"I am aware that [mother]
has moved [away from the Denver metropolitan area] to
Canyon City. It was not my decision nor recommendation
to do so, but I have no problem with her behavior.
Cleary, Judge Plaut placed the children in her care and
control"
August 25, 2003
memorandum of Bill J. Fyfe to attorney John McKendree
"No better proximity example
of the parenting time challenge exists than parenting
plan problems brought about by the growth we have
witnessed in the Denver metropolitan area. For example,
a nonresidential parent residing in Highlands Ranch is
unlikely to enjoy significant parenting time with a
child who lives in North Broomfield unless one hour plus
each way travel is undertaken. Urban sprawl often
creates the conditions where we force children to endure
hours of travel each week."
Bill J. Fyfe's
Summer-2000 newsletter essay entitled, "Parenting Time
Reconsidered
"My advice is to re-hire
your lawyer and tell her you are sorry for acting like a
jerk. Tell her its been a tough time and you will take
her advice and work towards a settlement. Judges don't
like to see clients firing lawyer after lawyer"
--March 2003 email from
Bill J. Fyfe, Ed.D. to Troy Kramer
"When SA recommendations are
litigated be prepared to hear the following inquiry:
'why didn't you . . . interview the parents more, . . .
conduct psychological testing, . . . call more
references, . . . talk to teachers and daycare
providers.' . . .The lesson to be learned is that SA
investigations require experience at efficiently
accessing complex family dynamics, and if necessary
defending that assessment."
Bill J. Fyfe's
Summer-1999 newsletter essay entitled, "The Special
Advocate Experience"
"At times [I have been]
accused of not collecting additional information which
the attorney feels was warranted. Why this is a bias
however escapes me. Most SA's who are seasoned PR
evaluators attempt to keep SA investigations
circumscribed . . . by relying on their skill as family
systems evaluators acquired over many years."
Bill J. Fyfe's Fall-2001
newsletter essay entitled, "Summer of Bias"
"Concerning your comments
about a "breakdown of all the charges," I do not provide
any further information as to my fees."
February 27, 2006
memorandum of Bill J. Fyfe to Rhonda Rivenburg
"Mr Samora's parents have
filed a grievance against me with the psychologist's
grievance board. . . .I [am] outraged by such behavior.
. . I responded to this outrageous harassment."
--August 25th 2003
memorandum of Bill Fyfe to attorney John McKendree
"I did
not have an affair with [mother] . .
. I did not provide mother with
sexually explicit material, and my wife
does not maintain an apartment
near [mother]"
--December 4, 2003 memoranda of Bill
Fyfe to Judge Frank Plaut [emphasis
in the original]
"[Son] apologized for making
the phone call to his father on his birthday. He
indicated that he wanted contact with his father. . . I
explained to both boys that their father could have had
ongoing parenting time with them if he would have
cooperated [with] the Karlis Center [supervision
facility]"
--December 4, 2003
memoranda of Bill Fyfe to Judge Frank Plaut
"I NEVER asked you to
retract a complaint. I PROPOSED a way for us to settle
our disagreement over fees in the best interests of your
daughter who desperately wants to see her father. . .
The matter was not even heard by the board, as these
types of grievances are common because people are angry
that they didn't win in court, so they go after the
Special Advocate."
--June 18, 2004 email of
Bill J. Fyfe to Sean Harrington [emphasis in the
original]
"In contested cases, whether
a Special Advocate (SA) investigation or Parental
Responsibility (PR) evaluation, one parent or party is
generally unhappy with the work of the investigator or
evaluator. . . I have come upon a more lethal form of
witness impeachment and criticism. That is to allege
that an investigator or evaluator's work is biased.
Often these allegations take the form of personal
attacks such as, the investigator "disliking" the
client. At other times procedural challenges or
challenges to judgment (as mentioned above) are
erroneously labeled a prejudice of some sort."
Bill J. Fyfe's Fall-2001
newsletter essay entitled, "Summer of Bias"
"[I]it is now well
understood that for many years fathers were denied
reasonable access to their children in regards to
parenting time. Through the 1980's and into the early
1990's, many of us who worked with HCD families
routinely recommended parenting time arrangements which
marginalized parenting time for fathers. We did so under
the rubric of a prescriptive answer, namely, a primary
caregiver and every other weekend for non-residential
parents (usually father) followed by a Wednesday
dinner."
Bill J. Fyfe's
Winter-2004 newsletter essay entitled, "Divorce Muda"
"[F]inding creative ways of
managing ones schedule can increase father involvement
as important caregivers. . . The challenge of
integrating fathers into young children's lives will not
go away by statutory reform. How we keep fathers active
involves parental cooperation at a time of emotional
crisis for one or both parents. Solidifying a father's
role in a child's life must be accomplished within the
context of other competing needs."
Bill J. Fyfe's
Summer-2000 newsletter essay entitled, "Parenting Time
Reconsidered
" . . .I can think of no
positive reason whatsoever for the boys to [have contact
with father[ at the present time . . .While the boys
truly miss their father, they are free of the loyalty
bind [that] he placed them in . . .I do not believe that
the Samora family should have contact with these boys. .
