OUR MISSION
Mommy’s Heart, Inc. (EIN #87-4833078) is a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization, which provides free legal representation and mental health services to parents and children, who escaped domestic abuse and face financial and legal retaliation (“lawfare”) by their abusers in court. Mommy’s Heart aims to protect and defend the fundamental rights of fit parents to direct the care and custody of their children, so that no parent has to fear losing a child for reporting abuse.
There has been a shift in the way that custody is awarded in family court cases, moving away from a paradigm that automatically favored mothers due to growing recognition that fathers can also be primary caregivers and that both parents should have the opportunity to be actively involved in their children’s lives.
However, it is important to note that this shift has not necessarily resulted in a decrease in the use of tactics, such as false allegations of abuse, neglect, or parental alienation, by abusers, who use the legal system as a way to continue controlling and harassing their victims, even after the relationship has ended.
Intimate partner violence affects 1 in 4 women and 1 in 7 men in the U.S., with over 10 million people experiencing physical abuse annually (CDC).
Recent U.S. Child Maltreatment Reports reveal persistent fatalities due to child abuse or neglect, with an estimated 2,000 deaths (5.5 daily) in 2023, 1,990 (5.36 daily) in 2022-a 12.7% increase from 2018-alongside 1,750 fatalities (68% under age 3) in 2020 and 1,840 deaths (72.9% involving neglect) in 2019.
These deaths are preventable.
Tragically, a child dies every six days due to custody disputes or family court failures. Since 2008, at least 944 children have been killed by a divorcing parent or parental figure (Center for Judicial Excellence). In 137 of those deaths, courts ignored warning signs, highlighting the urgent need for reform.
Survivors face significant challenges in navigating the complex legal system, often lacking the financial resources or legal expertise to adequately protect themselves and their children. Women often face a significant disadvantage in custody battles, as men typically earn more and can afford better legal representation. This inequity in legal resources is a key factor in why, each year, a staggering number of children are court-ordered to reside with an abusive parent.
Research shows that abusive fathers are significantly more likely than non-abusive fathers to pursue custody, with studies finding they are twice as likely to seek sole custody. George Washington University Law School Professor Joan S. Meier’s 2019 study, funded by the National Institute of Justice, reveals mothers reporting abuse face 26%–50% custody loss rates when alleging child physical/sexual abuse, escalating further if fathers counterclaim parental alienation. Even when courts credit maternal abuse claims, fathers still win custody 13%–20% of the time. Up to 70% of contested custody cases (including domestic violence and cross-claims of alienation) result in fathers gaining custody, a pattern that reflects how courts frequently disbelieve or penalize mothers for raising abuse concerns, often dismissing their abuse allegations or pathologizing mothers’ protective efforts. Parental alienation claims by fathers nearly double mothers’ custody loss risk (from 32% to 52%), illustrating how courts prioritize these claims over documented abuse. Tragically, 88% of children placed with abusive fathers suffer renewed abuse post-custody.
These troubling statistics stem from systemic biases prioritizing paternal relationships, frequent misapplication of parental alienation theories that discredit mothers’ protective actions, judges underestimating domestic violence risks, and a pervasive tendency to disbelieve women reporting abuse. These combined factors create a justice system that often fails to protect vulnerable mothers and children from abusive situations.
As breaking free from family court shackles can be an uphill battle, our team of mental health experts, including licensed social workers, psychologists, and psychiatrists, as well as holistic practitioners, are available to provide our parents with talk therapy, medication management, emotional support, advocacy, education, therapeutic retreat opportunities, support groups, and other individual and group therapy services and activities. For our children, we provide age-appropriate therapeutic opportunities, such as play therapy, field trips, athletics, art workshops, and more.
This Foundation was established by a mother facing the same challenges our organization is addressing. Her journey through the very broken family court system inspired her to help other parents experiencing similar nightmares and work toward impactful reform. Our focus is to protect the parental rights of fit parents and combat the weaponization of the court system by abusers at the expense of innocent children. We are operated by a team of parents, medical and mental health experts, and legal representatives and mentors, who have garnered specialized knowledge, experience, and wisdom from navigating a hostile family court system and have pooled their resources to help other parents from ever having to fear the loss of a child to an abuser.
OUR MISSION
Mommy’s Heart, Inc. (EIN #87-4833078) is a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization, which provides free legal representation and mental health services to parents and children, who escaped domestic abuse and face financial and legal retaliation (“lawfare”) by their abusers in court. Mommy’s Heart aims to protect and defend the fundamental rights of fit parents to direct the care and custody of their children, so that no parent has to fear losing a child for reporting abuse.
As breaking free from family court shackles can be an uphill battle, our team of mental health experts, including licensed social workers, psychologists, and psychiatrists, as well as holistic practitioners, are available to provide our parents with talk therapy, medication management, emotional support, advocacy, education, therapeutic retreat opportunities, support groups, and other individual and group therapy services and activities. For our children, we provide age-appropriate therapeutic opportunities, such as play therapy, field trips, athletics, art workshops, and more.
This Foundation was established by a mother facing the same challenges our organization is addressing. Her journey through the very broken family court system inspired her to help other parents experiencing similar nightmares and work toward impactful reform. Our focus is to protect the parental rights of fit parents and combat the weaponization of the court system by abusers at the expense of innocent children. We are operated by a team of parents, medical and mental health experts, and legal representatives and mentors, who have garnered specialized knowledge, experience, and wisdom from navigating a hostile family court system and have pooled their resources to help other parents from ever having to fear the loss of a child to an abuser.
© 2025 Mommy’s Heart, Inc. – All Rights Reserved
© 2025 Mommy’s Heart, Inc. – All Rights Reserved
