GREATER                           JULY/AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 1999

                        PITTSBURGH                                            VOL.5  NO.2

                      CHAPTER

The 19th annual national convention of the National Congress for Fathers and Children will be held in Pittsburgh from September 23rd to the 25th, 1999. To insure that the convention is a success we are soliciting early registrations from individuals, plus corporate and individual sponsors.

Sign up early! The registration costs will increase from $85 to $95 after August 31, 1999, so it will behoove you to register early. In addition, we would encourage as many members and non-members to stay at the Holiday Inn. Room rates are just $69 plus tax when you mention the NCFC conference. There will be activities every evening. These time periods are a wonderful opportunity to meet and network with other people from across the state of Pennsylvania and across the whole country.

A registration form is included as a part of this newsletter or sign-up through the internet.

We are also asking NCFC members to contribute their time and/or $10 or $25 toward sponsoring this convention. Membership renewal for NCFC members will be discounted 50% if you attend the convention. If you contribute $25 or more, your name will be printed in the brochure as a contributor. Please send your commitment of time or money for this important event as soon as possible.

Fathers Day was Sunday, June 20th. We had a wonderful turnout of members, parents, grandparents and the media this year. The rally on the steps of the Allegheny County City County Building steps on Grant Street in downtown Pittsburgh began at 11:00 a.m. Speakers included Kevin Sheahen, Larry Davis, Dave Henry, 12 year old Derral Patterson, Dan Buccigrossi, Joanne Scheafnocker and Pittsburgh City Councilman Sala Udin.

There were choices of two events for families to share Fathers Day together. The first event was a trip to the Pittsburgh Zoo. There were over 75 fathers, mothers, grandparents and children who attended. The main picnic pavilion was available to all guests participating with this event. The families brought their own food and beverages. Some food and door prizes were donated and given away. The second event was held at Laser Storm on McKnight Road. We got to see a lot of grown-ups act like kids and a lot of children act like grown-ups. It was a lot of fun for all.

NCFC would like to thank all who helped put this successful event together and a special thank you to Westinghouse for the donation of the door prizes.

The legislative bill in the Pennsylvania legislature for presumptive joint custody is SB 175, introduced by Senator James Gerlach. The bill is in the Senate Judiciary Committee. According to Greg Warner, Chief of Staff for Senator Stewart Greenleaf, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, the committee is waiting on a report about custody issues from the Joint State Government Commission Advisory Committee on Domestic Relations. This report is expected sometime in the fall of 1999. The contact person for the Joint State Government Commission is David Hostetter, Chief Counsel. Mr. Hostetter can be reached at:

However, the 28 members of the advisory committee submitting recommendations to the Joint State Government Commission about Pennsylvania’s custody reform are ALL lawyers and judges. This is sort of letting the foxes guard the henhouse. The rumor is, the committee is NOT going to act in the best interests of children by not recommending a presumptive joint custody law because it will mean less custody litigation. Attorney Maria Cognetti is the chairman of the custody reform recommendation report. You can write to her at the following address:

Your personal input to your local representatives and senators can make presumptive joint custody happen. Become active and ‘press the flesh’ with your government representatives. If you haven’t registered to vote, then go out today and register.

If you can schedule an appointment with your representative to review the importance of this bill and to voice your concern, please call our chapter office to schedule a board member or other NCFC member to attend with you. You can also submit written testimony as the why presumptive joint custody should be enacted in Pennsylvania. Send ten (10) copies of your statement to:

NCFC membership is good for one year. Single membership is $85 and family membership is $95. Renewal of membership to NCFC is $50 for single members and $70 for family membership. Your membership dues are tax deductible because NCFC is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) educational organization. Most of our expenses are paid for with your membership and renewal of membership money. Of course, additional donations are more than welcome and will be put to good use.

Please take time now and renew your membership. If you already have renewed your membership, NCFC thanks you.

Many of Pennsylvania NCFC members have received a copy of a chain letter with a self addressed stamped envelope to Senator Stewart Greenleaf. Also included were a set of instructions requesting that you copy the letter and instructions three times and mail the set with three self addressed stamped envelopes to three other fathers or concerned citizens that you know. Please follow through with your letter to Senator Greenleaf and to three of your friends. Then call us up at 412-854-4799 and tell us that you have completed your mission. We are keeping track to show that fathers do care and that fathers can get involved.

Tim Woods holds the lead with sending 58 letters to other fathers and then calling them back to see if they followed up with their letter mailings. Congratulations Tim!

