Mission Statement

The Children’s Rights Council (CRC) is an internationally recognized leader serving divorced, never-married and extended families and at-risk youth for more than 20 years. CRC promotes a society where laws, attitudes and public opinion affirm that “The Best Parent is Both Parents”^®. Organized to serve the public purpose of advocating the healthy development of children, it is the mission of CRC to minimize the emotional, physical and economic abuse, neglect and distress of children and the development of at-risk behaviors following relationship breakups between parents involved in highly conflicted marital disputes. By guiding, informing, and coordinating alternative methodologies to parents, educators, health and human service professionals, faith-based counselors, legislators, and the public at-large, CRC is able to help reduce divorce and strengthen families through custody reform; parental mediation and training; conciliation and access; parental financial and educational support systems; legislative revision and court briefs.

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Description

Incorporated in 1985, the Children’s Rights Council is an global leader in the advocacy, development and delivery of services and information addressing rights and responsibilities in the “best interest” of children. An established 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, CRC is headquartered in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area with 60 chapters in 39 states (including the District of Columbia) and international affiliates in Australia, Canada, Great Britain, France, Israel, Japan, Switzerland, and Sierra Leone.

CRC also operates 40 Child Access Centers (Safe Havens) partnering with community & faith-based organizations in 13 states and Washington, DC to provide neutral drop-off and pick-up of children, and supervised access (visitation). Whether a chapter or center, all CRC operations are dedicated to helping children by promoting family formation, reducing divorce and strengthening families through custody reform; parental mediation and training; conciliation and access; parental educational support systems; legislative revision and court briefs to lessen the occurrence and effects of divorce and relationship breakups among parents in conflict.

With extensive experience working in concert with courts, government agencies, private foundations, community/faith based organizations and grassroots initiatives, the Children’s Rights Council has remained in the forefront of access (visitation) and child support issues; served as a catalyst for the Welfare Reform Act of 1996; and provides up-to-date research on custody laws and child support rules affecting parents across the nation. The core of CRC’s many accomplishments and strategic advantages to successfully advocate for children is a comprehensive history of governmental relationships and grassroots networking that form the basis of a national system of information and referral dedicated to helping relieve emotional suffering, abuse, neglect and economic distress for children of parents involved in persistent and highly conflicted disputes.

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Board of Trustees

The Children’s Rights Council is governed by an active Board of Trustees representing legal, social and business expertise in children’s issues.

John L. Bauserman Jr., President of the Board of Trustees. He is a practicing family law attorney with Pikrallides & Associates, LLP in northern Virginia, and a former attorney with Neighborhood Legal Services, serving low income parents.  He has written several appellate court briefs for CRC members in favor of a child's right to shared parenting.
Sampson 0. Annan is an accomplished administrator and advocate of law enforcement.  Previous to his retirement in 2007 as Senior Executive Director from the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police, he received a Meritorious Service Award in 2006 from the D.C. Chief of Police.  Mr. Sampson also served as Director of the Department of Justice’s National Police Corps, and has published many articles and chapters in books on law enforcement in the area of drugs, public housing and domestic violence.
John L. Bauserman, Sr. has continued to serve the Children’s Rights Council for more than twenty years, helping to co-found CRC in 1985.  He has extensively reviewed joint custody literature in support of judicial and legislative processes and changes; and has nurtured his children as both a custodial and non-custodial parent.  Bauserman Sr. is retired after 40 years of exemplary service with the Federal government.
Ingrid A. Bough, J.D. of Maryland is a lawyer with a Federal agency and has previously served the Children’s Rights Council (CRC) as a former board member, Conference Registration Director, and volunteer, for more than 15 years.  Actively involved in several socio-legal organizations and community initiatives, Ms. Bough also represents CRC on the Prince George’s County Criminal Justice Coordinating Council’s 2007 Domestic Violence Task Force.
Teresa L. Kaiser, J.D., is an expert in the governmental administration of state legal and financial systems and processes that ensure the interests of millions of children and families are protected.  She has served as a former Director of the Child Support Enforcement Systems in Missouri, Idaho and Maryland.
David L. Levy, J.D., is a co-founder of the Children’s Rights Council and serves as the Chief Executive Officer since CRC’s inception in 1985. He is a noted author and nationally recognized authority on the subjects of child custody, divorce mediation, access (visitation), and parenting issues.  He edited the book entitled “The Best Parent is Both Parents” – A Guide to Shared Parenting in the 21st Century (1993).
Myrna B. Murdoch, M.A., serves as the Executive Director of International Affairs for CRC, working in liaison with members of Congress, foreign dignitaries, embassies, international communities; and global corporations. In addition to her duties as a Trustee of CRC, she is a board member of the State of Hawaii Commission on Fatherhood.
Honorable David Gray Ross is the former Commissioner, Federal Office of Child Support Enforcement, U.S. Health and Human Services under President Clinton.  He is a retired family court judge, former Maryland state legislator, and currently teaches public policy at the University of Central Florida.
Margaret A. Wuwert, is a retired social worker and serves as Director of CRC of Northwest Ohio. Her agency is one of CRC’s largest chapters with eight Access Centers in Ohio, Michigan and Indiana.  In 2002, Ms. Wuwert was recognized by the Lucas County Domestic Relations Court for her untiring dedication and supportive access services to the children and families in the Toledo area.

