[blindlaw] child custody

Sat Dec 15 03:27:54 UTC 2012

Chuck:

This might be a good social work oriented approach but it is, sorry should I 
say as one who practices family law, not good legal advice. I recognize that 
it is well-intended but he does not want his client do this at all.

One should never let a court order stand if it does not have legs on which 
to do so. Your client does not want to set this precedent. You would 
essentially be acknowledging that it is not in the best interest of the 
child for your client to have unsupervised visitation at this time. You 
should first challenge the court's factual finding in issuing the order, and 
if your analysis leads you to the conclusion that your client is indeed 
lacking in her parenting skills, then deal with it at that time. Do not 
allow your client to follow the order just to be able to prove at a later 
time that the ruling was incorrect. You will need a substantial change in 
circumstances argument to ever be able to modify that order, a very tough 
standard.

Good luck.

Rod Alcidonis, Esquire.
Licensed in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

-----Original Message----- 
From: ckrugman at sbcglobal.net
Sent: Friday, December 14, 2012 7:23 PM
To: Blind Law Mailing List
Subject: Re: [blindlaw] child custody

As a former social Worker another way to deal with this would be to go along
with the supervised visits for a period of time where the blind parent can
have an opportunity to prove himself and his skills as these visits are
monitored and the cases are reviewed by the court periodically. It is still
surprising but there are still many judges that will have concerns about
young children at the toddler stage having visits with their fathers that
are still unsupervised as the old stereotype still exists that young
children do best with their mothers. Another question is the reputation of
the judge handling the case as well as how family laws are handled in the
particular county. You also need to consider the pressure and negative
publicity that occurs against CPS agencies when mistakes occur and children
are victimized so in many cases they tend to proceed with caution. While
recognizing the rights of disabled parents has taken in some states like
California it probably hasn't been officially codified in other states.
Chuck Krugman MSW. Paralegal
1237 P Street
Fresno ca 93721
559-266-9237
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/chuck-krugman/b/357/722
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Steve Jacobson" <steve.jacobson at visi.com>
To: "Blind Law Mailing List" <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, December 14, 2012 3:40 PM
Subject: Re: [blindlaw] child custody

> Dan,
>
> I am also writing as one who is not a lawyer but who has spent some time 
> following cases like this.  I am also a blind parent of blind kids and 
> have had to consider my actions with respect to social service
> agencies.
>
> I must echo what I have understood to have been written in response to 
> your inquiry regarding the ADA.  To put it more directly, if it is 
> believed, particularly by a judge, that a blind person cannot perform the
> duties of a parent safely, the ADA will not likely force that judge to 
> respond differently.  Those of us in the NFB are very, very concerned that 
> precedence not be set that blindness, by itself, makes a person an
> unsafe parent.  However, the situation can be clouded if the blind parent 
> involved does not have good blindness skills.  Someone who cannot travel 
> independently or handle reading materials is not necessarily
> a bad parent, but it makes it harder to make a case with a judge.  It can 
> be essential that we move how a judge looks at blind persons from thinking 
> of all he or she couldn't do if he or she were blind to an
> understanding that blind people develop techniques that let us do most 
> things that sighted people do, just differently.  This can be a hard sell 
> but showing other successful blind persons is a pretty good way to
> accomplish that.
>
> It is very important, as others have said, to be as certain as you can 
> that all evidence that have led to this point is well understood.  Getting 
> examples of other successful blind parents may well be your most
> effective approach.  If your client is in need of getting some of his 
> skills of blindness improved, having a plan to do that which can be 
> presented to a judge may also help.  It may also be worth contacting our
> national office to see if there might be materials that can help.  Even if 
> a case cannot serve as a precedence, showing how another case was resolved 
> positively may make a difference.  If there are gaps in
> your client's training that can be addressed, this might make any negative 
> decision temporary until the gaps are addressed, and of course, I do not 
> know that there are any gaps.  This should normally just not
> be an issue, but it unfortunately does come up from time to time.
>
> Best regards,
>
> Steve Jacobson
>
> On Thu, 13 Dec 2012 20:49:12 -0600, Daniel McBride wrote:
>
>>There are no other issues.  The sole issue is his blindness and the 
>>child's
>>age.
>
>>Further, it would be more accurate to refer to the condition of possession
>>as "chaperone" than "supervision".  A subtle distinction I know, but a
>>distinction nonetheless.
>
>>-----Original Message-----
>>From: blindlaw [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Steven
>>Johnson
>>Sent: Thursday, December 13, 2012 8:44 PM
>>To: 'Blind Law Mailing List'
>>Subject: Re: [blindlaw] child custody
>
>>Out of curiosity, is there any other Child Protective History with this
>>potential client?  Take out the blind aspect, is there anything else that
>>has been provided that would suggest that supervised visits are necessary?
>>For example, Hx of drug, alcohol or other substance use, maltreatment at 
>>any
>>level, a criminal background that could suggest that such supervision is
>>necessary?
>
>>I am not a lega expert, but I do work in the Child Protective Service 
>>field.
>
>>Steve
>
>
>>-----Original Message-----
>>From: blindlaw [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Daniel
>>McBride
>>Sent: Thursday, December 13, 2012 8:29 PM
>>To: Blind Law Mailing List
>>Subject: [blindlaw] child custody
>
>>Potential client has Suit Affecting Parent Child Relationship pending in
>>Texas.  Potential client is granted Possessory Conservatorship with the
>>Family Code standard visitation of first, third and fifth weekends of the
>>month.
>
>>
>
>>However, potential client is blind, the child is a 19 month old daughter 
>>and
>>the Court has conditioned his possession of the child on him having 
>>sighted
>>assistance by any competent adult during his periods of possession.
>>Potential client asks whether the condition of possession violates any
>>concepts of discrimination pursuant to the Americans With Disabilities 
>>Act.
>
>>
>
>>I would appreciate any thoughts you have.  Thank you.
>
>>
>
>>Daniel McBride, Attorney
>
>>Fort Worth, Texas
>
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