KANSAS CITY, MO -
Kevin Gainey was on top of the world. A good job as a bail bondsman, a lake home, and custody of his young son following his divorce.
But bad habits caught up with him, his son moved back with his mom, and Gainey lost his job.
"Wasn't always accountable for my actions," Gainey now says. "A lot of it had to do with my substance abuse problem."
With no money, doing odd jobs, and a sobriety issue, Gainey fell behind in his child support, and wound up facing criminal charges. Despite that, prosecutors deemed him a good candidate for a diversion program that could give Gainey a fresh start and keep him out of prison: fathering court.
Launched in 1998, Jackson County's fathering court is modeled after its drug court: parents, most often dads, get help meeting the challenges that may be holding them back through an initial screening. Regular follow-up court appearances are designed to keep them on track.
"I think that's the role of fathering court. To identify the barriers that are preventing payment of support, and then to direct them to the services that resolve those issues," says Family Court Commissioner Patrick Campbell, himself a father of two.
Commissioner Campbell presides over the court which meets weekly in Division 43.
On a recent morning it was a crowded docket, as Commissioner Campbell greeted men who must demonstrate that they are making progress, make some kind of regular payment toward child support, and attend a 12 week parenting class.
"Congratulations", Campbell tells one dad. "I told you when you graduated and got a job I was going to raise you up a little bit. So I'm going to raise each of them to 150 a month."
To another dad, the commissioner urges contact with his kids: "These three kids have one dad and you're it," he tells the man, who admits he hasn't seen his children much.
To other men he's a cheerleader, a task master, a coach, urging some to get something as simple as an email address so they can receive job listings sent to them by the program.
"You try to make a quick decision as to whether this is a time to encourage them or is this a time to push 'em where they're not comfortable," Campbell says later.
A prosecutor and defense attorney stand at the bench with each of the dads, but unlike other settings, they appear more like a team, working with, rather than against each other in a court where there is no court reporter, and nothing is on the record.
"They see that we're all trying to help them get to where they need to be," says prosecutor Rebecca Leavett, who calls fathering court her favorite docket. "And I think they get more relaxed and trust us, they open up to us more about the issues that are actually going on in their lives."
Her counterpart agrees.
"This isn't a time for secrets, this isn't a time for somebody to come up and say 'whoa that's attorney-client privilege, I want to keep this between me and my attorney," says Gaurika Anand, a public defender who works with most of the dads.
This year, Missouri lawmakers saw the eleven year old Jackson County court as a good model, and approved the concept statewide. So far several circuit courts have expressed interest, but there's little money for launching new fathering courts. A state court spokesman says it's expected the concept will eventually spread when the state's economy improves.
Gainey is just happy he had the concept to benefit from in Jackson County. Initially reluctant to attend the parenting classes, he eventually did, and is grateful for the opportunity. He's slowly whittling down his $17,000 back child support bill, has attended rehab, and says he's now sober and working toward a better life.
When Gainey and other dads graduate, the criminal non-support charges are gone, so long as they continue to work to pay down their child support debt.
"There's no way I could disrespect the opportunity family court's given me," he says. "This is gonna' happen."
That's what Commissioner Campbell wants to hear from more of his participating dads.
"In this court you actually see people make changes." he says. "I would never tell you it would be all of those making changes, but you see a lot of people make primary fundamental changes in their life. And that's a very encouraging thing to see."
But bad habits caught up with him, his son moved back with his mom, and Gainey lost his job.
"Wasn't always accountable for my actions," Gainey now says. "A lot of it had to do with my substance abuse problem."
With no money, doing odd jobs, and a sobriety issue, Gainey fell behind in his child support, and wound up facing criminal charges. Despite that, prosecutors deemed him a good candidate for a diversion program that could give Gainey a fresh start and keep him out of prison: fathering court.
Launched in 1998, Jackson County's fathering court is modeled after its drug court: parents, most often dads, get help meeting the challenges that may be holding them back through an initial screening. Regular follow-up court appearances are designed to keep them on track.
"I think that's the role of fathering court. To identify the barriers that are preventing payment of support, and then to direct them to the services that resolve those issues," says Family Court Commissioner Patrick Campbell, himself a father of two.
Commissioner Campbell presides over the court which meets weekly in Division 43.
On a recent morning it was a crowded docket, as Commissioner Campbell greeted men who must demonstrate that they are making progress, make some kind of regular payment toward child support, and attend a 12 week parenting class.
"Congratulations", Campbell tells one dad. "I told you when you graduated and got a job I was going to raise you up a little bit. So I'm going to raise each of them to 150 a month."
To another dad, the commissioner urges contact with his kids: "These three kids have one dad and you're it," he tells the man, who admits he hasn't seen his children much.
To other men he's a cheerleader, a task master, a coach, urging some to get something as simple as an email address so they can receive job listings sent to them by the program.
"You try to make a quick decision as to whether this is a time to encourage them or is this a time to push 'em where they're not comfortable," Campbell says later.
A prosecutor and defense attorney stand at the bench with each of the dads, but unlike other settings, they appear more like a team, working with, rather than against each other in a court where there is no court reporter, and nothing is on the record.
"They see that we're all trying to help them get to where they need to be," says prosecutor Rebecca Leavett, who calls fathering court her favorite docket. "And I think they get more relaxed and trust us, they open up to us more about the issues that are actually going on in their lives."
Her counterpart agrees.
"This isn't a time for secrets, this isn't a time for somebody to come up and say 'whoa that's attorney-client privilege, I want to keep this between me and my attorney," says Gaurika Anand, a public defender who works with most of the dads.
This year, Missouri lawmakers saw the eleven year old Jackson County court as a good model, and approved the concept statewide. So far several circuit courts have expressed interest, but there's little money for launching new fathering courts. A state court spokesman says it's expected the concept will eventually spread when the state's economy improves.
Gainey is just happy he had the concept to benefit from in Jackson County. Initially reluctant to attend the parenting classes, he eventually did, and is grateful for the opportunity. He's slowly whittling down his $17,000 back child support bill, has attended rehab, and says he's now sober and working toward a better life.
When Gainey and other dads graduate, the criminal non-support charges are gone, so long as they continue to work to pay down their child support debt.
"There's no way I could disrespect the opportunity family court's given me," he says. "This is gonna' happen."
That's what Commissioner Campbell wants to hear from more of his participating dads.
"In this court you actually see people make changes." he says. "I would never tell you it would be all of those making changes, but you see a lot of people make primary fundamental changes in their life. And that's a very encouraging thing to see."