Paul has one child from his marriage. His child’s mother got tired of the marriage and filed for divorce. The court granted her the divorce, gave her custody of the little girl, child support from Paul and spousal support from Paul. Paul was granted ‘liberal’ visitation with his daughter (15% of her life, or every other weekend) . However, mom got tired of seeing dad involved with their child so she moved away to Tennessee and went on welfare. The problem arises in that Paul holds down only a living wage job. He was not aware of the state statutes on custody nor could he afford an attorney to battle across state lines.

Paul called NCFC. He met with some of our members. Paul’s child support order was compared to the support guidelines. He was paying about twice as much as what the guidelines indicated that he should be paying. NCFC helped Paul understand how to file a pro se motion to modify support. Paul filed it, had his hearing, and his support was reduced by 50%.

Suddenly, Paul got a letter from Tennessee saying that he owed $12,000 in back child support. Paul has good documentation of his consistent payment and the order from Allegheny County Family Division stating his arrears were only $400. Tennessee withheld Paul’s federal tax income refund even though in a letter to Paul, they said they would not withhold the refund without a proper hearing. However, nobody in Tennessee or in Allegheny County would listen. NCFC and ACES worked together contacting both states’ Domestic Relations Sections but neither office would respond. Paul was forced to miss three days of work and travel to Tennessee for the hearing scheduled in Tennessee. On the day of the hearing, the Tennessee domestic relations people told him that he did not have to come to this hearing because Tennessee agreed that they made a mistake. But Tennessee still has Paul’s federal income tax check. Tennessee will not reimburse Paul for his travel and lost wages expenses even though they have admitted fault.

While Paul was in Tennessee, he tried to see his daughter. He had given his daughter’s mother two week advance notice and his desire to see his daughter. Guess what, his kid’s mom would not let him see his daughter!

Now Paul is working with NCFC to modify his custody order.

NCFC can probably help you understand your situation, too. However, you need to join NCFC because most members are not attorneys and NCFC helps members through networking with other members in similar situations and circumstances. Call (412) 854-4799 to get more information.

The following people deserve a special thanks to Lee Skinkis and his children Alex and Cassie and their cousins Amanda and Kyle Skinkis and Matt Johnson for helping with the last newsletter mailing. Lee apologizes for some stamps that had smudges from the chocolate the kids ate.

Attorney at Law (The Best In Pittsburgh!)

Voelker & Gricks, L.L.P.

1220 Grant Building

310 Grant Street

Pittsburgh, PA 15219

412-281-3007; fax: 391-0668

The mission of the National Congress for Fathers and Children, Inc. is to serve as a national organization, to assist state and local efforts compatible with the goal of assisting fathers to remain actively involved in the lives of their children regardless of marital status. We provide a forum to coordinate local efforts to impact national initiatives and to bring national attention to local concerns of our affiliated organizations and members.

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LANDMARK MEETING IN ALLEGHENY COUNTY

On May 19, 1999, members of NCFC, Co-operative Parenting for Divided Families and the Coalition for Fathering Families met with Linda Liechty, Esq., Administrator of Allegheny Count Family Division on behalf of the new Administrative Judge of Family Division, Kathleen Mulligan.

Larry Davis, Joanne Rudman, Denise Simpson, Kevin Sheahen and Tom Tully attended the meeting. The purpose of the meeting was to find ways the court can reduce case load and shorten case duration for families. Topics such as providing support guideline information, better out of state order communications, improved court scheduling procedure, reintroducing night court, increased contempt penalties, promoting more father involvement, enforcing submittal of parenting plans, making the Generations Program more available and providing better access for handicapped people.

The proposed programs from the meeting concentrated on educating the public better, providing better ‘customer’ service and improving child access.

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OTHER SUPPORTIVE GROUPS

• Florida’s Chapter of NCFC 1-888-SEE-DADS
• Michigan Chapter of NCFC 248-865-9864
• The Coalition for Fathering Families; Larry Davis 731-4639
• ACES; Association for Children for the Enforcement of Support 732-0425
• National NCFC Membership; 1-800-SEE-DADS
• Pittsburgh’s Northside Father Support Group 767-4182
• Joint Custody Association 310-475-5352

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PITTSBURGH CHAPTER MEETINGS

Our chapter educational meetings are open to the public. There is no fee to attend and you do not have to be a member to attend.

When are our meetings? It is easy to remember. Our meetings are always the second Saturday of every month from 10 a.m. til noon.