. Should father obtain much needed mental health
services*and* begin to operate in a reasonable manner by
ceasing his litigiousness, I would be open to working
with him to resolve these matters."
--December 4, 2003
memorandum of Bill Fyfe to Judge Frank Plaut
"Despite research that
clearly points to the utility of early and continual
father involvement with children, some mental health
professionals continue to believe that overnights
present risk of harm to children. What is most alarming,
is that the research that drove the 'deadbeat dad' myth
and created favorable conditions for woman in the courts
for years, most likely contributed to the theory based
and research-barren recommendations made . . . that
children should be restricted from overnights with
fathers for two and a half years. . . the mistaken
assumptions of the past created many of the mythological
beliefs, which led to mother dominated homes, and
fathers being disenfranchised from their children's
lives."
Bill J. Fyfe's Fall-2002
newsletter entitled, "10 Reasons why early overnights
with fathers should be considered in divorce families."
[citations omitted]
"I am truly sorry that you
have again chosen a litigious approach. Yes, it is your
right to do so, but it will significantly delay any
opportunity you have of seeing your daughter"
--June 18, 2004 email of
Bill J. Fyfe to Sean Harrington
"John Andrews drags out the
usual right-wing claptrap about godless Hollywood in his
latest fantasy about America. He even wrong attacks Gary
Hart. The left is not opposed to religion, per se, but
to the twisted logic of the "Focus on the Family" brand
too long in vogue --you know, the crowd that wants us to
believe the world will be a better place is we just
outlaw abortion, restrict the civil rights of gay
people, and follow a blind president into another
quagmire. . . Gary Hart is correct: The real damage to
American politics comes from the "theocracy of the
religious right."
Bill Fyfe's letter to the
Denver Post in response to the John Andrews Dec. 4, 2005
Column entitled, "A Light in the Forest."
"What will it take . . . for
Americans to see how morally bankrupt the Bush
administration is? . . . Liberals and moderates must
unite to throw out the neocons from positions of power.
We must take back our country."
Bill Fyfe's letter to the
Denver Post regarding Sandra Dorr's April 23, 2006
column, "A Showdown over U.S. Patriotism.
"Should Colorado adopt what
has become to be known as the 50/50 presumption
standard[?] . . . divorcing parents have enough on their
plate . . . without the unnecessary focus on a forces
solution to parenting time . . .Forcing parents to [be
involved with their children] by mandating 50/50
parenting time is a bad assumption. . . All too
frequently, insistence on "equal" parenting time says
more about one spouse's desire to be viewed as an equal
caregiver. It masks the truth that, in most families,
one parent does more parenting than the other."
Bill J.Fyfe's essay,
entitled "Vote No on the 50/50 Presumption"
"[A]ny attack on an SA
investigator or PR evaluator as biased must support such
a claim with a clear description of how the individual
approached the evaluation in a prejudicial manner. A
bias means that the investigator or evaluator came to
the evaluation with some sort of favored approach
towards one or the other parent. This usually takes the
form of an accusation that an investigator or evaluator
favors mothers over fathers. . . [My] view here is that
these types of allegations must be supported with very
specific examples of partiality or prejudice. To simply
label an investigator or evaluator as biased places that
individual on the defensive and forces them to explain
each aspect of their work from the perspective that they
have brought something prejudicial to the process. [My]
view here is that attorneys do best by sticking to
challenges in regards to differences of opinion in
judgment or process and without an unnecessary attack
(personal or professional) against an investigator or
evaluator."
Bill J. Fyfe's Fall-2001
newsletter essay entitled, "Summer of Bias"
"All too often
professionals, attorneys and/or mental health
professionals, end up being pulled to one side of the
family system. They begin to behave as advocates in a
more or less ongoing standoff of experts."
Bill J. Fyfe's
Spring-2001 newsletter essay entitled, "A Systemic
Approach to Entrenched High Conflict Divorce"
"This emerging paradigm [of
the parenting coordinator function] allows for due
consideration of parental strengths and deficits on both
sides of the polarity . . . a concerned or angry parent
can be heard and have their concerns addressed without
being allowed to withhold the child from the other
parent."
Bill J. Fyfe's
Spring-2001 newsletter essay entitled, "A Systemic
Approach to Entrenched High Conflict Divorce"
"[H]ow much power can be
given to the [parenting coordinator] in managing
parenting time and decision-making[?] Can the PC, for
example, lawfully restrict parenting time? Is it
appropriate for the PC to manage incremental increases
in parenting time including the ever-argued overnights
with nonresidential parents? Possible answers to this
dilemma include communication between the PC and the
court in regards to authority to make such "micro"
decisions."
Bill J. Fyfe's
Spring-2001 newsletter essay entitled, "A Systemic
Approach to Entrenched High Conflict Divorce"
"Monitored Parent
Communication - All parent communication (be it
telephone calls, parenting log book or email) can be
reviewed by the PC. Different levels of monitoring can
be used, i.e. upon request of either parent, review of
all emails between the parents, selected taped telephone
call review. . . . Micromanagement of Processes - Parent
communication, exchanges, vacation specific plans, and
telephone calls are all subject to varying levels of
[parenting coordinator] involvement."