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Family Advisory Board

Although without governing authority, the Family Advisory Board plays a vital role in helping to recommend advocacy initiatives, strategic planning and policy development to the Board of Trustees. Serving members include:

• former U.S. Senators Bob Graham (D-FL) and
• Fred Thompson (R-TN);
• Honorable Sherwood Boehlert, U.S. House of Representatives, (R-NY);
• Ms. Jeanne Phillips (Dear Abby);
• Karen DeCrow J.D., former President of the National Organization of Woman (NOW);
• Mr. David Birney, television actor;
• Ms. Eloise Anderson of the Claremont Institute;
• Ron Haskins Ph.D., Senior Fellow with the Brookings Institution;
• S. Richard Sauber Ph.D., author;
• Ms. Vicki Lansky, author and columnist;
• Ms. Lola Bailey, President of the National Committee of Grandparents for Children’s Rights;
• Mr. Jim Cook, President of the Joint Custody Association;
• Margorie Engel, Ph.D., President and CEO of the Stepfamily Association of America;
• Larry Gaughan J.D., Professional Director for Family Mediation of Greater Washington DC;
• James Levine Ed.D., of the Father Project and the Family and Work Institute;
• Chief Rabbi M. Bruce Lustig, Washington Hebrew Congregation of DC; and
• Elliot H. Diamond, co-founder of the Children’s Rights Council.

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National Spokespersons

The Children’s Rights Council has successfully enlisted the voices of several popular entertainers, authors and advocates to promote community awareness of children’s issues. Personalities include:

• Hadassah Luther, Young Musician Award Winner;
• pop singer and writer Dwight Twilley;
• Grand Ole Opry singer Ernie Ashworth;
• Jayne A. Major, Ph.D., author of Breakthrough Parenting;
• Ms. Elizabeth Hickey, author and parent educator;
• Gerald L. Boarman Ed.D., Academic Education;
• Dr. Rona Fields, Psychologist
  ...learn more about Dr. Fields

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Chief Executive Officer

David L. Levy, J.D., the Chief Executive Officer, is a national expert on children’s rights appearing on more than 200 television and radio stations, including nationally syndicated programs such as the “Today Show”, “Good Morning America”, “Oprah”, “Montel Williams”, “Charlie Rose”, “Phil Donahue”, MS/NBC, NPR, CNN, and C-SPAN reaching millions of households. Mr. Levy is also frequently quoted in a richly diverse cross-section of printed media with numerous articles appearing in such newspapers and journals as the Washington Post, New York Times, and several national religious news magazines. Additional to the mass media, Mr. Levy has hosted 15 national conferences, testified more than 20 times before congressional committees; authored a popular book among divorced/never-married parents “The Best Parent is Both Parents^®”, and received a “lifetime achievement award” from the federal child support office in 2000.

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Social Goals

CRC has worked extensively to realize a long-term commitment to children by helping to: a) keep them out of the middle of destructive disputes involving custody and access; b) build stronger families through parental education and responsibility; c) enabling children to continue relationships with both parents regardless of marital status; and d) lessening the circumstance and time for court interventions between litigating parents.

In support of this commitment to children, CRC has established a set of social goals based on program utilization of the Both Parents Approach model to help highly conflicted parents involved in marital discourse, custody disputes, parental alienation, and relational inexperience better cooperate and collaborate in the best interests of their children following break-up of the family. Accomplishment of CRC advocacy and program goals are designed to:

• Mitigate the long-term damaging effects to children caused by divorce and relationship break-ups;
• Reduce total children at risk from developing harmful and destructive behaviors;
• Encourage non-custodial parents to remain emotionally & financially supportive of their child(ren);
• Advocate increased opportunities for access to non-custodial parents; and
• Decrease the nature, burden and expense of legal disputes and court interventions caused by persistent parental conflict.

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