Location:              Bethel Park Municipal Building
                            5100 Library Road
Time:                   10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Parking:                Free

Directions:            Take Route 51 South to Route 88.
                            Turn right to BRIGHTWOOD.
                            Turn right on Brightwood to Library Avenue.
                            The Municipal Building is just across the Trolley Tracks.
 

Upcoming Educational Meetings

September 11, 1999; 1999 NCFC Convention Events Planning Butler Division Meetings

2nd Wednesday of the month at 7:00 p.m. at Eppingers Restaurant on Route 19, Perry Highway, Portersville.
July 14th, August 11th, September 8th, & October 13th
Call Michele Shera at 814-437-1572 or email her at:
WASN.C.F.C.BAM@CSONLINE.NET
 

Other Upcoming Events

September 23, 1999; at the Holiday Inn Green Tree;
                7:00 p.m. til 9:00 p.m; ‘Soap Box Forum’

September 24, 1999; at the Holiday Inn Green Tree;
                9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; Convention with speakers every hour.
                7:00 p.m. to 10:00 pm.; at the Holiday Inn Green Tree Restaurant;
                                                    Father’s Rights Dinner and Round Table Discussion Panel. Dinner is $30.

September 25, 1999; at the Holiday Inn Green Tree;
                9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; Convention with speakers every hour, National NCFC board elections,
                                                    Panel discussion group.
                7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.; Closing dinner and keynote speaker. Dinner is $35.

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Pro Se Help

Help in understanding Pro Se motions is available on most Tuesdays from 6-11:00 P.M. Topics such as custody, visitation, support, equitable distribution, divorce, discovery and appeals can be reviewed. We have to restrict this service to members but you can join when you come in. Call the office (854-4799) for an appointment.

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THE POLITICS OF FATHERHOOD

By Stephen Baskerville

The following paper was presented at the plenary session of the conference on The Politics of Fatherhood, Howard University, Washington, D.C., March 23, 1999.

When we first conceived the idea for a conference on The Politics of Fatherhood not everyone was sure precisely what it meant. And perhaps we were not sure ourselves. We knew the fatherhood crisis had been addressed by several disciplines and that political science was not one of them. As a student of political thought, I knew that most major political theorists have had something to say about the place of fatherhood in civil society and the role of father as preparative for that of citizen. We also knew that any social movement inevitably involves politics, both internally among the various strands and externally in connection to the wider society and the public state.

We knew as well that one very politically-charged issue was central to this, as to every problem of American society may be the one to be so direct): race. While the fatherhood crisis has long been felt most acutely in minority communities, it can no longer be dismissed by the majority. As Cornel West and Sylvia Ann Hewlett write, when it comes to dads, the African-American experience prefigures the contemporary mainstream experience and the results are devastating. Indeed, given the gravity of the fatherhood crisis, perhaps what we are seeing here is an unexpected validation of the prophecy of Frederick Douglass, who said that the Negro and the nation are to rise or fall, be saved or lost, together. If this prophecy is indeed still valid, it means that the stakes are high for all of us. It means that in addressing the destruction of fatherhood in the minority community we are simultaneously addressing it for the majority and throughout society. It may also mean that the experiences of the minority in recent decades are applicable here. Among the lessons of the civil rights movement that might be profitable for those of us to see our task as creating empowerment for fathers is that no people can be empowered by others; by definition the only way to be empowered is to empower oneself. And power means politics.

This has not been the central approach thus far in the fatherhood movement. Yet sooner or later it is one we must confront. If for no other reason than the rather startling fact that, with the exception of convicted criminals, no group in our society today has fewer rights than fathers. Not just unwed fathers, not divorced fathers, all fathers are affected. Even accused criminals have the right to due process, to know the charges against them, to a lawyer, and to a trial. A father can be deprived of his children, his home and life savings, and his freedom with none of these constitutional protections.

It will come as no surprise to some here that the line between fathers and criminals is now becoming thin. This is sometimes owing to what fathers themselves have done. More often it is the result of what our social, political, and legal system has done. Nowhere is the criminalization of fatherhood more evident than in the politics of the judiciary. It is the courts which, from the days of the civil rights movement, we have looked to as the guardians of the constitutional rights of individuals and minorities. Yet for fathers and families generally, the judiciary has not only failed to protect constitutional rights; it has become their principal violator.

