Peter Thomas Senese & The I CARE Foundation: International Travel Child Consent Form Now Available In Greek

Το Διεθνές Έντυπο Συναίνεσης σε Ταξίδι Παιδιού του Ιδρύματος I CARE Διατίθεται στα Ελληνικά

Το Διεθνές Έντυπο Συναίνεσης σε Ταξίδι Παιδιού του Ιδρύματος I CARE που δημιουργήθηκε για να αποτρέψει την απαγωγή παιδιού διεθνώς από γονέα η οποία σχετίζεται με την παράνομη κατακράτηση παιδιού από έναν γονέα σε χώρα της αλλοδαπής διατίθεται τώρα και στα Ελληνικά. Το έντυπο ταξιδίου έχει να κάνει με τα κύρια νομικά θέματα που περιστρέφονται γύρω από τη Συνθήκη Απαγωγής Παιδιού της Χάγης του 1980 και παρέχει σε δικαστήρια σε όλο τον κόσμο, επιφορτισμένα με την επίβλεψη υποθέσεων πιθανών απαγωγών παιδιών από γονείς διεθνώς που σχετίζονται με χώρες όπου μιλούν Ελληνικά με ένα μοναδικό, διεθνώς καθιερωμένο εργαλείο πρόληψης απαγωγής παιδιού από γονέα, εφαρμοσμένο στο δικαστήριο το οποίο υποστηρίζεται από τις διεθνείς νομικές, διπλωματικές και δικαιοδοτικές κοινότητες που είναι οικείες με την απαγωγή παιδιού από γονέα διεθνώς.

Μία εκτεταμένη έρευνα που διεξήχθη από το Ίδρυμα I CARE το καλοκαίρι του 2014 ερωτήθηκαν εκατοντάδες δικηγόροι και δικαστές σε όλο τον κόσμο οι οποίοι είναι βαθιοί γνώστες της απαγωγής παιδιού από γονέα διεθνώς. Τα ευρήματα της έρευνας έδειξαν ότι πάνω από 70% όλων των γονικών απαγωγών διεθνώς μεταξύ των ενενηντατεσσάρων εθνών που υπέγραψαν τη Συνθήκη Απαγωγής Παιδιού της Χάγης του 1980 συμβαίνουν όταν ένας γονέας παράνομα κατακρατεί ένα παιδί στο εξωτερικό χωρίς τη συναίνεση του άλλου γονέα ή δικαστική εντολή, παραβιάζοντας το δικαίωμα επιμέλειας του γονέα που έχει μείνει πίσω καθώς και το δικαίωμα του παιδιού στον στοχευμένο γονέα. Επίσης η έρευνα συμπέρανε ότι στη συντριπτική πλειοψηφία των υποθέσεων της Συνθήκης Απαγωγής Παιδιού της Χάγης του 1980 που σχετίζονται με παράνομη κατακράτηση, ο γονέας απαγωγέας συχνά χρησιμοποιεί υπερασπίσεις απαγωγής που τους είναι διαθέσιμες υπό τα Άρθρα 12 και 13 της Συνθήκης της Χάγης με την ελπίδα το δικαστήριο στη χώρα όπου το παιδί έχει παρανόμως κατακρατηθεί να επικυρώσει την πράξη τους της μη επιστροφής του παιδιού στη χώρα αρχικής δικαιοδοσίας.

Όπως καταδεικνύεται από τον μεγάλο αριθμό υποθέσεων διεθνούς ταξιδιού παιδιών που έγιναν με επιτυχία χρησιμοποιώντας το έντυπο ταξιδιού του Ιδρύματος I CARE, συνεχίζουμε να είμαστε μάρτυρες του σημαντικού ρόλου που έχει ένα έντυπο συναίνεσης ταξιδίου με προσανατολισμό Χάγης στο οικουμενικό θέατρο της πρόληψης απαγωγής παιδιών διεθνώς. Παραμένουμε ιδιαιτέρως αισιόδοξοι ότι το οικουμενικό ποσοστό απαγωγής παιδιού από γονέα διεθνώς θα μειωθεί σημαντικά λόγω της χρήσης των εντύπων συναίνεσης ταξιδίου με προσανατολισμό Χάγης. Η ουσιώδης έρευνά μας υποδεικνύει ότι πάνω από το 70% όλων των απαγωγών παιδιών διεθνώς συμβαίνουν όταν ένα παιδί κατακρατείται παράνομα στο εξωτερικό – ακριβώς το σενάριο γονικής απαγωγής από το οποίο προστατεύει το δικό μας έντυπο.

