Press Release

 

The best solution to any problem, as the Buddha said, is for it not to arise in the first place

or

CSA continues to pit mothers against fathers

 

 
“There is absolutely no reason why even more draconian sanctions granted to the CSA will work any better than the attempts so far,” said John Baker, Chair of UK charity Families Need Fathers. “Attempts to recover money have cost more in administration than the amount of money they raised. The experience of this charity is that protests from fathers about economic support often turn out to be protests about being excluded from the lives of their children,” he continued.

There is no solution to the problems of the CSA with the 'problem' framed solely as an issue of compliance by the excluded parent. The solution to the problems of the CSA, as well as a host of other problems, is shared parenting. People share their money with children, partners and even ex-partners with whom they share a life. They will resist paying for children living in another household if they are excluded from their lives. End that exclusion, and the resistance to economic support will diminish. Parents cannot help but finance children when they are in their care. They will also much more readily share their incomes with their children when they are not in their care if they are happy with the arrangements.

Currently fathers provide one third of childcare in intact families. The rapid - and continuing - increase in this has been a spontaneous social development that owes nothing to public policy. When a family divides, the amount of parenting time the child has with his or her 'other parent' may be cut by two thirds or more. One cannot expect that parent - or the child(ren) - to be happy with that, or to be keen to finance those arrangements.

According to Families Need Fathers the way forward for the CSA is three pronged:

1) Address the root cause of the problem

2) Encourage a consensual approach to arrangements - requiring a fair and balanced policy for children in divided families that respects their need for care and financial support from both parents

3)     Have a fair calculation for shared care and costs.   

Instead, the CSA continues to throw up a smoke-screen around its own failings to protect the vulnerable, both men and women, and its inability to demonstrate that it is in tune with modern families, the nature of relationships, social changes and income patterns. It appears to be an easier solution to use headline-grabbing diversionary tactics. The CSA’s ongoing stereotyping of errant fathers who wish to divest themselves of their responsibilities is not only blinkered but offensive to all those who wish for nothing more than to be considered an important part of their child’s lives. “Rather than continuing to alienate people by fuelling mistrust between them, the government should be looking to remove the barriers that prevent parents from working together or sharing the responsibilities of raising their children with each other” added John Baker.

Ends.

Families Need Fathers (FNF) is a registered charity providing information and support on shared parenting issues arising from family breakdown, and support to divorced and separated parents, irrespective of gender or marital status. Our primary concern is the maintenance of the child's relationship with both parents. Founded in 1974, FNF helps thousands of parents every year.

Please see Families Need Fathers ‘programme for change’ Father’s Day Manifesto