waysandmeans.house.gov/, select “Hearings.” Select the hearing for which you would like to submit, and click on the link entitled, “Click here to provide a submission for the record.” Once you have followed the online instructions, complete all informational forms and click “submit” on the final page. ATTACH your submission in compliance with the formatting requirements listed below, by close of business Thursday, July 1, 2010. Finally, please note that due to the change in House mail policy, the U.S. Capitol Police will refuse sealed-package deliveries to all House Office Buildings. For questions, or if you encounter technical problems, please call (202) 225-1721 or (202) 225-3625.

FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS:

The Committee relies on electronic submissions for printing the official hearing record. As always, submissions will be included in the record according to the discretion of the Committee. The Committee will not alter the content of your submission, but we reserve the right to format it according to our guidelines. Any submission provided to the Committee by a witness, any supplementary materials submitted for the printed record, and any written comments in response to a request for written comments must conform to the guidelines listed below. Any submission or supplementary item not in compliance with these guidelines will not be printed, but will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.

1. All submissions and supplementary materials must be provided in Word or WordPerfect format and MUST NOT exceed a total of 10 pages, including attachments. Witnesses and submitters are advised that the Committee relies on electronic submissions for printing the official hearing record.

2. Copies of whole documents submitted as exhibit material will not be accepted for printing. Instead, exhibit material should be referenced and quoted or paraphrased. All exhibit material not meeting these specifications will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.

3. All submissions must include a list of all clients, persons, and/or organizations on whose behalf the witness appears. A supplemental sheet must accompany each submission listing the name, company, address, telephone, and fax numbers of each witness.

The Committee seeks to make its facilities accessible to persons with disabilities. If you are in need of special accommodations, please call 202-225-1721 or 202-226-3411 TTD/TTY in advance of the event (four business days notice is requested). Questions with regard to special accommodation needs in general (including availability of Committee materials in alternative formats) may be directed to the Committee as noted above.