Η δημιουργία και χρήση του δικού μας εντύπου συναίνεσης ταξιδιού είναι ιδιαίτερα απλή: τα παιδιά έχουν το δικαίωμα να γνωρίσουν τη μαγεία και ζήσουν σε έναν κόσμο απαλλαγμένο από την ανησυχία της απαγωγής παιδιού από γονέα. Και οι στοχευμένοι για απαγωγή γονείς έχουν το δικαίωμα να προστατεύσει η κοινωνία τα παιδιά τους από το να απαχθούν. Πιστεύουμε σε αυτά τα δικαιώματα. Το έργο και η αφοσίωσή μας συνεχίζονται.

The I CARE Foundation’s International Travel Child Consent Form Available In Greek

The I CARE Foundation’s International Travel Child Consent Form created to prevent international parental child abduction associated with a child being wrongfully retained by one parent in a foreign country is now available in Greek. The travel form addresses key legal issues revolving around the 1980 Hague Child Abduction Convention and provides courts worldwide charged with overseeing potential international parental child abduction cases associated with countries that speak Greek with a unique, globally well-established court implemented abduction prevention tool that is widely supported by the international legal, diplomatic, and judicial communities familiar with international parental child abduction.

An extensive I CARE Foundation study conducted during the summer of 2014 surveyed hundreds of attorneys and judges located around the world deeply familiar with international parental child abduction. The study’s findings showed that over 70% of all international parental kidnappings amongst the ninety-four 1980 Hague Child Abduction Convention member signatory nations occur when one parent wrongfully detains a child abroad without the child’s other parent’s consent or a court order, violating the left-behind parent’s right of custody and the child’s right to the targeted parent. The survey also concluded the overwhelming majority of 1980 Hague Child Abduction Convention cases associated with wrongful retention, the abducting parent often uses abduction defenses available to them under Article 12 and Article 13 of the Hague Convention in hope to have the court located in the country the child has been wrongfully detained in sanction their act of not returning the child to their country of original jurisdiction.

Extensive high remarks for the I CARE Foundation’s International Travel Child Consent Form as a groundbreaking, comprehensive, and significant global international parental child abduction prevention tool have been voiced by the leadership within legal communities familiar with international parental child abduction during  legal forums around the world including compelling commentary from senior officers of the Hague Permanent Bureau during but not limited to international legal symposiums on child abduction held during the LEPCA Conference in the Hague, the IAML Conference in New York, and the Sapporo Bar Association’s Hague Symposium in Sapporo. In addition a large and growing number of attorney Bar Associations in the United States and abroad have published positive and meaningful feedback concerning the I CARE Foundation’s travel consent form with clear intent to educate their legal constituents about the landmark child abduction prevention tool. Perhaps most meaningful is the reality that many judges around the world have praised the I CARE Foundation’s travel consent form, have utilized the document in their courtrooms, and continue to implement the form in courtrooms around the world during child custody and child travel legal proceedings.

Demonstrated by the large number of international child travel cases that have successfully occurred utilizing the I CARE Foundation’s travel form, we continue to witness the important role a Hague-oriented travel consent form has in the global theater of international child abduction prevention. We remain highly optimistic that the global international parental child abduction rate will substantially decline due to use of Hague-oriented travel consent forms. Our substantial research indicates that over 70% of all international child kidnappings occur when a child is wrongfully detained abroad – the exact parental kidnapping scenario our travel form has successfully protected against.

The creation and use of our travel consent form is rather simple: children have a right to know magic and to live in a world free of concern from parental child abduction. And targeted parents of abduction have a right to have society protect their children from kidnapping. We believe in these rights. Our work and dedication continues.

