November 1, 2022
Mayor's Office
DATE: November 1, 2022
TO: Members of the City Council
FROM: Tom Butt, Mayor
SUBJECT: Family Court Awareness Month – November 2022
FINANCIAL IMPACT: N/A
PREVIOUS COUNCIL
ACTION:
N/A
STATEMENT OF THE
ISSUE:
In 2020, Tina Swithin, founder of One Mom’s Battle, and Sandra Ross of the California Protective Parents
Association recognized Family Court Awareness Month
to shine a spotlight on systemic issues that are placing children in harm’s way.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: PROCLAMATION declaring November 2022 as Family Court Awareness Month in the City of Richmond –
Mayor’s Office (Mayor Tom Butt 510-620-6503).
DISCUSSION:
Top advocates in the family court system joined forces to honor hundreds of children who have been reported as murdered by parents in family court cases, creating the Family Court Awareness Month Committee (FCAMC) to increase awareness of the AGENDA
REPORT
November 1, 2022
importance of a family court system that prioritizes child safety and acts in the best interest of children.
FCAMC’s mission is to highlight the importance of empirically-based education and training on domestic violence and child abuse, including emotional, psychological, physical, and sexual abuse as well as childhood trauma, coercive control, and post separation abuse for judges and all professionals working on cases within the family court system. FCAMC’s mission is also to highlight the importance of using scientifically valid, evidence-based treatment programs and services that are proven in terms of safety, effectiveness, and therapeutic value. FCAMC’s mission is also to educate judges and other family court professionals on evidence-based, peer-reviewed research, which is a critical component to making decisions that are truly in the best interest of children.
FCAMC’s mission is fueled by the desire to create awareness and change in the family court system for the conservatively estimated 58,000 children a year ordered into unsupervised contact with abusive parents, while honoring the hundreds of children who have been reported as murdered during visitation with a dangerous parent.
DOCUMENTS ATTACHED:
Attachment 1 – Proclamation