According to the American Judges Foundation, 70% of abusive fathers who seek custody get full or partial custody.

When Talia Carner, a Long-Island based author, participated in the 1995 International Women's Conference in Beijing, she heard about judges who placed molested children with their pedophile parents and knew this would be the premise for a novel. But Carner admits that she had not expected the book to launch a Congressional Act that may bring the kind of change these children desperately need.

However, after U.S. Congressman Steve Israel (D-NY) read her novel, PUPPET CHILD, he invited Carner to brief him on the ills of family courts across the nation. She did, while suggesting legislative remedies. Shocked to learn the scope of legal problems that plague parents who are trying to protect their children from being sexually abused by the other parent, Congressman Israel launched the Protective Parent Reform Act. With assistance from New Orleans attorney Richard Ducote, who has tried custody cases in over 40 states, the Act was written as a supplement to the Child Abuse Protection and Treatment Act (CAPTA).

Talia Carner's novel, PUPPET CHILD, a family legal drama set on Long Island, is the first to deal with the treacherous morass our legal system has become for children caught up in the nightmare of sexual abuse.

"In PUPPET CHILD," says Carner, "the fictional story unfolds against a backdrop of media pressure and the theatrics of New York Family Court, a system fueled by the political machine which must placate an ever-changing public opinion. In real life, in all too many cases, evidence of

sexual abuse is suppressed because the mothers are assumed to be hysterical, vindictive or delusional. Unlike my protagonist, Rachel Belmore, many women do not have the financial and emotional resources for protracted legal battles. Even when they do, bias, fallacy and denial of due process by the courts mean that our most vulnerable citizens-abused children-are being protected by mothers who are discredited and disenfranchised. Since family court judges enjoy broader discretionary powers than in any other court, their rulings cannot be appealed, with the result that children are denied their constitutional rights to 'life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.'"

The Protective Parent Reform Act contains eleven sections. It guarantees a hearing whenever sexual abuse is alleged, complete with the application of rules of evidence and due process for a parent who reasonably believes that the child is being threatened or abused by the other parent. The act disallows the exclusion of ex parte hearings, limits the role of the guardian Ad Litem to advocating for the child rather than presenting their own views, provides the parents access to all health and psychological evaluations and the right to cross-examine the professionals making these evaluations, and bars reports by child protective services as res judicata. Importantly, no concepts and theories are allowed that are not accepted by the scientific community, and evidence must be independent of the experts' opinion. Another provision of the act specifies that a parent is no longer compelled to deliver children to another parent against whom they hold an order of protection.

Ms. Carner's research for PUPPET CHILD included many days attending Family Court in New York, where she was allowed access to closed hearings and court files. The author's 800 number accepted calls from dozens of parents who told her their heartbreaking stories of callous injustice, judicial incompetence, and life-shattering loss. "I set out to weave a good, compelling tale, exploring complex characters with motivations and emotions the reader can relate to," Carner says. "I am delighted that the story now engages readers in a national dialogue."

Released on November 15, 2002 in simultaneous hardcover [$23.95; ISBN 1-58961-018-0] and paperback [$13.95; ISBN 1-930252-98-6] editions, PUPPET CHILD is listed in The Top 10 Favorite First Novels 2002, by BookBrowse.com.

"PUPPET CHILD has received over 40 rave reviews from independent book reviewers and published authors," says Jim Walters of Mecox Hudson, the co-publisher of the book. "It was consistently been praised as a 'can't-put-it-down,' 'taut and suspenseful,' 'gripping,' 'gut wrenching story' by 'a master storyteller' that 'will leave you breathless.' With its extensive readers' guide, the book has become a popular choice for many reading groups around the country."

The Protective Parent Reform Act is co-sponsored by Congressmen Jerry Nadler (D-NY) and Adam Schiff (D-CA), both of whom are members of the House Congressional Judiciary Committee.