The arm of the state that undeniably reaches deepest into the private lives of individuals and families today is the family court. Malcolm X once described a family court as modern slavery, and more recently West and Hewlett have written that the entire process seems to bypass most constitutional protections. The very notion of a family court now backed up by a vast army of family police should alert us to danger. Yet far from scrutinizing these bodies, we give them virtually unchecked power. Shrouded in secrecy and leaving no record of their proceedings, they are accountable to virtually no one. Robert W. Page, Presiding Judge of the Family Part of the Superior Court of New Jersey, writes that the power of family court judges is almost unlimited.

Predictably with unlimited power, the family courts of this country are now out of control. They are not tribunals for redressing injustice; they are more of a racket for plundering fathers and funneling money into the pockets of lawyers. Though their lips are dripping with the words ‘best interest of the child’, they are in fact using our children as weapons and as commodities for the increase of their own power and profit.

We have in our history seen the consequences of treating an entire class of citizens as if the Bill of Rights did not apply to them. We have tried to live in a house divided in a political system that operates half slave and half free. And we have found, as Lincoln warned, that sooner or later it must be all one or all the other.

As a society we are always in danger of forgetting what we have learned, and I think it is the appropriate role of this University, with its role in the history of civil rights, to remind us. For it is the responsibility of scholars, perhaps more than others, to point out and criticize the abuse of power. The neutral scholar is an ignoble man, wrote Frederick Douglass. The future public opinion of the land must redound to the honor of the scholars or cover them with shame. What we are now seeing, to paraphrase Douglass, is the authoritarian power of the courts advancing, poisoning, corrupting, and perverting the institutions of the country. In fact, what we are witnessing today what may be the most massive institutionalized witch-hunt in this country’s history.

Never before have we seen, on such scale, mass incarcerations without trial, without charge, and without counsel while the media and civil libertarians look the other way. Never before have we seen the spectacle of the highest officials in our land including the President of the United States, the Attorney General and major cabinet secretaries, and leading members of Congress from both parties using their office as a platform to publicly vilify private citizens who have been convicted of nothing and who have no opportunity to reply. Never before have we seen government officials walk so freely into the homes of private citizens who are accused of nothing and help themselves to whatever they want, including their children, their life savings, their private papers and effects, and eventually their persons. Not since the days of Communist Eastern Europe and Nazi Germany have we seen the regular use of children as informers against their parents. Never before have we seen the stealing of children systematized to a bureaucratic routine. To find the forced separation of children from their parents on such a scale we must go back before the days of Communism and Nazism. Though both these regimes routinely took children from their parents, they did so on a scale that was minuscule compared to what is now practiced in the United States. Indeed, we must return to the days of American slavery to find a time when state power was used to forcibly break up families on a scale comparable to what is taking place today.

It is not lightly that I invoke the slave system. It is to illustrate our experience that any system of domestic dictatorship no matter how apparently private and apolitical poses a serious threat to a democratic society. Nowhere is this more destructively seen than in the impact on our children themselves. Politically, the decisive argument against slavery was not so much its physical cruelty as the corruption it wrought in the political system and in the minds and souls of what should have been free citizens. It fostered tyranny in the slave holder, servility in the slave, and moral degradation in both. Such habits of mind were said to be incompatible with the kind of republican virtue required for a free society.

The abolitionist Charles Sumner warned of the impact on the development of white children growing up in slave societies. Their hearts, while yet tender with childhood, are necessarily hardened by this conduct, and their subsequent lives bear enduring testimony to this legalized uncharitableness, he wrote. Their characters are debased, and they become less fit for the magnanimous duties of a good citizen. Something similar is at work with the children who are now growing up under a state that forcibly destroys their families and their fathers. No people can remain free who harbor within themselves a system of dictatorship or raise their children according to its principles.

This too is the politics of fatherhood.

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MONTGOMERY & DUDDING, M.S.T. 1138 Brownsville Road Pittsburgh, PA 15210 (412) 882-8002 fax # (412) 885-4725

Serving businesses and individuals in taxation issues, audits, business evaluations, and personal estates. Call for a free quotation of services. Mention that you are a member of NCFC and Mark Dudding will donate $20 to our organization.

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MEETING HELD IN HOLLIDAYSBURG FOR SB 175

A meeting was held at the Hollidaysburg, Blair County courthouse on June 24, 1999 to call attention to SB 175, Presumptive Joint Custody for Pennsylvania. NCFC Altoona Division Chairman, Dave Scott organized the event with the help of the members of the Altoona Division. Dave was the guest of the local television stations earlier in the day to promote the event. Kevin Sheahen and John Eichleberger also attended as a guest panelist to promote the bill.