Peter Thomas Senese: After Facing Down Storms Of International Child Abduction, Best-Selling Author's CHASING THE CYCLONE Mesmerizes Critics

Novelist Peter Thomas Senese was extraordinarily busy with his career until he was unexpectedly forced to race into the unthinkable nightmare known as international parental child abduction. Inspired by the writer's experiences, the novel CHASING THE CYCLONE has been critically hailed as a fast-paced, educational mystery and legal thriller, and Peter Senese as a masterful storyteller. Since this time, the author has become an outspoken advocate of child abduction prevention, and has created an arsenal of tools that have helped at-risk parents.

(PRWEB) November 22, 2011

Peter Thomas Senese's novel "Chasing The Cyclone" has been hailed as a masterful international legal thriller that enraptures readers into the dark and incomprehensible world of global parental child abduction. Inspired by the best-selling author's own experiences racing into the storms of child abduction, critics and readers alike have called "Chasing The Cyclone" a Call-To-Arms against this worldwide epidemic, and Peter Thomas Senese as a master storyteller. "Chasing The Cyclone" will be released on December 1st, 2011 in hardcover and is now available via E-book from online merchants.

Added Peter Thomas Senese, "Chasing The Cyclone" is an entertaining book that puts the reader on a roller-coaster of emotions - which is most targeted parents of abduction experience. In fact, I have had more than one reviewer write to me and tell me that while in the midst of reading this novel, they actually physically threw the book due to pure frustration over the story's protagonist's unthinkable experiences while fighting to find and reunite with his son, only to immediately pick up the book and continue reading - only to want to throw the book again. But that's just it - for parents who are targets of abduction, many enter into an insane world. So, where the resource guide "The World Turned Upside Down" is a collection or important research reports and published studies, "Chasing The Cyclone" is a novel deeply inspired by and drawn from my own experiences."

Critics and readers have praised "Chasing The Cyclone".

... "Chasing The Cyclone" isn't just a powerful novel; it's a call to arms against a growing epidemic that is tearing lives apart behind the headlines . . . "Chasing The Cyclone" is much more than just a superb, can't-put-down novel, though; it is a book with a purpose . . . Peter Thomas Senese has become an outspoken advocate on this issue, and 'Chasing The Cyclone' makes for a clear and profoundly effective call to action. I would go so far as to encourage every loving parent to read this book, as the bond between this father and son is one to be emulated . . . (Renown book reviewer Daniel Jolley)

... "Chasing The Cyclone" will shake the audience, this exciting cautionary thriller grips readers from the onset ... (Renown book reviewer Harriet Klausner:)

... Peter Thomas Senese now opens the windows on the magnitude of these tragedies in his excellent "Chasing The Cyclone" . . . As if the fast paced energy of this story weren't enough to satisfy the reader, Peter Thomas demonstrates his quality as a writer of distinction on many levels . . .this impossible to put down book . . . (Renown book reviewer Dr. Grady Harp)

. . . Chasing the Cyclone" is the second book I've read by Peter Thomas Senese, and like "The Den of the Assassin," it's a real page turner . . . This was a book I could not put down. Thomas has a gift in writing a compelling novel that not only keeps the reader engaged, but educates as well (Renown book reviewer Shelley Gammon)

Patricia Lee, a highly respected international family law attorney practicing international child abduction for nearly 20 years and a Director of the I CARE Foundation (International Parental Child Abduction Research and Education Foundation) stated, "I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Senese first, not as an acclaimed fiction writer, but as a dedicated child advocate helping victimized parents work through the morass of financial, legal and practical issues in their attempts to reunify with their children. I am humbled by his fierce dedication and support to the I CARE foundation, which portends to be a milestone in the State Department's efforts to recruit and train lawyers in this area of the law in order to better serve targeted children and parents, while also educating an uneducated judiciary. Thank you, Peter for all of your impactful dedication."

