Father's Rights Cause Finds Friends in Congress The catchword for this political season seems to be "fatherhood," with

politicians in both political parties trying to gain ground by supporting programs to help absent, non-custodial dads. Activists in the men's rights movement are attempting to breathe life into the Fathers Count Act (H.R. 3073) that passed the House in November but failed to get Senate approval. At a time when single moms are being pushed off welfare whether they can find jobs or not, this act would have provided $150 million to groups that offer counseling, job placement and other services to fathers who aren't raising their children. A requirement that programs promote marriage and a charitable choice provision that would allow religious organizations to receive federal funds are other questionable features of this legislation. A nearly identical version of the bill is wrapped into the otherwise positive Child Support Distribution Act (H.R. 4678), which would pass $2 billion of child support monies over two years directly to families on or leaving welfare-instead of reimbursing the government for welfare costs. NOW and other women's rights groups are in the difficult position of wanting more support for poor families, while being concerned that the fatherhood monies would end up in the hands of extremist groups that have an agenda of rolling back progressive laws. NOW sent a letter to House members indicating our support for professional and accountable programs that serve poor parents, while not exposing them to increased risk of domestic violence. However, NOW also expressed concern about empowering men's custody groups who aim to reduce or avoid child support by taking custody away from mothers through abusive litigation and such discredited courtroom allegations as "parental alienation syndrome." H.R. 4678 is still pending on the House calendar and may be put to a vote just after Labor Day.