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MORE HELP AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC

The Coalition for Fathering Families, in conjunction with NCFC, ACES, and Citizen’s for Family Unity are is holding regular Thursday evening workshops at the United Way Building on One Smithfield Place in downtown Pittsburgh. The topics that are discussed range from Anger Management, to Pro Se Family Law, to a Career Night. The meetings are free and are open to the public. These meetings are a great opportunity to begin networking with other people and empowering yourself on the issues of parenting.

Please call Larry Davis at 731-4639 for more information or to request a schedule of events.

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Co-operative Parenting for Divided Families

The purpose of this new service is to offer families an opportunity to become educated about co-parenting after a break-up of a relationship when children are involved.

Co-operative Parenting for Divided Families’ goal is education for these families on a team approach. The couples meet with team members from Co-operative Parenting for Divided Families, one male team member and one female team member. These two team members and the couple meet about three or four times for about one hour each time to discuss each other’s concerns and to learn about the family court system. These couples can then better understand what lies ahead in terms of litigation, probable results, examples of parenting plans, probable support levels, and time line of events.

Thus far, each couple that has gone through this program has resolved all of their issues and concerns outside of court. This program is available to everyone. Presently, there are not any fees for either party. NCFC is soliciting grant funding to expand this successful program at the present time.

If you would like more information about Co-operative Parenting for Divided Families, please contact Joanne at 412-732-0425.

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WE NEED YOU!

We need volunteers to help specifically in the following areas:

· 1999 National NCFC Convention committee members to help plan and prepare for the 1999 convention in Pittsburgh

· Newsletter editor to write and format our quarterly newsletter and to seek advertising space

· Newsletter mailing person to attach the labels, stamps, sorting the quarterly newsletters

· A grant writing person to submit grant proposals to foundations and community groups

· Press release person to notify the press and the public about our upcoming activities

Please call Kevin at 854-4799 to volunteer your services or if you have any questions about any of the above positions.

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1999 NCFC National Convention

‘Preserving the Promise of Fatherhood’

Please register early for the 1999 NCFC National Convention to be held at:

Holiday Inn Central/Green Tree
401 Holiday Drive
Pittsburgh, PA 15220
(412) 922-8100

The 19th annual national convention of the National Congress for Fathers and Children will be held in Pittsburgh from September 23rd to the 25th, 1999. To insure that the convention is a success we are soliciting early registrations from individuals, as well as corporate and individual sponsors.

Who Should Attend?

This convention is open to the public. However,:

· if you are going through a divorce,
· if you have a child out of wedlock,
· if you are contemplating a separation or divorce,
· if you are a family law attorney,
· if you are a family mediator,
· if you are a psychologist who works with divorce issues with adults or children,
· if you are an employee of the domestic relations section of any state,
· if you are a legislator or on a legislator’s staff,
· if you are a district magistrate,
· if you are a judge,
· if you are a social worker,
· if you are a grandparent,
· if you are a father’s rights advocate,

then you should attend this convention.

Supporting Organizations Include:

National Congress for Fathers and Children, NCFC’s Pittsburgh Chapter, Michigan Chapter;
Joint Custody Association; Coalition for Fathering Families

Other speakers that are not confirmed will represent family law issues, the importance of fathers in children’s lives, pro se seminars, legislation topics and children in divorce and paternity situations.

Please go to the form and mail it to our office listed below:

Please make checks payable to "NCFC" and mail to:

Kevin Sheahen, 1999 Convention Chairman
37 Seneca Road
Pittsburgh, PA 15241

(412) 343-2955
(412) 835-1362 Fax
1-800-SEE-DADS
pghdads@aol.com
http://www.trfn.clpgh.org/ncfcpgh

NCFC, founded in 1981, is the longest-lived fathers’ rights organization having a membership-elected board of directors.

NCFC encourages you to also stay at the Holiday Inn, Green Tree during your stay at the NCFC Convention. There will be activities every night at the Holiday Inn that you should not miss. These evenings will also be a great opportunity to meet some of the speakers and network with other members and fathers’ rights advocates from across the country and Canada.

There are special rates of only $69 per room per night if you mention that you are a part of the NCFC convention.

We need YOU!!! Your children need you, too!!!

