November is Family Court Awareness Month

WE NEED YOUR CITY TO PROCLAIM NOVEMBER

FAMILY COURT AWARENESS MONTH

We have done all of the work for you - all you have to do is:

Check to see if your city has proclaimed November as Family Court Awareness Month.
If your city has NOT proclaimed November as Family Court Awareness Month, let’s change that!

1. Find your Mayor’s email address.

2. Cut/paste this email.

3. Be sure to edit the template to add your Mayor’s name, your city, and your name at the bottom.

4. Remember to cc: tina@familycourtawarenessmonth.com (so we can track).

Dear Mayor (NAME),

November is Family Court Awareness Month. The month of November provides an excellent opportunity for (YOUR CITY) to demonstrate its support in recognizing the importance of a family court system that prioritizes child safety and acts in the best interest of children.

During the inaugural Family Court Awareness Month (2020), the top advocates in the family court system joined forces in a united effort to shine a spotlight on one of the most important branches of our judicial system. This collaboration was organized by Tina Swithin of One Mom’s Battle and Sandra Ross of California Protective Parents Association. Joining in this awareness campaign was The National Family Violence Law Center, The Court Said USA, Kayden’s Korner Foundation, Kyra Franchetti Foundation, Pollack Group LLC, Center for Judicial Excellence, and the Stop Abuse Campaign.

Efforts to coin the month of November as Family Court Awareness Month received recognition and endorsements from California Congresswoman Judy Chu, Senator Susan Rubio and Assemblywoman Blanca Rubio. At the Los Angeles press conference on November 1, 2020, Senator Rubio and Assemblywoman Rubio were in attendance and spoke prior to the ribbon cutting ceremony.

The Los Angeles event was the first in a series of press conferences across the country. Speakers at these events were notable voices in the domestic violence and family court advocacy communities. These speakers included Jacqueline Franchetti whose daughter, Kyra Franchetti was murdered as a result of a New York family court failure. Ana Estevez, whose beloved son, Piqui, was murdered as a result of a California family court failure and Kathy Sherlock, mother to Kayden, who was murdered as a result of a Pennsylvania family court failure.

Currently, many families in our community are struggling in silence and facing the reality that child safety is not being prioritized. Our family court system lacks the proper training on domestic violence, childhood trauma and post separation abuse. In fact, many are shocked to discover that most states do not have domestic violence training requirements prior to a judicial officer presiding over family court cases and ultimately, determining the fate of innocent children. In the states that do have requirements for domestic violence training, it is very minimal. 

Our goal for Family Court Awareness Month 2021, is to shine a spotlight on solutions such as the research that is currently available, but not being utilized. This research includes:

• The Meier Study

• Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)

• The Saunders Study

• The Santa Clara University Study (High Conflict individuals in the family court system)

I would be honored if you would sponsor an official proclamation to recognize November as Family Court Awareness Month. Your proclamation would lend official recognition to the important work of educating the public, as well as emphasize your personal commitment to help support matters that are of the utmost importance to your community, specifically, child safety.

For efficiency purposes, here is our proposed wording for the proclamation:

• WHEREAS, the mission at One Mom’s Battle (OMB) and the Family Court Awareness Month Committee (FCAMC) is to increase awareness on the importance of a family court system that prioritizes child safety and acts in the best interest of children, and;

• WHEREAS, the mission at the FCAMC is to increase awareness on the importance of education and training on domestic violence, childhood trauma and post separation abuse for all professionals working within the family court system, and;

• WHEREAS, the mission at the FCAMC is to educate judges and other family court professionals on the empirical data and research that is currently available. Such research is a critical component to making decisions that are truly in the best interest of children. This research includes The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study (CDC-Kaiser Permanente), Saunder’s Study (Us Department of Justice), The Meier Study: Child Custody Outcomes in Cases Involving Abuse Allegations, and the Santa Clara Law Study (Confronting the Challenge of High-Conflict Personality in Family Court), and;

• WHEREAS, the mission at the FCAMC is fueled by the desire for awareness and change in the family court system while honoring the 100(+) children in the United States who have been murdered by a parent after a custody court rejected the other parent’s plea for protection (Source: Center for Judicial Excellence).

I have cc’d founder, Tina Swithin (tina@familycourtawarenessmonth.com) on this email and if it works with her schedule, she would be honored to be in attendance (virtually) when the proclamation is presented.

If you, or your staff, have any questions concerning the request, or Family Court Awareness Month, please call let me know.  I will follow-up with your office on this request in the next few days.  As always, we appreciate your support.  Thank you for considering this very important request.

Sincerely,  (YOUR NAME)