Bill J. Fyfe's
Spring-2001 newsletter essay entitled, "A Systemic
Approach to Entrenched High Conflict Divorce"
[emphasis in the original]
"Sanctions - A final element
in the systemic approach is the appropriate use of
sanctions. The [parenting coordinator] can, and in most
cases must, insist on certain behaviors such as the
restoration of civility in communication. The PC must be
able to decide on discrete changes to parenting time,
exchange procedures, and restrictions to parenting time
through the judicious use of sanctions."
Bill J. Fyfe's
Spring-2001 newsletter essay entitled, "A Systemic
Approach to Entrenched High Conflict Divorce"
"[parenting coordinator]'s
can and should be appointed for a specific length of
time. A two year time frame is recommended. After the
appointment is up, the parents are free to select
another [parenting coordinator]."
Bill J. Fyfe's
Spring-2001 newsletter essay entitled, "A Systemic
Approach to Entrenched High Conflict Divorce"
"The emerging [parenting
coordinator] role also involves the use of coordinated,
supportive services with other therapists and attorneys
. . . The current difficulty in coordinating schedules
for perhaps three or four busy professionals can be
circumvented by planned and periodic consultations."
Bill J. Fyfe's
Spring-2001 newsletter essay entitled, "A Systemic
Approach to Entrenched High Conflict Divorce"
"One therapist generally
heads up the team and coordinates the flow of
information between individual therapists, attorneys and
the courts. In Colorado this mental health professional
is frequently termed the Parenting Coordinator."
Bill J. Fyfe's
Winter-2002 newsletter essay entitled, "Impediments to
the Establishment of Collaborative Teams with the [high
conflict divorce] Family"
"When mental health
professionals, lawyers and judges are no longer involved
with a family, that family is often left without a
proper road map to healthy and improved functioning."
Bill J. Fyfe's
Spring-2005 newsletter essay entitled, "Divorce and
Argument Culture"
"In entrenched conflict or
problematic post-dissolution matters, however, the
courts are often in need of ongoing information. The
judicious use of the PC in post-dissolution cases can
assist the courts greatly if the PC is given latitude to
assist the family in conflict reduction and/or assist
the courts in the development of a set of
recommendations based not only on previous professional
study of the high conflict family, but also on their
ongoing interaction with that family. What is needed in
Colorado is the statutory authority to circumvent the
hesitancy some courts have in ordering a PC to work with
a family. . . The 1999 withdrawal of the PC legislation
in Colorado should not deter us."
Bill J. Fyfe's
Summer-2002 newsletter essay entitled, "The Unfinished
Promise of Parenting Coordination"
"Allegations of parental
misbehavior are the norm in HCD families. . . In some
instances, there is an aspect of the allegation, which
is accurate. For example, at some point in time a parent
may have behaved inadequately as a parent. This however
does not make them inadequate several years hence. There
may have been findings from a parental responsibility
evaluation, which suggest parental limitations. These
limitations must be understood to have been made at a
point in time and may in fact have been remedied by the
parent."
Bill J. Fyfe's
Winter-2002 newsletter essay entitled, "Impediments to
the Establishment of Collaborative Teams with the [high
conflict divorce] Family"
Dear [redacted], The fee
isn't the issue I am concerned about. I am concerned
that [father] will try to get me off the case, because
there is no contract. I want him to sign it before I say
much more about his behavior. I'll have plenty to say
once we get this [Parenting Coordinator] Contract
handled. It may well be that I just have to go ahead and
state the obvious to [father] and let him do what he
wants with the courts. As said earlier in the week,
David has sent me plenty of emails acknowledging that I
have already arbitrated issues, so to get me off now
could be difficult for him. Let's see how the weekend
goes. You should both have my contract in the mail by
Saturday, which I backdated to 4-2-04. . . Cheers, Bill
J. Fyfe, Ed.D." June 17, 2004 email of Bill Fyfe
to ex-spouse of [father], in response to her 11:50 a.m.
June 11, 2005 email to Bill Fyfe ("Bill, I
understand the contract issue. At this point, I would be
willing to pay you in the interim so that you can keep
working . . .").
"Dear [redacted], Thanks for
your reply. I am 'on hold' purely because I want that PC
contract signed before I arbitrate anything
else. [Father] is sounding like he wants to get rid of
me and he would likely jump at the chance to say he
never agreed to use me and hasn't signed a contract. As
to the job change, my only concern is that it would have
been helpful to hear the truth from you, first, rather
than from [father]. It only gives him the opportunity to
rant and make further allegations. I am hoping you don't
have a right-of-first recusal clause, because [father]
could use that to demand [daughter] for the overnight
[that care-provider] takes. I don't have a problem with
your plan, but the Order could be the problem. If it is
moot on this, I see no problem. . . .as far as my fees
for this latest round of accusations, etc., I will
apportion some of this solely to [father] once the
paperwork is done. Bill Fyfe, Parenting Coordinator"
June 10th, 2004 email of
Bill Fyfe to [redacted] (ex-spouse of [father])
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