The BizParentz Foundation is a non-profit corporation providing education, advocacy, and charitable support to parents and children engaged in the entertainment industry. The organization promotes a positive public image regarding child performers and educates the public regarding the safety and rights of child performers including child labor laws and regulations.
BizParentz is a collaborative effort of parents, government, and industry organizations. Parent members actively help others by bringing legislative issues to the forefront, researching industry solutions, writing educational articles, and planning special events. Industry organizations provide the Foundation with a variety of resources including facilities and services. BizParentz would like to thank all of those for their generous contributions to the Foundation!
Introducing... THE A+ LIST
Positive Examples of Former Child Actors
We've compiled a list of over 150 fantastic former child actors that moms (and dads!) can be proud of. They aren't just the A-list celebrities - they are the A PLUS List.
We have People's Sexiest Man Alive (Ryan Reynolds), 24 Oscar nominees, mathematicians, police officers, Ivy Leaguers, business owners ... you name it! Our list includes the age they did their first job as well. Next time you hear a child-actor-gone-bad story, be thankful that it is RARE and remember that these are the people that our kids can look up to. See the LIST here: The A+ List
Do you know a former child actor that is not yet on the List? Please email us and let us know! We see the List as a work in progress and could use your help!
BizParentz sends out quarterly newsletters to our supporters keeping them apprised of current information, legislative issues and industry events. Enter your EMAIL in the form below.
Bizparentz is pleased to announce that families can now get a FIRST, temporary 10 day entertainment work permit in California online--instantly. The link is here: https://permits.dir.ca.gov/tewp/ We were supporters of the bill that is the first step toward putting all our permits online, and some of our Bizparentz members were pleased to help with the Beta testing of this system. While we realize that this won't affect most parents of child performers, since those children already have permits, please spread the word to those families coming for the first time to pilot season, or those just starting out in the industry. This means they won't need to get CA permits in advance (they can wait until they have an actual booking if they choose), and they won't need to pay a private service for a last minute permit. The new Temporary permit costs $50.
Read the text of the new Legislation here: AB 1401 .pdf
Updated Alert!
If you are seeking information specific to currently operating "talent search" businesses... please visit our info page here.
Getting Your Kid in the Biz? Check Out BizParentz on the NBC Today Show! Anne Henry was live on the Today Show discussing with Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda about How to Break Into Showbiz. See the full clip below.
As parents and employers of child actors, we need to be especially concerned about the safety of showbiz kids.
It may be a surprise to some, but predators are rampant in our industry.Some are out to make money from exploiting kids’ images, others are servicing a clientele that are interested in darker things—pedophilia and child molestation.The danger is a lot closer than you think…in the last few years we have seen arrests of managers, photographers, publicists, directors and production assistants.
When BizParentz was founded, our goal was to provide an up to date resource for parents about the industry, including laws, guidelines and 'how-to's". Our vision was to help families avoid making the same mistakes we did, and help them shorten their learning curve.We wanted to give good, honest, unaffected-by-money information. Since then, we have come to realize that there is a much greater need for the sharing of information than we ever imagined, and it has to do with safety. While we still believe strongly that a young performer'scareer can be incredibly positive, we have to put emphasis on a “negative” that many people aren't aware of, and won't discuss. Our intent is not to scare you.But please know that there is an element of risk when you enter this industry.You CAN control almost all of the risk, and you CAN keep your child safe.And if you start at the beginning of your child’s journey, it will be much easier!
Please take the time to read all the articles in this section for a full spectrum of information.
Articles on our site dealing with pedophiles in our industry
It is with much consideration and great sadness that we make this announcement today. Despite our best efforts, we are unable to move forward with plans for CARE 2012 at this time. Please know that we put great value on our event and truly believe in the concept of honoring child actors for their efforts as a whole, rather than only for their employment. We will be considering an interim alternative action that will not let that message be lost.
As professionals, we endeavor to be two of the hardest working advocates for child actors and their families in the country (sometimes the world). But we are individual people too: people who make many sacrifices of time, money and energy so that Bizparentz can exist. Today we find that we have to make some tough choices.
We (Anne and Paula) both have personal conflicts this spring which will not allow us to produce a quality event at this time. Anne's son has been serving in the military in Afghanistan, was injured in battle, and he will be home for the first time in over a year. Paula has a critical medical situation in her family that requires her full attention for the next several months. Our families must come first.
In addition to our personal circumstances, there has been subject matter in the media in the past few weeks dealing specifically with the safety of child actors. It makes us take pause. We anticipate that our advocacy and expertise with those issues will require our attention in the next few months, and we hesitate to produce a publicity event that might contribute to the problem during this volatile time. We again encourage you to be certain that you don't mistakenly insert yourself into any situation (awards, etc.) that will project your child into attention from individuals who you do not want near your children.
Thank you for your support of the BizParentz mission. As you probably know, CARE is the major fundraiser for Bizparentz Foundation, a 501c3 charity. We may not have the event this spring, but the Foundation continues to provide services to families and the industry more than ever. Please consider making a donation to support us in that valuable work. We do not personally benefit from donations, but we do have legitimate ongoing expenses. We pledge to use your money wisely. More about that here: http://www.bizparentz.org/donations.html
We will update you on the status of the next CARE event as soon as we are able. For now, let's all focus on preserving our families and helping our children to produce entertaining and professional performances for the world.
Wishing you all a safe and successful New Year,
Paula and Anne
Current Events
$$$ "Show Me the Money" $$$ BizParentz invites you to help us find money! You might have noticed a new "banner ad" at the top of the BizParentz web page. Here's why: too many young performers have trust fund money that has somehow been mis-directed -- literally millions of dollars! Those earnings should be back in their trust accounts. Please check The Actors Fund list for your child's name, your client's names, and for the names of kid actors you know.
Let's join together as a child actor community and "Show us the Money!". Here's how: Click on the Actors Fund banner above. Go to the "Beneficiary" section and from there, choose the letter of your child actor's last name. Look for their name, then we ask that you peruse ALL the names that start with that letter of the alphabet. See if there is anyone you know on that list. If there is, contact them and let them know you can "Show them the money" at www.unclaimedcoogan.org
Coogan Trust Accounts and their reasonableness is something we have strong feelings about. If you don't know much about the history, purpose, and current provisions in the law - or especially how it can all go terribly wrong, please read our NEW article here: Coogan Trust Accounts
Working together we really can make this better for our community. It's time to raise awareness while lowering the balance in the "Unclaimed Coogan" account. The latest information we have is that there is currently the following totals on the list.