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Convention Schedule of Events

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 1999

6:00 P.M.     Registration at the Holiday Inn Greentree

7:00 P.M.     Soap Box Open Discussion

Opening Statement by NCFC President Larry Hellman.
Moderator: Robert Hirschfeld, J.D.
Format: Open Public Forum
 
 
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 1999
 
9:00 A.M.     Kathryn Gibson. M.A.; 
Joint Custody from a Mother and Counselor
 
  George Fleming, Whales Tale;
Fathering Issues for Young Fathers
 
10:00 A.M.   Charles Voelker, Esq.;
Procedures in Allegheny County family Division
 
  Phil Washington, Fathers Working Group;
Counseling for Young Fathers
11:00 A.M.   Daniel Richards, Acting Dir. Bureau of Child Support Enforcement for PA
                      Linda Liechty, Esq., Administrator for Family Division of Allegheny County;
                            Procedures in Pennsylvania Family Courts

                      Melvin Hubbard El, Male Initiative Program, Healthy Start

Noon Lunch Break

1:00 P.M.     Jim Cook, Joint Custody Association;
                            Joint Custody Today Nationwide

                      Bob Hirschfeld, J.D.;
                            Pro Se Workshop

2:00 P.M.     Perle Harbour; Author of "Guerrilla Divorce"

                      James Kohler, Esq., Prominent California Father's Rights Attorney

3:00 P.M.     Senator Tim Murphy, Ph.D., PA’s 37th District
                            Pennsylvania's Domestic Relations Legislative Update

                      Steve Wingfield, Esq. And Tom Korner;
                            Attorney Client Team

4:00 P.M.     Deborah I Iwanyshyn, Esq., CPA;
                            Mediation in Domestic Relations

                      Sydney Brown, Court Psychologist

5:00 P.M.     Mike Powers, New York Fathers Rights Association;
                            Fathers Rights Movement in New York

                     1998 Federal Access Grant Recipient Symposium;
                            Moderator Mike McKay, NCFC Board of Directors

7:00 P.M.     Fathers Rights Dinner and Roundtable Discussion
 
 

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 1999
 
9:00 A.M.     Larry Davis, Coalition for fathering Families;
                            Positive Fathering

                      David Burroughs;
                            Effects of the Violence Against Women Act on Families

10:00 A.M.   Ginger Thompson;
                            West Virginia Custody Legislation Changes

                      Larry Hellmann, President of National Congress for Fathers
                      and Children

11:00 A.M.   David Shackleton, Editor of Everyman magazine

Noon             Lunch Break

1:00 P.M.     NCFC National Board Member Elections (Until 3:00 P.M.)

                      David Scott, CPA;
                           Move Away Effects on Children

2:00 P.M.     Kathleen Parker, Syndicated Columnist

3:00 P.M.     PAPI Meeting, Pennsylvania Parenthood Initiative

                      Panel Discussion with Larry Hellmann, Victor Smith, Kathleen
                      Parker, Cathy Young, Katie Charles, Larry Davis: (Until 5:00 P.M..)

5:00 P.M.     NCFC Chapter Organizational Meeting

7:00 P.M.     Closing Dinner with Pgh Mayor Tom Murphy *, Senator Tim Murphy*,
                      NCFC President Larry Hellmann, and 12 Yr. old Derral Patterson.
                      ( * = Tentative schedule)
 

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 1999
 
9:00 A.M. to 1:00 P.M.     NCFC National Board of Directors meeting

Adjourn

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Lecture at Indiana University of Pennsylvania

NCFC board members Joanne Scheafnocker and Kevin Sheahen were the guest lecturers at Indiana University of Pennsylvania on March 22, 1999. The class was a sociology class and the topic was the role of fathers in families. The discussions by Kevin and Joanne gave a brief history about the changing roles of fathers and mothers and about the present court systems and the adverse effects of absent fathers on children’s lives. This was the fifth consecutive year that NCFC has been invited to speak to the students of this class.

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AMICUS BRIEF TO BE FILED AGAINST "CONSTITUTIONALITY"

OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ACT

"A national challenge for individual fathers, father groups and organizations, paternal family members, and others concerned about the devastation and excessive federal intervention into the American Family, to join and work together in a single united cause."

United Fathers of America, a nonprofit tax-deductible father oriented family policy research organization based in Washington, D.C. and California, work

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"The Best Parent is Both Parents"

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Greater Pittsburgh Chapter National Congress for Fathers and Children 37 Seneca Road Pittsburgh, PA  15241   Phone no. 412/854-4799      E-mail: pghdads@aol.com     FAX: 412/835-1362 Website: http://trfn.clpgh.org/ncfcpgh

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