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BS KIDS BEAT VOLUME 13 WINTER 2011 BS KIDS It’s that time again, the dreaded winter and this year it has certainly lived up to it’s reputation. Hope you are doing well and trying to enjoy the mounds of snow that are everywhere. The legislature is in full swing, with many bills of interest this session (see below). Please remember that if you can provide testimony, either in person or via e-mail, it’s the one way to get involved and let the legislature know that we are paying attention. BS KIDS is in the process of starting a Divorce Support Group for Children. We are looking to kick off our program in March. If you or someone you know might benefit from having your children participate, please let us know at bskidsco@yahoo. com. We are also seeking individuals who would like to participate in the program. No long term commitment, just whenever you might have free time. Let us know! WHAT’S HAPPENING WITH FAMILY LAW Many of the same topics are still being discussed, whether that is child support, modification of residential responsibilities, shared parenting are all active on the legislative slate this session. There are also a number of bills relating the Guardian Ad Litem Board. These topics seem to be of national interest too, in addition to what the economy has done not only to employment but to marriage and divorce too! We think these trends will likely continue throughout the year. LEGISLATIVE UPDATES Below are the legislative bills for this session. A few bills have already had public sessions, but the majority of them are to be scheduled. You can check the NH General Court to see when the public sessions are scheduled. Their website is: http://www. gencourt.state.nh.us/house/caljourns/default.htm. This is where the House Calendar schedule of events is posted. The Senate’s schedule is located here: http://www. gencourt.state.nh.us/scaljourns/. Additionally, the General Court’s website is: http: //www.gencourt.state.nh.us/. To find out the text of any of the bills below, you can go to: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/index/default.html and type in the bill number. Here are the bills of interest for the 2011 session: 2011-H-0028-R HB 28 Relative to the suspension of drivers' licenses for failure to make child support payments. Prime Sponsor: Laura Pantelakos 2011-H-0081-R CACR 9 Relative to parental rights. Providing that parents have certain rights unless they commit an act that amounts to forfeiture. Prime Sponsor: Daniel Itse 2011-H-0100-R HB344 Establishing a judicial performance review commission. Prime Sponsor: Robert Rowe 2011-H-0128-R HB151 Relative to appointments and reappointments of marital masters. Prime Sponsor: Robert Rowe 2011-H-0191-R HB52 Relative to grounds for modification of parental rights and responsibilities. Prime Sponsor: Carolyn Gargasz 2011-H-0254-R HB563 Revising the child support formula and guidelines. Prime Sponsor: Jeffrey Oligny 2011-H-0255-R HB81 Relative to membership of the guardian ad litem board. Prime Sponsor: Jeffrey Oligny 2011-H-0256-R HB512 Relative to guardian ad litem training requirements. Prime Sponsor: Jeffrey Oligny 2011-H-0426-R HB575 Relative to the calculation of child support in cases of shared parenting. Prime Sponsor: Carolyn Gargasz 2011-H-0432-R HR7 Directing the house judiciary committee to investigate whether grounds exist to impeach marital master Phillip Cross and/or any justice of the New Hampshire Supreme Court. Prime Sponsor: Daniel Itse 2011-H-0444-R HB281 relative to custody of juveniles for certain offenses. Prime Sponsor: Patricia Dowling 2011-H-0445-R HB168 Establishing a committee to study the juvenile delinquency and children in need of services statutes. Prime Sponsor: Patricia Dowling 2011-H-0451-R HB380 Exempting the commission on the status of men and the commission on the status of women from repeal on June 30, 2011. Prime Sponsor: William Smith 2011-H-0546-R HB395 Establishing a child protection study committee. Prime Sponsor: Daniel Itse 2011-H-0564-R CACR11 Limiting district and superior court justices to 5-year renewable terms. Prime Sponsor: Harold Reilly 2011-H-0580-R HB580 Relative to grounds for divorce for persons with minor children. Prime Sponsor: Gary Hopper 2011-H-0688-R HB614 Requiring a performance audit of the guardian ad litem program. Prime Sponsor: Mary Gile 2011-H-0695-R HB616 Relative to coverage for divorced spouses. Prime Sponsor: James Head 2011-H-0724-R HB591 Relative to parental rights and custody arrangements. Prime Sponsor: Jeffrey Oligny 2011-H-0725-R HB538 Establishing a reporting system for court decisions relative to residential responsibility under parenting plans. Prime Sponsor: Jeffrey Oligny 2011-H-0757-R HB597 Revising the child support guidelines based on the 2009 New Hampshire Child Support Guidelines Review and Recommendations. Prime Sponsor: Edward Moran 2011-H-0773-R