Resources for Fathers
IN this section, you will find all the resources you will ever need to empower yourself to play a bigger and better role in your child's life. With much of the fathers' rights resources on the web either outdated or no longer in service, Dadviser is committed to finding and posting the most recent information available on the Internet in an attempt to make your search as easy as possible. However, no amount of searching will uncover every resource so we welcome the community's help in adding to this database further increasing its value to fathers everywhere.
The first place an absent father should visit, is the United States Department of Health & Human Services Federal Resource site for promoting responsible fatherhood. This site contains the legal rights you have in access, visitation and child support matters and allows you to equip yourself with the information necessary to make a sound decision on what step to take next now that you have decided to take a positive role in your child's future.
§ Promoting Responsible Fatherhood Federal Resource Site
Behavior
Career
Custody
State Laws on Divorce and Custody
Joint Custody Legislation in the U.S.
Divorce
The Divorce Page of the Internet
State Laws on Divorce and Custody
Your Text
Education
Fatherhood
Fathers' Rights
List Of Fathers' Rights Resources
Life Stages
Relationships
Spirituality
Often, child support responsibilities need to be handled before the non-custodial parent can regain certain rights to their children. The most recent Handbook on Child Support Enforcement can be downloaded here.
§ The Spanish version can be downloaded here.
If you are looking for specific State child support enforcement guidelines, please click on the following link and click on the state you are interested in.
§ State Child Support Enforcement Web Sites
In the event you are returning to your child's life due to the incarceration of the custodial parent or have been the custodial parent and the non-custodial parent is incarcerated, the Mentoring Children of Prisoners Program offered through the Administration for Children & Families is a very helpful resource. Grants and other assistance is available through this service.
§ Administration for Children and Families
About.com has a nice database of articles related to resources for fathers in knowing and understanding their legal rights. There is also plenty of information for divorced dads to improve their relationships with their children.
Often, non-custodial fathers are the victims of a biased court system. Fathers around the world have started dozens of successful groups responsible for reversing this bias and giving men equal rights to their children. If you are interested in reading about or joining one of these groups, a great starting place is this collection of Fathers Rights reform groups.
In addition, the Separated Parenting Access & Resource Center's website has message boards, articles, state by state resources and a library of legal forms. Visit the S.P.A.R.C. website below.
The American Coalition for Fathers and Children is the only national organization challenging the current system of American family law and family policy. Membership requires a $25 fee, but included is The Shared Parenting Tool Kit, which covers a number of subjects related to domestic relations issues and was written by leading experts from around the country. Visit this valuable resource for recent news or membership information below.
§ A.C.F.C.
The National Coalition of Free Men also has many valuable downloadable resources including:
§ The Beginner's Guide To Divorce For Men
and
§ Are Fathers Really Necessary?
In the event you are facing a divorce, there are many ways to protect yourself.
You should first familiarize yourself with the applicable laws of your state and then move forward from there. You can find a synopsis of your state's divorce laws here.
The most complete database of divorce forms on the Internet can be found here. There is a wealth of free resources for all 50 states.
There are also affordable online resources that ensure successful filing of necessary forms. Some reputable services are LegalZoom and CompleteCase.
The Fathers Rights Foundation has collected a nice page of resources to assist fathers in winning custody, visitation cases and equal rights. Some of the more useful links are listed below.
§ The Multi State Guide To Fathers Rights
§ How To Minimize Child Support
and
One barrier to returning to their child's life that many fathers are unaware of is PAS, Parental Alienation Syndrome, oftentimes seen after protracted custody litigation. Richard Gardner, an expert in the field, describes it as the systematic and conscious programming of children by a parent to denigrate the other. The sources here provide a wealth of information about the disorder and what fathers in these circumstances can legally do about it.
Additionally, the state by state collection of fatherhood organizations and support is immense. There are also many international resources for fathers. Visit this vault of information below.
§ U.S. Fatherhood Organizations
The resource listings at Our Family Wizard has an amazing collection of family oriented web sites suitable for children, as well as resources for divorce, custody, alimony and support information. Visit them below for more shared parenting programs and information.
If you are interested in seeing some of the effects of the increase in single-parent households, please visit Child Stats, the government's forum for access to statistics and reports on children and families, including: population and family characteristics, economic security, health, behavior and social environment, and education.
§ Child Stats - Forum on Child and Family Statistics
As fathers, one of our main responsibilities is protecting our children and understanding their environment. Fact is there are predators and past predators all around us. A site that is doing a great job and a service to the community is the Family Watchdog. You can check your area for registered sex offenders below.
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