Joel S. Walter, another Director of the I CARE Foundation and a lawyer who has practiced primarily in the federal courts for 35 years added, "I remember when Peter first became aware of his own child's abduction as I was one of his very first phone calls. His ordeal was unthinkable, and the challenges he faced beyond every parent's nightmare. Yet Peter did everything he needed to do: in essence stopping everything he was doing and dedicated his time and resources toward reuniting with his abducted son, who was taken to the other side of the world. Knowing Peter for as long as I do, and knowing him for the good-natured, generous, and direct man that he is, I was not surprised to see him try to make important changes in the world of abduction prevention so that other parents and children will never have to experience what he and his family have. The I CARE Foundation is actively making a difference for other paents, and Peter Thomas Senese is a very big reason for this."

Since the time Mr. Senese was forced to chase the cyclone of child abduction, the established geopolitical novelist has become an active advocate of child abduction prevention, including initiatives to pass new laws such as Florida's "Child Abduction Prevention Act', and to widely utilize existing federal policy in order to protect children from abduction such as the "Prevent Departure Program".

As a Director of the International Child Abduction Research and Education Foundation, Mr. Senese is actively engaged in two new federal policy initiatives: to modify the "Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative" so all American citizens regardless of age would be required to present a passport when traveling abroad by land, sea, or air. The second initiative, as recommended by the GAO, is to create a secondary airline screening list for individuals possessing American citizenship considered to be high-risk child abductors. In addition, under Mr. Senese's leadership, the I CARE Foundation has commenced a nation-wide recruitment effort seeking attorneys to join the Department of State's "Hague Convention Attorney Network".

While the writer has written prolifically about child abduction prevention, including numerous essays and the previous publication of the groundbreaking and extensive IPCA resource guide he co-authored with Carolyn Vlk that was made available for free to the world via E-book, "Chasing The Cyclone" is a deeply personal story. "When I wrote "Chasing The Cyclone" the words flowed onto the pages very easily. My previous novels are based upon heavy research. In this story, my research was my life's experiences."

Mr. Senese commented on his activism. "For the vast majority of defenseless children and their parents who are targeted for international parental child abduction, they enter a horrific, little-understood world where law and order and justice are fleeting concepts, but typically not reality. Knowing this first-hand, and having successfully navigated this ordeal under the Hague Convention, it was important to me to try to make a difference and help other targeted children and parents. Having a voice as an established storyteller has allowed me to do some of that in both written word, and in creation of the educational documentary film 'Chasing Parents'. Yet there is a great deal of work to be done, and so initiatives continue."

Please visit the official website of "Chasing The Cyclone". To learn more about Peter Thomas Senese, please visit the author's official website.

I CARE Foundation Urges Lawyers In Texas, Nevada, Arizona & New Mexico Sought To Join Department of State's "Attorney Network"

The International Child Abduction Research & Education Foundation (I CARE Foundation) has launched a recruitment campaign urging attorneys located in Texas, Arizona, New Mexico and Nevada to join the United States Department of State's Hague Convention Attorney Network ("Attorney Network") - and help protect innocent children victimized or targeted by international parental child abduction (IPCA). Texas, Arizona, New Mexico and Nevada are hotbeds for IPCA due to a significant increase in reported and unreported parental kidnapping cases to and from Mexico and remaining Central America. The Department Of State's recruitment of attorneys in these states is due to the rise in abduction cases, combined with their effort to educate undocumented parents living in the United States who have been victimized by child abduction that they and their abducted children have protective rights under the Hague Convention.

The I CARE Foundation is urging lawyers in Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, and Nevada interested in assisting parents of children who have been internationally abducted or who may be targets of international parental abduction to participate in the Department of State's "Hague Convention Attorney Network" according to Peter Thomas Senese, a director of the foundation. "In order to prevent child abduction, the reality is lawyers educated on the complex issues of international child abduction need to be mobilized within the Department of State's attorney network. When this occurs, there will be significant opportunity to educate a less than knowledgeable judiciary who are too often unfamiliar with the complexities typically present in these cases. Additionally, and of equal importance, particularly in Texas, Arizona, New Mexico and Nevada is the need for undocumented individuals living in the United States to know that if their child is abducted from the United States, they have major recourse under the Hague Convention, and that the Department of State's Office of Childrens Issues is ready, willing, and able to assist them.