HB599 Relative to reappointments of marital masters. Prime Sponsor: Tony Saltoni 2011-H-0774-R HB314 Relative to judicially appointed officials. Prime Sponsor: Tony Saltoni 2011-H-0775-R HB315 Relative to appointment of attorneys by judges, marital masters, and judicial officers. Prime Sponsor: Tony Saltoni 2011-H-0846-R HB415 Relative to access to abuse and neglect investigation records in child custody disputes. Prime Sponsor: Paul Ingbretson 2011-H-0847-R HB506 Relative to false allegations in child abuse cases. Prime Sponsor: Paul Ingbretson 2011-H-0908-R HB435 Relative to the procedure for determining child custody. Prime Sponsor: Lars Christiansen 2011-H-0910-R HB436 Restructuring the guardian ad litem board. Prime Sponsor: Lars Christiansen 2011-S-0949-R SB30 Relative to including a parent's residence in the parenting plan. Prime Sponsor: David Boutin NEWS Here are a couple of interesting articles to read, more are located on our website at www.bskids.net/news. Court must approve change in child support amount CONCORD, N.H. (AP) -- Parents can't change a child support order without approval by the court, the New Hampshire Supreme Court says, in what is proving a costly lesson for an unemployed father. The divorced parents of a now-4-year-old girl agreed in writing two years ago to amend child support payments after the father, Anthony Laura, lost his job with a Francestown pool company. The private agreement between the parents reduced the amount of money Laura owed from $57 a week to $50 a month. But the agreement is invalid because the family court did not approve it and Laura is now liable for about $5,000 in back payments for the court-ordered support. The state Division of Child Support Services sent Anthony Laura the bill this summer after his ex-wife, Ericka Scott, applied for food stamps and other state assistance. The Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling that the private agreement has no bearing on the court-ordered back support Laura owes. The justices ruled that the state's child support guidelines are in place to help guarantee adequate support for children and require that parents meet their support responsibilities based on their income and ability to pay. "While Laura argues that his change of financial situation was sufficient to warrant the modification of the child support agreement, the statute explicitly requires judicial approval of any agreement that departs from the child support guidelines," Justice James Duggan wrote, for the unanimous court. Attorney James Laura represented his son in the appeal. He said he disagrees strongly with the court's ruling. "It's allowing the state to come in and open up cases that are closed and interject themselves into those matters," James Laura said of the state's demand for back support. WASHINGTON — Is marriage becoming obsolete? As families gather for Thanksgiving this year, nearly one in three American children is living with a parent who is divorced, separated or never-married. More people are accepting the view that wedding bells aren't needed to have a family. A study by the Pew Research Center highlights rapidly changing notions of the American family. And the Census Bureau, too, is planning to incorporate broader definitions of family when measuring poverty, a shift caused partly by recent jumps in unmarried couples living together. About 29 percent of children under 18 now live with a parent or parents who are unwed or no longer married, a fivefold increase from 1960, according to the Pew report being released today. Broken down further, about 15 percent have parents who are divorced or separated and 14 percent who were never married. Within those two groups, a sizable chunk — 6 percent — have parents who are live- in couples who opted to raise kids together without getting married. Indeed, about 39 percent of Americans said marriage was becoming obsolete. And that sentiment follows U.S. census data released in September that showed marriages hit an all-time low of 52 percent for adults 18 and over. In 1978, just 28 percent believed marriage was becoming obsolete. When asked what constitutes a family, the vast majority of Americans agree that a married couple, with or without children, fits that description. But four of five surveyed pointed also to an unmarried, opposite-sex couple with children or a single parent. Three of 5 people said a same-sex couple with children was a family. "Marriage is still very important in this country, but it doesn't dominate family life like it used to," said Andrew Cherlin, a professor of sociology and public policy at Johns Hopkins University. "Now there are several ways to have a successful family life, and more people accept them." The broadening views of family are expected to have an impact at Thanksgiving. About nine in 10 Americans say they will share a Thanksgiving meal next week with family, sitting at a table with 12 