Today we’d like to introduce you to Eric Smith.
Hi Eric, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
What got me to the point of being The Real Dadvocate for dads, listening to fathers explain how the family court system was bias towards them/did them wrong. I would ask did they file an appeal or for an exception. I remembered filing EXCEPTION (an EXCEPTION is an appeal in the family court against a Magistrate’s Order). I was before Magistrate Andrea Kelly (Retired), who was known for being bias in her rulings against fathers in Baltimore City. When she made her decision on my case I studied the Maryland family laws and I wrote my EXCEPTION against her Orders and I won, I didn’t need a law degree to expose her bias towards me, that is what I figured I can help fathers do.
This changed my mission from self-defense to public advocacy. I built this platform with the help of two people I love to expose systemic failures, my wife and good friend. My wife, “Addy,” and one of my best friends, Q, helped and inspired me to form the nonprofit. My goal was to advocate, educate, and empower fathers to use available resources to fight for the right to co-parenting in their child(ren) lives like they want. I decided to focus on due process violations, unequal protection under family law, and how the child support system exploits fathers but the most important part- getting fathers to understand they are important!
As “The Real Dadvocate,” my work centers on three objectives:
1. Educate fathers on their rights and responsibilities under family law.
2. Expose court practices that separate children from fit parents.
3. Pressure policymakers to place parenting determinations before financial orders.
The Real Dadvocate’s advocacy is grounded in lived experience, legal research, and direct court experience. The Real Dadvocate speaks from record, not theory. I push for reform grounded in law, not sentiment.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I, The Real Dadvocate, fought for my son in Baltimore family court for 15 years. The system blocked me. I saw bias against fathers firsthand, and I am still facing it today. I am taking the action that I am allowed to take as a Maryland resident; legal action that puts the Maryland family court system on notice, as Patrick Swayze said in the movie Next of Kin: “You ain’t seen bad yet, but it’s coming.” Recently I won a cash prize from the Maryland Lottery. I went to collect my winning and was given a slip of paper instead! It read because of my being behind in child support my winnings were taken. After writing the Maryland Child Support Administration about how they said I was behind when I showed them I was not, I was told Mr. Smith, “ we are sorry for this mistake can you send another email so we can get this straight for you but understand the child support systems need to be updated so things it should catch it doesn’t”. If that simple mistake happened to me can you imagine how that mistake affects dads daily? So again we fight against the system.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I like to say I am a human service worker. In my professional/business life, I like to say, “I work for the people” in order to navigate the system that holds them back on various levels.” In my spare time, I spend more focused time assisting fathers to navigate the family court system in the State of Maryland, which I know firsthand is flawed, read the conversation below working with the attorney we discussed the following-
– advocating for fathers’ rights, rights that are not being upheld because of Title IV-D of the Social Security Act, thank you for helping our nonprofit
– that policy, Title IV-D is meant for the ACTUAL fathers who are absent, but the judicial appointees make fathers absent
We were blessed that Albert Moseley, the pro bono attorney as well as his colleagues have worked to point out that the judicial appointees in the State of Maryland make fathers “Weekend Dads” to bolster the State’s budget and get money for fathers. Case in point, look at part of the Title IV-D Act that speaks to how the States will be compensated for having more fathers not having equal access to their child(ren), therefore their child support is made greater:
Summary of recent findings we found –
“In Previous discussions, we both concluded that this was a child support issue. Specifically, that the court was issuing child support orders while relegating custody matters to an incidental concern or not even considering the Best Interest standards as they are required.
Discovered that the Maryland Judiciary has an agreement in place with the federal government where the state expenditures (salaries of employees and other fees associated with magistrates) are paid by the federal government. As of 2021, that reimbursement was 0.66 for every $1 spent enforcing child support.
Conclusions based on the cases reviewed and evidence seen are that the federal government has incentivized the state to ignore custody and fathers’ rights in favor of issuing child support orders.
Initially, we knew empirically that this was the issue, but we didn’t have a smoking gun to hang our hats on to show that there is/or could be an inherent bias in the judiciary.
As a member of the judiciary, if this agreement is paying for my lifestyle, then I have no incentive, or very little incentive, to really delve into the elements of Best Interest of the Child.
This is a direct conflict of interest in the performance of the judiciary’s duties. (might want to tread lightly on this one, but it still stands)
Additionally, the best interest standards are stated by the judiciary in making decisions in a CYA type of situation, but the standards are never actually considered.
The Social Security Administration has literally incentivized child support over all things for the judiciary beginning around 2000. Social Security Act §458
Since 2000, the amount the judiciary collects from the Child Support Enforcement fund has increased based on the amount of child support ordered, the amount collected, and the amount of arrears collected.
Winning Strategies has multiple cases where child support collection was at the forefront of the decision-making process. A few Examples that directly relate:
Child support is collected from Fathers who actually had custody of their children
Child support is collected from Fathers for emancipated children.
Child support was ordered in cases where custody was the only issue before the court (abuse of discretion), and then not considered.
Cooperative Reimbursement Agreement (CRA)
Each year, the Maryland Judiciary enters into a “Cooperative Reimbursement Agreement” (CRA) with the Maryland Child Support Enforcement Administration (CSEA). The CSEA is the entity in our State designated to receive and administer federal child support funds. Through our CRA, the Maryland Judiciary receives federal funds to reimburse the courts for the work our courts do to establish, modify, and enforce child support orders involving the Offices of Child Support Enforcement. These funds support work that is authorized under Title IV-D of the Social Security Act.
Best Interest Standards
Generally
(Most of the time, fathers residing with the child is in the child’s Best Interest) Maryland law presumes that both natural parents are the children’s natural custodians. The law does not favor either the mother or the father. This article is designed to give you general information on how courts decide custody and visitation rights in Maryland.
Either of the separated parents may petition a circuit court in Maryland for custody of a child. If the parties cannot agree on who should have custody, the court will grant custody either solely to one parent or shared between the parents.
The law looks at the “best interests” of the child standard when deciding on child custody and visitation. The “best interests” standard considers certain factors to determine what is best for the child or children. All court-ordered custody has two components, legal and physical.
Custody and visitation arrangements are never permanent. As situations change, a parent can always petition the Court to modify a Court order.
Md. Code, Family Law Title 9”
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
Worst then what it is now because the legislation that is being pushedis give the child(ren) to the State to pay the foster care agency, to pay citizens to care for the child(ren), the child ages out with no real aspects on dealing with life because the policies limit what a foster parent can teach the children. The biggest issue is either giving the child back to the mother or failing to enforce parent-child unification among all parties in the child’s life.
Fathers will become preoccupied with making a living, leaving them with very little time to spend with their children.
Pricing:
- Pricing – Is modest because fathers are taught how to advocate for themselves.
- Pricing for group sessions are no cost because The Vulcan Blazers social club allows me to conduct groups for fathers on Saturdays for free.
- A fathers compensation for the service is to volunteer with us at home games for the Ravens & Orioles, where we raise money for activities.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: the_real_dadvocate
- Facebook: Eric A Real Dadvocate
- Youtube: The Real Dadvocate
