Rozalind McAllister - State of Ohio House of Representative Candidate

Unmarried fathers of Ohio like McAllister!

Only occasionally does a breath of fresh air come to the world of politics, let alone to the ranks of the Ohio House of Representatives. With the temptations of money, power and other benefits of the trade, it is more difficult than ever to find candidates who truly stand for what they believe when we need them the most.  However, thankfully, such is not the case with Rozalind McAllister (McAllister), candidate for the Ohio House of Representatives - 11^th District, which covers Cuyahoga Heights, Newburg Heights, Brooklyn Heights Village and parts of the East Side of Cleveland (e.g., Slavic Village area).  Given that Ohio Parental Laws are so badly in need of transformation, where parentage issues for unmarried fathers and related matters are concerned, the ensuing expose will show specific reasons why North Eastern Ohio residents of the aforementioned locations should elect candidate McAllister as their spokesperson in the Ohio House of Representatives.

Candidate McAllister, a 56-year-old, divorced mother of two, has thrown her hat into the ring to produce change to the way Columbus does business with families in Ohio.  In fact, while speaking to the Cuyahoga Valley Republican Club earlier this year, she made her thoughts clear on the issue of families and children when she emphatically stated, “We need to keep government out of our houses [and] doctor’s offices” (McAllister, 2010a).  She is the President of Ohio Family Rights, owner and operator of Ram Field Services, and has 13 years of experience in family advocacy.

Standard Order of Visitation

As confirmed many times within this website, the Standard Order of Visitation in Summit County, Ohio is not in the best interest of a child or family.  Regrettably, this crisis is all too common throughout the 88 counties of Ohio.  Considerable action has yet to be taken to ensure that children are substantially raised by both parents, albeit such arrangements often promote better relations between parents, added feelings of security for children, as well as less litigation in the Domestic and Juvenile Court systems.  When asked about the disparity of this situation, specifically concerning unmarried parents in the State of Ohio, McAllister’s Campaign Manager released the following official statement for this article:

Current ‘standard orders’ show little regard for equality. That is not likely to change until the law is changed. Ohio’s ‘standard orders’ vary by court and are set by the individual court under guidelines of the Ohio Supreme Court, with these varying from a mere 11% to a 50%, depending on the attitude of the administrative judge. Change the law and this problem will in turn correct itself. (R. McAllister, personal communication, September 24, 2010)

In order for Ohio children to have reasonable opportunities of proper and adequate nurturing, as is the case when married parents are raising a child together in wedlock, the letters of the law must realistically emulate these conditions for everyone.  It appears that having been both a custodial and noncustodial parent herself, candidate McAllister understands this key step and is willing to fight the system until the necessary and correct results are achieved for everyone.

Child Support

The Child Support Enforcement Agency has crippled the ability of many parents to care for their children because of greed and laws that are state or system friendly.  With respect to the current financial depression, higher child support payments would further decimate families, which unfortunately have been recently introduced by Ohio State Senator Shirley Smith through updated support tables and legislative language in Senate Bill 292.  Nonetheless, Ohioans have hope in the form of Ohio State Representative candidate McAllister successfully reaching office.  Once more, subsequent to the abovementioned request for material responses in this article and topic, her Campaign Manager presented these words for reflection:

The Child Support system in Ohio has run as an inefficient ship for years. Payments [are] not forwarded nor credited. Parents [are] unjustly harassed for failures by the agency itself. This has to change.  Legislatively there has to be changes that reward parental involvement rather than punishment in the form of deviations from the current table in regards to time that both spend with their children. Fairness must be brought into the fold so that there is incentive to stay active as a parent rather than walking away or shall I say being forced to walk away as our current system [dictates]. (R. McAllister, personal communication, September 24, 2010)

Purportedly, the Child Support Enforcement System was implemented to bring relief where disproportional incomes between segregated parents were of an obvious nature.  More specifically, the system began and has sustained itself under the notion that the “rich house, poor house” theory provides more stability and opportunity for a child.  While an uneducated, uninformed person, at first glance, would possibly see novelty and truth in such rhetorical nonsense, out emerges McAllister who understands the Child Support Enforcement Agency for what it really is, a moneymaker for the State of Ohio.  In align with this understanding, reform is critically required to give a boost to Ohio families; for only when fair and equitable settlements are disseminated in these cases, can we say that the parents and children within them are safe from coercion and tactics of oppression by the Child Support Enforcement Agency.