people on average. About one-fourth of respondents said there will be 20 or more family members. "More Americans are living in these new families, so it seems safe to assume that there will be more of them around the Thanksgiving dinner table," said Paul Taylor, executive vice president of the Pew Research Center. The changing views of family are being driven largely by young adults 18-29, who are more likely than older generations to have an unmarried or divorced parent or have friends who do. Young adults also tend to have more liberal attitudes when it comes to spousal roles and living together before marriage, the survey found. But economic factors, too, are playing a role. The Census Bureau recently reported that opposite-sex unmarried couples living together jumped 13 percent this year to 7.5 million. It was a sharp one-year increase that analysts largely attributed to people unwilling to make long-term marriage commitments in the face of persistent unemployment. Beginning next year, the Census Bureau will publish new, supplemental poverty figures that move away from the traditional concept of family as a husband and wife with two children. It will broaden the definition to include unmarried couples, such as same-sex partners, as well as foster children who are not related by blood or adoption. Officials say such a move will reduce the number of families and children who are considered poor based on the new supplemental measure, which will be used as a guide for federal and state agencies to set anti-poverty policies. That's because two unmarried partners who live together with children and work are currently not counted by census as a single "family" with higher pooled incomes, but are officially defined as two separate units — one being a single parent and child, the other a single person — who aren't sharing household resources. "People are rethinking what family means," Cherlin said. "Given the growth, I think we need to accept cohabitation relationships as a basis for some of the fringe benefits offered to families, such as health insurance." Still, the study indicates that marriage isn't going to disappear anytime soon. Despite a growing view that marriage may not be necessary, 67 percent of Americans were upbeat about the future of marriage and family. That's higher than their optimism for the nation's educational system (50 percent), economy (46 percent) or its morals and ethics (41 percent). And about half of all currently unmarried adults, 46 percent, say they want to get married. Among those unmarried who are living with a partner, the share rises to 64 percent. Other findings: * About 34 percent of Americans called the growing variety of family living arrangements good for society, while 32 percent said it didn't make a difference and 29 percent said it was troubling. * About 44 percent of people say they have lived with a partner without being married; for 30-to-49-year-olds, that share rose to 57 percent. In most cases, those couples said they considered cohabitation as a step toward marriage. • About 62 percent say that the best marriage is one where the husband and wife both work and both take care of the household and children. That's up from 48 percent who held that view in 1977. The Pew study was based on interviews with 2,691 adults by cell phone or landline from Oct. 1-21. The survey has a total margin of error of plus or minus 2.6 percentage points, larger for subgroups. Pew also analyzed 2008 census data, and used surveys conducted by Time magazine to identify trends from earlier decades. GET INVOLVED The best way to get involved is to participate in the upcoming public sessions regarding bills that are of interest to you. You can go to the Child & Family Law Committee and or send testimony to the Committee. Their address is: CFL@leg.state.nh.us. There are many new members this session so to check and see if your local representative is on the committee you can visit www.bskids.net and check out the new members. Remember, even if you have testified in the past, going to the public sessions is one of the best ways to let the Committee know that we are paying attention and that we would like for change to happen. Another good way to get involved is to reach out to your local representatives, regardless of what committee they are on and ask for their support on a particular bill. There have been some new committees instituted, so you should check that out too! Remember, if you do nothing, nothing will change. E-MAIL ALERTS If you are interested in getting alerts from BS KIDS regarding news, legislative activity or getting involved opportunities, please sign up on our website at www.bskids.net COMMENTS/SUGGESTIONS BS KIDS is looking to include areas of interest to our readers. If there is a topic or area of concern that you would like to learn more about, please let us know. You can e-mail us at info@bskids.net or call 781-756-1214. |