| WHERE TO GET MORE INFORMATION
Adoption
Every state has a state adoption officer. These officials usually have
offices in the state
capital. The state government information operator can help you locate
the officer for
your state. For information about agency adoptions, contact the Child
Welfare League of
America, 440 1st Street NW, Third Floor, Washington, DC 20001. Its telephone
number
is 202-638-2952. FAX 202-638-4004; website, www.cwla.org/
You also may wish to contact the National Council for Adoption, 1930 17th
Street
NW, Washington, DC 20009. Its telephone number is 202-328-1200; fax 202-332-0935;
website, www.ncfa-usa.org/
For information on independent adoption, check with your state, county,
or city
bar association. Ask if independent adoptions are legal in your state.
Also ask if the bar
association will refer you to lawyers who handle independent adoptions.
Battered Spouses
Many communities offer shelters for battered spouses and their children.
Details on these
shelters are available from the police, crisis intervention services,
hospitals, churches,
family or conciliation courts, local newspapers, or women's organizations.
A resource is
the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, P.O. Box 18749, Denver,
CO 80218.
The telephone number of this national information and referral center
is 303-839-1852,
fax: 303-831-9251, website, www.ncadv.org/
The local or state chapter of the National Organization for Women (NOW)
also
should be able to provide information to help battered spouses. Website,
www.now.org/
Child Support
Every state has Child Support Enforcement Units that help custodial parents
establish and
enforce child support orders and locate absent parents. (These offices
are sometimes
called IV-D Offices because they are required by Chapter IV-D of the Social
Security
Act.) You can locate the offices by looking under county or state government
listings in
the telephone book or by asking the state government switchboard. Another
resource is
the Federal Office of Child Support Enforcement, which can help parents
find their state's
enforcement officers. Access website www.acf.dhhs.gov/programs/cse/index.html;
there's
the national electronic child support resource system website at www.
ocse.acf.dhhs.gov/necsrspub/
Divorce
Most local public libraries offer books written about divorce. Ask the
librarians for help.
See the chapter how to find a family law attorney.
Another source of family law attorneys is the American Academy of Matrimonial
Lawyers. The academy is a private organization. It has about 1,500 members.
In order to
become a member of the academy, a lawyer needs to have devoted 75 percent
or more of
his or her practice to family law for a period of at least ten years.
Written or oral
examinations are required along with recommendations from judges and other
lawyers.
Membership in the academy does not automatically guarantee that the lawyer
is good, but
it does mean the lawyer has substantial experience in family law.
A person looking for a referral to a member of the American Academy of
Matrimonial Lawyers can contact the academy at 150 N. Michigan Avenue,
Suite 2040,
Chicago, Illinois 60601; telephone: 312-263-6477; fax, 312-263-7682; e-mail,
office@aaml.org; Web site www.aaml.org The academy also has chapters in
many states.
Mediation
A source for information on mediation is the Academy of Family Mediators,
5 Militia
Drive, Lexington, MA, 02421; telephone: 781-674-2663; fax 781-674-2690;
website
www.igc.apc.org/afm/ The academy lists family mediators in every state
by training and
experience. Local courts (including the court clerk’s office) also
may have information
regarding mediation services.
Missing Children
Various agencies can offer help in finding children who are missing. They
include:
Missing Children Help Center, 410 Ware Boulevard, Suite 710 Tampa, FL
33619-4457;
Telephone: 813-623-KIDS or 800-USA-KIDS (toll-free); website, www.800usakids.org/
or
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Charles B. Wang International
Children's Building, 699 Prince Street, Alexandria, VA 22314-3175; telephone:
800-843-
5678 (toll-free), website www.missingkids.com/
Pensions
One resource on pensions is the U.S. Department of Labor. The address
is: Pension and
Welfare Benefits Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, Division of
Technical
Assistance and Inquiries, Room N5658, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington,
DC
20210, website, www.dol.gov/dol/pwba/; copies of their publications can
be ordered by
calling their toll-free brochure request line at 1-800-998-7542
The Pension Rights Center informs employees of their rights involving
pensions.
This private organization also offers booklets that explain related topics.
Write to:
Pension Rights Center, 918 16th Street, NW, Suite 704, Washington, DC
20006. Or call
202-296-3776, fax: 202 -833- 2472, website, www.aoa.dhhs.gov/AOA/dir/210.html
Social Security
Your local Social Security Administration office can provide information
and literature
on benefits. You can find its address and telephone number in your local
telephone
directory--usually under "U.S. Government."
Taxes
The basic resource on federal income taxes is the Internal Revenue Service
(IRS.). You
can find your regional office in the phone book under "U.S. Government."
You also may
wish to contact an accountant or a tax lawyer.
Free publications on family taxes available from the IRS include Community
Property and the Federal Income Tax (Publication 555), Tax Information
for Divorced or
Separated Individuals (Publication 504), and Tax Rules for Children and
Dependents
(Publication 929). They--and much more--are online at www.irs.gov/
Women's Issues
For questions about your rights or a referral, contact the Legal Defense
and Education
Fund of the National Organization for Women (NOW), 395 Hudson Street,
New York,
New York 10014, telephone (212) 925-6635, fax 212 226-1066, email lir@nowldef.org;
Also, access www.nowldef.org/; their publications and resources are on
page
www.nowldef.org/html/pub/index.htm.
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