A high profile psychologist who has carved out a high profile niche testifying in child custody and visitation dispute cases to mothers’ alienation of fathers from their children is now speaking out against Florida’s brand new Keeping Children Safe Act.
The legislative intent behind the Act is to protect child victims of sexual abuse from further abuse.
Dr. J. Michael Bone, anticipating numerous false allegations by alienating mothers, is critical of the lack of legal protections afforded to fathers under the Act.
Some of the provisions of the Act are actually not very different from the rest of the juvenile dependency statutes (formally, Proceedings Relating to Children).
For example, reporters of any type of child abuse, not just sexual child abuse, are protected by anonymity. The legislative intent was to encourage witnesses and those with well-founded suspicions to come forward to protect children by protecting the reporters’ anonymity.
Are there some false reports of child abuse? Undoubtedly.
Should we throw the preexisting dependency statutes out because of that? No.
Can the new statute benefit from some refinement? Absolutely.
Read more in this Mens News Daily article and the Keeping Children Safe Act.