[blindlaw] child custody

Sat Dec 15 08:51:07 UTC 2012

Everyone:

Below is a link to an Indiana Court of Appeals case in which the court
reversed a similar order. Also, this case lends support to Rod's point
that going along with the order would be a mistake. The blind father
in this case offered to hire a nanny, then claimed the court should
not have required him to do so. The court pointed out that he invited
the alleged error.

http://law.justia.com/cases/indiana/court-of-appeals/2000/03100003-jgb.html

Angie

On 12/14/12, Alcidonis Law Office <attorney at alcidonislaw.com> wrote:
> 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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>>
>>
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>>
>>
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>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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>
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