The Office of Children's Issues in the U.S. Department of State serves as the U.S. Central Authority for the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction (the "Convention"). The International Child Abduction Remedies Act ("ICARA"), establishes procedures for litigating Convention cases in the U.S. The U.S. Central Authority has numerous functions including facilitating the institution of judicial proceedings in the U.S. "with a view to obtaining the return of the child and, in a proper case, to make arrangements for organizing or securing the effective exercise of rights of access." In April of 2008, the U.S.Central Authority assumed the responsibility for all incoming cases, and overseeing a network of volunteer attorneys.

The "Attorney Network" provides critical assistance. Lawyers that join the "Attorney Network" are asked to consider taking Hague Convention return and access cases on a pro bono or reduced fee basis. There is never an obligation to take a case, and legal fees and expenses may be recoverable under the Convention's Article 26 and the implementing statute (42.U.S.C 11607), and under state law when state law remedies are pursued (e.g., UCCJEA). In addition, lawyers with and without Hague experience are welcome to join the Attorney Network, as the Attorney Network offers a host of information and mentor programs. In addition to incoming cases of abduction, attorneys can also represent parents in abduction prevention cases and outgoing abduction cases.

Presently, there are over 1,640 'reported' cases of IPCA originating from the United States according to the last published report issued from the Department of State to Congress. The number of cases has nearly tripled from 2006 to 2009 alone according to a recent report issued by the Government Accountability Office's ("GAO"). According to I CARE, the number of 'unreported cases' of IPCA appears to be substantial and at least equal the number and growth rate of 'reported' cases.. Many of the 'unreported' cases appear to involve immigrants who originate from Central and South American, and Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and Nevada (along with California) clearly have a high-volume of incoming and outgoing cases.

Peter Thomas Senese added, "Overall growth rate of IPCA is conservatively estimated to be between 15% - 20% per year, and there could be well over 100,000 children abducted from the United States between 2009 and 2020 if current trends conservatively stay the same."

As the growing rate of abduction and the shortage of trained attorneys becomes more well known, key media voices in the legal community have recently come to support I CARE's recruitment campaign for attorneys to join the Department of State's "Attorney Program." Aware of the growing crisis in Connecticut, the Connecticut Law Tribune(CLT) recently published an important article concerning this issue.

Patricia M. Lee, a Florida attorney practicing in the area of parental child abduction and a Director of the I CARE Foundation who was interviewed by the CLT states, “I feel privileged to have been a referral attorney for the implementing agency for many years of my private practice. The trauma experienced by victimized children and parents when faced with a child abduction, especially in the international arena, is overwhelming, primarily due to the lack of experienced attorneys, but also, due to the great financial burden, and cultural and language barriers. When they have nowhere else to turn and are so desperate, being able to help these people has been a rewarding experience personally, as well as professionally. It is worth every hour I have spent climbing the learning curve in this little known area of the law. OCI has always been responsive and helpful in the practicalities of dealing with clients living abroad, and the network of mentor attorneys available across the U.S., nothing short of a wealth of information and assistance. My experience in taking these cases has been humbling, to say the least, as I have seen the very best of my profession, which is too often the object of jokes and derision. I would encourage any attorney to join the Attorney Network.”

Joel S. Walter, an lawyer practicing in New York, a member of the I CARE Foundation, and a Director of the Attorney Network said, "As a lawyer practicing complex cases primarily in federal court for over 30 years, it is astonishing to learn of the tragedies children of abduction and their targeted parents face. In joining the Department of State's "Attorney Network", I have an opportunity to give back to our community, and make a difference in the life of a child. Participating in the network is not just good lawyering, but it is good citizenship. The I CARE Foundation looks forward to assisting the Department of State by educating other lawyers about the attorney network in hope that they too may participate in this critical program."