Children Service Board

As a prime example, the Summit County Children Service Board is the epitome of the problematic scheme used to legally, but unjustly police parentage in the State of Ohio.  In reality, the ever-reaching arm of this self-serving, clandestinely operated agency affects parents and children in every county of our state, with eerily similar results.  Despite the fact that an entire library section could be written pursuant to the deficiencies and atrocities of this agency alone, the focus of this piece will remain principally centered within the safety of our children and treatment of parents by the system, fathers in particular.

During a recent discussion with a Summit County Children Service Board worker, the subject of primary placement of a child became the focal point of interest.  The argument made to her was the fact that the agency first places children with their mothers.  It is only after several failed attempts to do so, as per agency practice, will the father be looked at for possible appointment as the custodial or residential parent.  Without hesitation or reservation, the worker replied, “We have to.” (S. Riffle, personal communication, September 24, 2010)

Insofar as the wellbeing of a child is concerned, Children Services attempts to intimidate and force parents to relinquish their children into the care of the system on a daily basis.  In reality, according to several methods of calculation, hundreds of children are placed in the full custody and care of the Children Service Board, with a substantial portion of them sent to the homes of strangers for adoption.  This figure, of course, do not count the scores of children who are considered temporarily places within the system, which in general terms means less than one year or year and a half.

Ohio State House of Representative candidate McAllister(2010b), with reference to Ohio Laws and child safety during a speech in front of the Capitol Building, elaborately uncovered a serious situation that directly affects the children that are in state custody:

[The laws are] being bastardized for money, at the expense of our children.  Children are 5 – 7 times more likely to be abused or neglected in foster care than in their own homes, but we only hear about the boyfriend who beat up the child.  We only hear about a parent who injures a child.  We never hear about the kids in foster care, ‘cause that’s a secret!

It is interesting to note that as part of what the system calls a grievance process in these matters, the complaint is handled up to and through the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS).>  ODJFS, of course, is the only real source of accountability for the Children Services Agency.  Unfortunately, ODJFS is also the parent agency that oversees more than a dozen other programs in Summit County, e.g., Child Support Enforcement, Unemployment and Cash Assistance.  As can be imagined, with a stacked deck such as this, it is highly unlikely that ODJFS would ever blow the whistle on its own child, the Children Services Agency, when it counts.

Conclusion

Ohio State Representative candidate McAllister, by and through countless speeches, lectures, and years of service in dealing with family rights issues, has campaigned to improve conditions for all of us.  She intends to serve in this capacity to force significant, responsible adjustments to the way Ohio does business in matters of parentage, e.g., Standard Order of Visitation, Children Services issues, Child Support Enforcement Agency affairs, and much more.  While so many candidates talk about change when they get to office, McAllister has the experience where it counts, amongst the people who most benefit from her efforts the most.

Unmarried fathers, who frequently visit this site for answers to their legal parentage problems, should take a moment to support the best candidate running for an Ohio House seat in North Eastern Ohio, Rozalind McAllister.  She is dedicated to fight the career politicians that make the common citizen miserable, through unfair and impracticable legislation, nonrepresentational approaches in office and naivety where the true issues of today’s families lie.  In the end, this article is to ultimately serve as public notice of full endorsement towards Rozalind McAllister for the 11^th District seat in the Ohio House of Representatives.  All statements within this commentary, along with being informational and provided as a courtesy to the public and unmarried fathers everywhere, is written with these very purposes in mind.

References

McAllister, R. A. (2010a, August 25). Roz McAllister 08-25-10 11th House District [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wcs-OQkEGLg

Markyoung12 (poster). (2010b, August 25). DC Rally Fest 2010 for Family Rights, 7/24/10 - U.S. Capitol - West Lawn, Wash., D.C - Ohio State House Candidate District 11 [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpW8PFO9wJk