• Possibly because Family Law professional attendees, can get professional CLE credit for attending on a weekday, while some people, attending, might lose a job for absenteeism.  Pay close attention to the repetitive use of the word “father” throughout this conference, because in the 3rd one, some of the same characters are likely to be found at, or helping present at, or sponsor, etc.  a conference claiming Gender has nothing to do with all this. (See #3, below)

Look up Minnesota Fathers or Minnesota Fatherhood {& family services} Summit.

Presenter Michael Hayes figures in this post.  I could’ve picked on anyone, just happened to land on him because another mother already did some groundwork blogging on the issues, she found him spilling the beans in Texas.  As seen on the brochure, he was one of three trophy, I mean, keynote, speakers:

Michael Hayes, Deputy for Family Initiatives in the Child Support Division of the Texas Office of the Attorney General (OAG). Mr. Hayes has extensive experience in the development of policy, partnerships, and projects that support family stability, paternity establishment, father involvement, and child support program improvement, including directing the Texas Fragile Families Initiative. He has been instrumental in the development of the p.a.p.a. (Parenting and Paternity Awareness) curriculum in Texas, now mandated to be used in every Texas high school health class, and in reformulating the Access and Visitation grant program in Texas.

To this day, from officialdom in the Domestic Violence, and/or Protective Mothers movement (as opposed to in, obviously the Fatherhood movement, who this grant system helps, as it was intended to) almost no one lets on to distressed mothers, that it exists!  I’ve seen it in some webinar conferences among professionals in the DV field — but Moms participation is NOT solicited for these conferences.  I can see why not — we’d blog it!   So, while women seeking DV orders are not even informed that this program EXISTS, a man in texas is smoothly reformulating it.  Every remains so sure that the real cause of domestic violence, and troubles for children growing up is that they just don’t have a man — and not just any man, but their DNA-Dad — in their lives.  How do you think a stepfather might feel about that?

To learn more, please visit: http://www.mnfathers.org/summit.html