DOCUMENT • VERIFY • PROPOSE • PARTICIPATE
Systems Accountability: Research & Public Action
Father On The Move promotes evidence-informed public education, transparent systems, father-inclusive policy conversations, and community participation. Official records and verified observations are distinguished from advocacy recommendations.
Explore the Work
Research & Public Data
Verified public sources: Massachusetts Trial Court publishes court statistics, filing data, case-flow metrics, and access-and-fairness reports. These describe system activity and experiences within their stated methods; they do not automatically establish how often a particular parent receives custody or parenting time.
- Court Data, Metrics & Reports
- FY2026 Trial Court Statistics
- Case-Flow Metrics
- Court Reports and Access & Fairness Surveys
Father On The Move evaluates gaps in publicly available information and identifies questions for further study. See the separate research page for additional projects and methods.
Massachusetts Legislative Tracking
Status checked October 30, 2026. Official records, not predictions:
H.2053: An Act modernizing child support
Sponsored by Representative Christopher Worrell. The official bill history lists it as accompanying the March 26, 2026 study order H.5281. This does not mean the bill’s proposals became law.
H.4045: Child support study commission
Sponsored by Representative Adrianne P. Ramos. The bill proposed a commission to study child support; it also accompanied H.5281 on March 26, 2026. A proposed commission should not be described as already established.
H.5281: Judiciary study order
An order concerning the committee’s study of multiple Judiciary matters, including H.2053 and H.4045. The public record lists a referral to House Rules. It is not itself enactment of the underlying bills.
Legislative status may change. Refer to the bill-history tabs for the most recent official actions.
Documented Policy Questions & Research Needs
Research agenda, not established findings: Father On The Move is exploring questions about system accessibility, parenting-time outcomes, child-support affordability, enforcement, and the collection of disaggregated court information.
- How consistently are relevant court outcomes published in usable formats?
- What do existing case-flow reports measure, and what do they leave unanswered?
- How can parent experiences be documented ethically and compared with public records?
- What are the practical impacts of child support enforcement on employment, housing, and parenting involvement?
These are questions for evidence gathering. An individual account, illustration, or advocacy statement should not be presented as a statewide statistical finding without supporting data.
Proposed Reforms: Father On The Move Advocacy Positions
Recommendations, not existing law: Father On The Move supports constructive discussion of:
- More accessible public reporting of family court case processes and outcomes, with appropriate privacy protections.
- Child-support policies that consider actual ability to pay and family stability.
- Meaningful father engagement in family services, housing, health, and education.
- Transparent, independent review of system processes and documented concerns.
- Opportunities for parents and community organizations to inform legislative and administrative improvements.
Specific proposals should be tested for legal feasibility, child safety, equity, and effects on all family members. Equal consideration of parents does not replace individualized best-interest and safety assessments.
How to Participate
Fathers, families, researchers, community leaders, service providers, and policymakers can contribute to public learning and improvement.
- Attend publicly announced hearings and community conversations.
- Review official legislative records before contacting elected representatives.
- Share policy suggestions, public sources, or de-identified experiences with appropriate consent.
- Join Father On The Move research conversations and coalition activities.
Evidence, Ethics & Publishing Standards
Materials should identify the publication date, source, scope, methodology, and limitations. We distinguish official record, research interpretation, community experience, and advocacy position. Corrections and updated records should be documented. Do not publish private case files, children’s identities, or unverified allegations about identifiable individuals.
Educational and public-policy information only. Father On The Move does not provide legal representation or individualized legal advice.
Previously Published Visuals & Research Materials
The existing infographics, research explanations, cross-state references, and educational videos remain below for context. Historical content may include advocacy interpretations that require separate source verification.
Open original Systems Accountability materials
SIGNATURE INITIATIVE
Systems Accountability
Father voice becomes structured questions. Evidence becomes a public record. Commitments become measurable follow-through.
Research & Primary Sources Behind This Infographic
The figures on household living arrangements come from the U.S. Census Bureau. State examples summarize specific statutes, not guarantees of a parenting-time outcome. Select a source below to review the underlying evidence and legal language.
