The Family Responsibility Office
 (FRO) is the Provincial Government's
enforcement arm of Family Court
Orders for Child Support and
Spousal Support. |
|
The FRO has been the subject of
much criticism for many years for its
failure to meet the needs of those
using this service. Past Governments
have failed to provide the financial
resources to make the system work
efficiently for families and the
frustration level for everyone is
substantial. |
The failure to be efficient not only
means that families with the mother
as the primary parent are
shortchanged, but also that fathers
are too often labeled as “Dead Beat
Dads” simply because the changes in
circumstance are not yet processed
by the FRO. |
Governments have contributed to the myth that Fathers are irresponsible and that
punishments (i.e., license suspension, jail sentences of 180 days, etc.) will solve
the problem. |
Research indicates that mothers who are the non-custodial parent are as, or more,
likely to be delinquent in their payments than fathers in a similar situation. The
misuse of derogatory labels results in more harm to our families. |
Research also suggests that the more involved that a father is in his child's life, the
more likely that the necessary financial resources are available to the family. |
The fear of the FRO and its sanctions has caused thousands of fathers to
"disappear” or to go underground and essentially live a subsistence life. Everyone
loses. These fathers lost faith in the judicial system and are too damaged to risk
going back to court to make the necessary changes - they simply don't trust the
current system. |
A system similar to that used by Revenue Canada needs to be put in place where
the FRO will allow a third party to negotiate a settlement or ongoing agreement to
end the arrears. |
This would allow that parent to become more productive, to eliminate the waste of
FRO resources, and more importantly to allow the disappearing dad to re-enter
their child's life. |
| This re-entry is for a lifetime, the way that a parent-child relationship was intended! |
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Download "Media Release" - FRO Just Doesn't Get It |
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Download "Media Release" - The On-going Tragedy of the FRO |
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Download "Media Release" - Let Justice Be Done |
