angiEmedia

After months of living in foster care apart from both of her parents, parental abduction victim Ashley Gonis was to be moved from foster care in Vancouver to be placed in foster care in Montreal, the city in which her father Frank Gonis lives. Reports as to whether this happened or not still aren’t available, but the Canadian government promised the father in writing that it would be done by June 25, 2009.

Since Ashley was found by police after running away from her mother Araceli Bravo on April 10, 2009, she hasn’t had anything close to a normal or stable life. The manner in which Canadian authorities are handling the whole matter seems to show more concern for legal technicalities than for Ashley’s well-being.
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California legislators have proposed an “audit” of two of the state’s most infamous family court systems, those in Marin County and Sacramento County. As reported by the Marin Independent Journal:

(from State orders audit of Marin family court)

Prodded by Sen. Mark Leno and other lawmakers, the state Joint Legislative Audit Committee voted Wednesday to investigate the family courts in Marin and Sacramento counties.
The audit will focus on the use, and potential misuse, of court-appointed specialists in family-law disputes, such as mediators, investigators and therapists.

Critics say such appointees can form incestuous and incompetent networks more concerned with generating fees than helping children through painful custody fights.

“It becomes a service mill, a cottage industry of sorts,” Leno said in an interview Wednesday. “Maybe state law needs to be changed.”
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