Denise Gunn Garno, a Naples, Florida based lawyer practicing primarily complex family law matters and who is a member of the Department Of State's Hague Convention Attorney Network commented on the significance of lawyers from Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, and Nevada to join the 'Attorney Network' when she stated, "Florida's new CAPA law presents a challenge to attorneys attempting to ensure CAPA is applied in cases wherein children are in imminent danger of abduction. A lack of judicial awareness is extremely detrimental as it puts children's lives in jeopardy. In order for the State of Florida and our nation to protect our children from abduction, we must not only create abduction prevention laws, but the rules of law must be adhered to. My participation in the Department of State's Hague Convention Attorney Network will make a difference in the lives of my clients and hopefully the children targeted of this crime from my home state."

Carolyn Ann Vlk, writer of Florida's CAPA law and a director of I CARE said, "The reality is that laws that have been established to protect children are not followed in part due to an uneducated judiciary. The way to remedy this is to have informed litigators who can make a difference before the courts. Texas, Nevada, New Mexico, and Arizona have a high case load and clearly attorneys are needed by the Department of State to join their "Attorney Network."

An extensive report to be published by I CARE this December puts the cost of IPCA in the United States over the next 10 years at over 1.6 Billion dollars.

If you are a lawyer interested in finding out more about the Hague Convention Attorney Network, please visit http://travel.state.gov/pdf/AttorneyNetworkFlyer.pdf or call 202-501-4444. To learn more about international parental child abduction please visit http://www.travel.state.gov/abduction.

I CARE Foundation Urges Lawyers In Texas, Nevada, Arizona & New Mexico Sought To Join Department of State's "Attorney Network"

The International Child Abduction Research & Education Foundation (I CARE Foundation) has launched a recruitment campaign urging attorneys located in Texas, Arizona, New Mexico and Nevada to join the United States Department of State's Hague Convention Attorney Network ("Attorney Network") - and help protect innocent children victimized or targeted by international parental child abduction (IPCA). Texas, Arizona, New Mexico and Nevada are hotbeds for IPCA due to a significant increase in reported and unreported parental kidnapping cases to and from Mexico and remaining Central America. The Department Of State's recruitment of attorneys in these states is due to the rise in abduction cases, combined with their effort to educate undocumented parents living in the United States who have been victimized by child abduction that they and their abducted children have protective rights under the Hague Convention.

The I CARE Foundation is urging lawyers in Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, and Nevada interested in assisting parents of children who have been internationally abducted or who may be targets of international parental abduction to participate in the Department of State's "Hague Convention Attorney Network" according to Peter Thomas Senese, a director of the foundation. "In order to prevent child abduction, the reality is lawyers educated on the complex issues of international child abduction need to be mobilized within the Department of State's attorney network. When this occurs, there will be significant opportunity to educate a less than knowledgeable judiciary who are too often unfamiliar with the complexities typically present in these cases. Additionally, and of equal importance, particularly in Texas, Arizona, New Mexico and Nevada is the need for undocumented individuals living in the United States to know that if their child is abducted from the United States, they have major recourse under the Hague Convention, and that the Department of State's Office of Childrens Issues is ready, willing, and able to assist them.
The Office of Children's Issues in the U.S. Department of State serves as the U.S. Central Authority for the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction (the "Convention"). The International Child Abduction Remedies Act ("ICARA"), establishes procedures for litigating Convention cases in the U.S. The U.S. Central Authority has numerous functions including facilitating the institution of judicial proceedings in the U.S. "with a view to obtaining the return of the child and, in a proper case, to make arrangements for organizing or securing the effective exercise of rights of access." In April of 2008, the U.S.Central Authority assumed the responsibility for all incoming cases, and overseeing a network of volunteer attorneys.

The "Attorney Network" provides critical assistance. Lawyers that join the "Attorney Network" are asked to consider taking Hague Convention return and access cases on a pro bono or reduced fee basis. There is never an obligation to take a case, and legal fees and expenses may be recoverable under the Convention's Article 26 and the implementing statute (42.U.S.C 11607), and under state law when state law remedies are pursued (e.g., UCCJEA). In addition, lawyers with and without Hague experience are welcome to join the Attorney Network, as the Attorney Network offers a host of information and mentor programs. In addition to incoming cases of abduction, attorneys can also represent parents in abduction prevention cases and outgoing abduction cases.

