Help Line Could Eliminate Tense Child Custody Situations

FLORENCE - Lauderdale County Circuit Judge Jimmy Sandlin said the Co-Parenting Help Line can "defuse a potential volatile situation."

The help line is available for couples who are going through the initial stages of divorce, said program coordinator Debra Simmons. It's a benefit to parents who may have tension when it comes to child custodial issues. The help line, which is beginning its fourth year, is under the umbrella of Families First and is funded through the Alabama Law Foundation.

"We try to solve problems, help them work through the conflict and find a solution that will be agreeable to both parties," Simmons said.

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New Push to Protect Custody Rights of Troops

An Ohio lawmaker who has been blocked four times in his efforts to pass legislation to protect deployed service members from losing custody of their children has launched a new two-pronged effort to try to get his proposal into law.

Republican Rep. Michael Turner will try once again to attach to the annual defense policy bill provisions designed to prevent courts from denying child custody to service members while they are deployed. Turner hopes a promised meeting with Defense Secretary Robert Gates will result in objections to his legislation being dropped.

As a backup plan, Turner also has introduced a separate bill, HR 4469, that falls under the jurisdiction of the House and Senate veterans’ affairs committees. This gives him another avenue if he cannot overcome objections from the Defense Department and Senate Armed Services Committee, which have been the roadblocks to date for his legislation.

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