NH Family Justice Updates

HB652-FN – Abolishing Family Court
Thank you to everyone who called, wrote, and testified.
The House Children and Family Law Committee voted to retain the bill. This means it will be held back from going to the House floor until early next year. The committee can work on the bill any time between now and then. Retaining can be a way to soft-kill a bill, or it can legitimately be used to work out any issues.

This means we have time to build up our army of supporters, educate everyone we know, and talk to legislators and get them on board to abolish the family court. NH Family Justice has plans for updating our website and hosting events and presentations to make this possible. Please pray for our efforts and success, and stay tuned!

Upcoming Executive Sessions (Committee Votes)

Monday, March 18
House Children and Family Law Committee
HB553-FN
Room 206-208, Legislative Office Building, 33 N State Street, Concord, NH
‼️11:00AM – Executive Session on HB553-FN
❌Oppose❌
Opposing this bill is a priority for child and family justice. It broadens judicial discretion in Family Court, does nothing to remedy existing due process issues, punishes parents for normal family dynamics in families with multiple children, and adds vague definitions for child abuse that are not measurable or objective. It has receives backlash in the media, even being picked up by the national magazine Reason for its abhorrent subjective language.
👉Key points and complete analysis to help you write to legislators here..

🗒️ Reason Magazine: New Hampshire’s Bad Parenting Bill Is a Nightmare

🗒️Granite Grok Article:New Hampshire’s Bad Parenting Bill Is a Nightmare.

Call/write to the members of the committee, asking them to vote ITL on HB553-FN.
( ITL = Inexpedient to Legislate )

Upcoming Bill Hearings: Mark Your Calendars

Attend in Person and Testify (this has the most impact)
Call/Email Reps
Submit Support/Opposition Testimony Online

Monday, March 18 – House Children and Family Law Committee
Public Hearing
Room 206-208, Legislative Office Building, 33 N State Street, Concord, NH
⚠️10:30AM – HB775-FN- HB775-FN- directing the department of health and human services to issue a request for proposals for supervised visitation centers.
❌Oppose❌
This bill is presented as an initiative to establish supervised visitation centers under the NH Department of Health and Human Services, but is a veiled attempt to secure federal grant money to perpetuate the flawed family court system that artificially separates families and prioritizes profit over due process and child welfare. Given New Hampshire’s troubled 20-year history with such centers, the bill’s high costs (estimated at over $5 million initially and $1.5–2 million annually), lack of oversight, and failure to address root causes of family court issues make it a risky and unnecessary burden on taxpayers, especially when alternatives like HB652-FN aim to dismantle the problematic administrative family court system altogether.

Read the full bill analysis further down in this email.

You can write to the members of the committee above, or submit your support or opposition and written testimony online here.

HB775-FN Bill Review

HB775-FN is labeled as an act directing the NH Department of Health and Human Services to issue a request for proposals for supervised visitation centers. As the People of New Hampshire, we should stop viewing bills based on the title or proposed purpose but look deep beneath the prepackaged narrative at what the bill is really about and who are truly the beneficiaries. 

In this case the bill is about pursuing more federal taxpayer grant program money for the state to continue processing children and families through the family court mechanisms. This bill also amends the existing statute RSA 170-G by inserting after section 21 the following new subdivision as Supervised Visitation Centers, asserting their intent upfront.

Visitation centers? Been there, done that. This time, the grant money is different. New Hampshire has a concerning 20-year track record with supervised visitation centers, particularly regarding the motivations behind their establishment. Tragic incidents have occurred in the NH visitation facilities. In addition to obvious conflicts with independent contractors paid to operate these facilities, there are clear links to the artificial demand created by the Administrative Family Court system. 

Billions in restitution are being paid by state taxpayers for the harm caused by the Youth Development Center (Sununu Center) and the Division of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) – all under the administrative family court jurisdiction. How long do the financial stakeholders believe they can continue this 20-year pattern without citizens recognizing the reality of the situation?

The issues stemming from these family court agencies have contributed to the creation of HB652-FN this year. This legislation mandates the abolition of the administrative family court in New Hampshire, redirecting family law cases back to civil and criminal courts, where due process is upheld and families are protected from unchecked billing practices.

Financial stakeholders are excited to tell the narratives that they will continue the family court system and the unchecked flow of money to independent government agencies and NGO and individual contractors. HB775-FN is a reboot of the same old stuff, except this time they are drawing the public into a narrative of safety and care with bill.

Section 1 (a) states: Adhere to the Guiding Principles of Safe Havens; Supervised Visitation and Safe Exchange Grant Program developed by the United States Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women. Clear as day, this is to ensure flow of federal dollars. Knowing they fail to ensure due process and have been turning a blind eye to harm being churned out of family court, do you think that the needs of families is the agenda here?

The NH family court is responsible for the artificial separation of one parent and creating new family narrative of high conflict to protract cases for years, all without adequate consideration for due process or the best interests of the child. These visitation centers were created because of how family court fosters high conflict, yet, these centers have seen permanent closures in NH and across the U.S. due to insufficient demand and effectiveness. 

In evaluating the previous centers, it is essential to consider whether they truly addressed the needs of families with one absent parent or whether it’s merely a tool of additional bureaucracy that opens the door for more family court harm. Additionally, the bill references adherence to the Guiding Principles of Safe Havens but lacks a data-driven approach to determine how these centers will improve outcomes for families. Instead of creating new centers, the state should explore stopping the harm that is artificially creating the presumed need and re-establish due process and constitutionality before relieving families of their rights and liberties. 

The People of NH should be very concerned about the estimated costs for establishing and operating supervised visitation centers that could exceed $5 million in the first year, with ongoing costs ranging from $1.5 million to $2 million annually. The State is already grappling with fiscal constraints, and this bill could place another half-baked financial strain on our resources and likely divert funds from other essential services like education, infrastructure, and public safety. The bill’s fiscal note underscores the indeterminate nature of these costs, which have significant risk. The bill lacks a robust framework for monitoring and accountability, raising significant red flags about how effectively these centers would prevent tragic outcomes in the future.The financial burden, questionable need through artificial means, tragic historical failures, unintended local impact to communities, and risks associated with lack of oversight form a compelling case against  this bill. Instead, we should focus our state efforts on preventing harm to all children and  families entering the administrative family court, protect them from the predatory practices of these agencies, and use taxpayer resources wisely. You don’t have to look far for facts, the YDC and DCYF are great reminders of how your taxpayer dollars are misused.