What's working: When my child was first experiencing trouble in junior high school, I immediately sought help. There were counselors, and even programs for off-campus counseling services....
What's not working: However, no one followed through with doing much of anything. Schools and agencies were not even sure of what services they had to offer, and months were wasted with me going from one office to another...but getting no actual help. I even set up a contract with one school administrator; that worked for a while, but then fell apart when the administrator told me I couldn't expect him to do what he had agreed to do when we originally drew up the arrangement! This is all complicated, of course, when the child comes from two homes and is parented (supervised/supported)very differently in each. And unfortunately, our schools and legal systems are a mess when it comes to dealing with this situation. In addition, they are saddly very biased aginst FATHERS. My story is much more complicated than the brief overview I have presented here. I assure you, I can give you tons of additional information on how poorly our schools and other institutions serve some of our families...
—Robert D., Chico, CA
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