The two-fold mission of FLCFC is to make it reality that Florida law provide assurances for all fit parents and their children to be allowed equal access with each other, and that money intended for children (child support) is equitably apportioned, based upon the concept children need to be provided for 365 days per year, not at just one parent's home. 

Our beliefs - There is nothing more stable for a child than to know they are home whenever they are with either of their parents. Parents should share the joys and responsibilities of parenting. If a child would be harmed by not receiving something, then it is a need. If it is a need, then both parents should share the financial expense of that need. The needs of a child should supersede any custodial status or designation assigned to their parents. At minimum, and without regard to which parent a child might reside with at any given time, adequate housing, food, clothing, transportation, and health care should be considered basic needs of children. 

1) To lobby for effective changes to family law that promotes the ability of equal parenting from fit parents.
2) Serve as a clearing house of information to help others spread the word.
3) Raise awareness of statutes and case law, so members may more effectively manage the time with their attorneys, thus possibly saving thousands of dollars, and ending in more positive outcomes than if they had not been aware.

FACTS:

Chapter 61. 30 of Florida's statutes defines a substantial amount of time with a parent as "at least 40% (146 overnights) of the year - http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=Ch0061/SEC30.HTM&Title=->2006->Ch0061->Section%2030#0061.30

Which children come from fatherless homes?

• 71% of High School dropouts (Source: National Principals Association Report on the State of High schools)
• 71% of teen pregnancies (U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services)
• 63% of youth suicides  (Source: U.S. D.H.K.S., Bureau of the Census)
• 80% of rapists motivated with displaced anger come from fatherless homes (Source: Criminal Justice & Behavior,Vol 14, p- 403-26, 1978)
• 85% of youth sitting in prisons grew up in fatherless homes. (Source: Fulton Co. Georgia jail populations, Texas Dept. of Corrections 1992).
• 85% of children with behavioral problems (Source: Center for Disease Control)
• 90% of homeless and runaway children  (Source: U.S- D.H.H.S., Bureau of the Census)
• 80% of adolescents in psychiatric hospitals come from broken homes. (Source: "Family Matters:The Plight of America's Children.' The Christian Century, July1993:14-21.)
• Children who live apart from their fathers are 430% more likely to smoke cigarettes as teenagers than children growing up with their fathers in the home. (Source: "Sociodemographk Characteristics of Adolescent Smoker's." The International Journal of the Addictions 7, 1994: 913-925.)

Who is most likely to abuse, neglect, or kill their children?

• When parents are not acting together, mothers are 233% more likely to abuse or neglect their children than fathers. (Source: U.S. DHHS, Children's Bureau, Figure 3-6 Victims by Perpetrator Relationship, 2004, Child Maltreatment 2004)
• When parents are not acting together, mothers are 260% more likely to kill their children than fathers. (Source: U.S. DHHS, Children's Bureau, Figure 4-2 Perpetrator Relationships of Fatalities, 2004, Child Maltreatment 2004)

Debunking Child Support Myths:

• Myth: Child support is based upon reasonably updated information that reflects the economic needs of children who do not live with both parents. Fact: The current schedule was enacted in 1993 1, and is based upon a 15-month consumer expenditures survey of two-parent intact families 2 conducted in 1972-73. This data is older than some members of the Legislature 1. (Sources: 1 PCB02.FFF.doc and OnlineSunshine.gov 2 FL Bar Journal, Child Support Myths and Truths, p 58-62, Sasser and Holz, Oct 1999)
• Myth: The child support guidelines equitably adjust the amount of child support to account for differences in time at each home and/or differences in parental income. Fact: Mathematical formulas can be checked for validity at any point of a spectrum to which it is applied. The base child support guideline formula can not even be applied at the simplest point to check for mathematical validity - 50/50 time sharing and identical parental incomes. (Source: UCF Economics Prof. Josiah Baker, PhD.)
• Myth: The reason the guideline tables have not been updated in so long is because no recent research is available. Fact: The U.S. Dept. of Agriculture provides estimates of expenditures on children by both single parent and intact families in urban and rural settings, as well as various geographic regions on an annual basis. (Source: USDA, Expenditures on Children by Families, 2004)