- U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024: Table B23008: Children under 18 living with one or two parents (69.1 million children in the table’s defined population; approximately 21.2 million living with one parent).
- U.S. Census Bureau, 2023: Children’s living arrangements and cohabiting parents (75% under 6; 68% ages 12–17; 3.2 million living with cohabiting parents).
- Arizona: Arizona Revised Statutes §25-403.02 (parenting plans and parenting time).
- Florida: Florida Statutes §61.13 (time-sharing and rebuttable presumption).
- Utah: Utah Code §81-9-305 (equal parent-time schedule; note that older sources and the infographic cite the former §30-3-35.2).
- Tennessee: 2026 enacted legislation on meaningful parental participation; see also Tennessee Code §36-6-106.
- Texas: Texas Family Code §153.135 (equal possession is not required).
Data interpretation: Living in a one-parent household does not establish that a parent living elsewhere is uninvolved. These sources describe household arrangements and statutory provisions; they do not, by themselves, establish the effects of particular court decisions on children.
Systems accountability means combining lived experience with clear information, measurable outcomes and respectful advocacy.
POLICY LINEAGES
Track What Was Proposed, Studied, Adopted, or Enacted
This visual separates recurring child-support reform tracks so readers can distinguish legislative proposals from Trial Court guideline changes and other policy mechanisms.
Accountability Through Collaboration and Evidence
Father On The Move strengthens fathers, families, and communities by connecting fathers to support, building informed parent leadership, and organizing partnerships and coalitions that examine and improve the systems affecting fatherhood and family life.
Accountability does not automatically mean opposition. Courts, child support agencies, child and family service agencies, housing providers, municipalities, health and human service organizations, and other institutions may be systems whose policies or outcomes we examine and also partners in developing practical solutions.
We do not organize to obtain preferred outcomes in individual cases. We focus on procedural fairness, transparent standards, measurable outcomes, equal treatment, responsible fatherhood, child well-being, and evidence-informed systems improvement while respecting child safety, due process, confidentiality, and judicial independence.
Our approach is to identify the problem, examine the evidence, understand who is affected, define the measurable outcome we want, and work with communities and institutions to develop and track solutions.
Our Accountability Cycle
Listen and Define
Collect recurring concerns through listening sessions, surveys, research, and community conversations. Convert themes into neutral, answerable systems questions.
Ask and Verify
Identify who has authority, review existing laws and reports, send numbered questions, and verify responses against primary sources and data.
Publish and Follow Up
Document responses accurately, publish sourced findings and unresolved questions, identify the next action, and return on a stated review date.
SYSTEMS ACCOUNTABILITY • CURRENT AS OF OCTOBER 1, 2026
2026 Active Issue Cohorts
Current research, listening, and policy-learning areas where Father On The Move is organizing questions, reviewing public information, and tracking measurable systems issues.
Explore Family Court Work • Review Sources & Methods • View the Public Tracker
STATE COMPARISON • CURRENT AS OF OCTOBER 1, 2026
Sources: Massachusetts Probate & Family Court; Minn. Stat. § 518A.36; California Child Support Services and Judicial Council; Texas Office of the Attorney General. This is a general educational comparison. State rules may change and individual cases vary.
Publishing Standards
Take Part in the Work
Participate as a supporter, contributor, working member, cohort lead, or institutional partner.Systems Accountability Visuals
Legislative Committee PathwaysCommittee Review and Systems Tracking
SYSTEMS ACCOUNTABILITY • POLICY LINEAGES
How Child Support Reform Moves Through the System
This lineage map separates several recurring reform tracks: family pass-through and support reaching children, guideline revision cycles, parenting-time treatment, and ability-to-pay or enforcement modernization. Seeing the tracks side by side helps distinguish repeated proposals from enacted statutes and Trial Court guideline changes.Father On The Move presents these materials as a public education and accountability resource. The legal effect of a bill, enacted law, guideline, task-force report, or court policy is not the same. Current legal requirements should be checked against official sources.