Presently, there are over 1,640 'reported' cases of IPCA originating from the United States according to the last published report issued from the Department of State to Congress. The number of cases has nearly tripled from 2006 to 2009 alone according to a recent report issued by the Government Accountability Office's ("GAO"). According to I CARE, the number of 'unreported cases' of IPCA appears to be substantial and at least equal the number and growth rate of 'reported' cases.. Many of the 'unreported' cases appear to involve immigrants who originate from Central and South American, and Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and Nevada (along with California) clearly have a high-volume of incoming and outgoing cases.

Peter Thomas Senese added, "Overall growth rate of IPCA is conservatively estimated to be between 15% - 20% per year, and there could be well over 100,000 children abducted from the United States between 2009 and 2020 if current trends conservatively stay the same."

As the growing rate of abduction and the shortage of trained attorneys becomes more well known, key media voices in the legal community have recently come to support I CARE's recruitment campaign for attorneys to join the Department of State's "Attorney Program." Aware of the growing crisis in Connecticut, the Connecticut Law Tribune(CLT) recently published an important article concerning this issue.

Patricia M. Lee, a Florida attorney practicing in the area of parental child abduction and a Director of the I CARE Foundation who was interviewed by the CLT states, “I feel privileged to have been a referral attorney for the implementing agency for many years of my private practice. The trauma experienced by victimized children and parents when faced with a child abduction, especially in the international arena, is overwhelming, primarily due to the lack of experienced attorneys, but also, due to the great financial burden, and cultural and language barriers. When they have nowhere else to turn and are so desperate, being able to help these people has been a rewarding experience personally, as well as professionally. It is worth every hour I have spent climbing the learning curve in this little known area of the law. OCI has always been responsive and helpful in the practicalities of dealing with clients living abroad, and the network of mentor attorneys available across the U.S., nothing short of a wealth of information and assistance. My experience in taking these cases has been humbling, to say the least, as I have seen the very best of my profession, which is too often the object of jokes and derision. I would encourage any attorney to join the Attorney Network.”

Joel S. Walter, an lawyer practicing in New York, a member of the I CARE Foundation, and a Director of the Attorney Network said, "As a lawyer practicing complex cases primarily in federal court for over 30 years, it is astonishing to learn of the tragedies children of abduction and their targeted parents face. In joining the Department of State's "Attorney Network", I have an opportunity to give back to our community, and make a difference in the life of a child. Participating in the network is not just good lawyering, but it is good citizenship. The I CARE Foundation looks forward to assisting the Department of State by educating other lawyers about the attorney network in hope that they too may participate in this critical program."

Denise Gunn Garno, a Naples, Florida based lawyer practicing primarily complex family law matters and who is a member of the Department Of State's Hague Convention Attorney Network commented on the significance of lawyers from Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, and Nevada to join the 'Attorney Network' when she stated, "Florida's new CAPA law presents a challenge to attorneys attempting to ensure CAPA is applied in cases wherein children are in imminent danger of abduction. A lack of judicial awareness is extremely detrimental as it puts children's lives in jeopardy. In order for the State of Florida and our nation to protect our children from abduction, we must not only create abduction prevention laws, but the rules of law must be adhered to. My participation in the Department of State's Hague Convention Attorney Network will make a difference in the lives of my clients and hopefully the children targeted of this crime from my home state."

Carolyn Ann Vlk, writer of Florida's CAPA law and a director of I CARE said, "The reality is that laws that have been established to protect children are not followed in part due to an uneducated judiciary. The way to remedy this is to have informed litigators who can make a difference before the courts. Texas, Nevada, New Mexico, and Arizona have a high case load and clearly attorneys are needed by the Department of State to join their "Attorney Network."

An extensive report to be published by I CARE this December puts the cost of IPCA in the United States over the next 10 years at over 1.6 Billion dollars.

If you are a lawyer interested in finding out more about the Hague Convention Attorney Network, please visit http://travel.state.gov/pdf/AttorneyNetworkFlyer.pdf or call 202-501-4444. To learn more about international parental child abduction please visit http://www.travel.state.gov/abduction.