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S.P.A.R.C. | 
| Separated Parenting Access & Resource Center
"Keeping Families Connected"
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The 'SPARC Card'
A Telephone Access Solution
Getting telephone calls to and from your children can be a source of major difficulty. Perhaps mom doesn't let them call, or restricts the times they can call. Maybe she doesn't let them talk to you as long as you or they would like. It pretty much goes without saying that she's not going to pay for long-distance calls from them to you, and if she lets them call you 'collect' then you're going to be looking at some major phone bills.
We *know* that telephone contact is often the ONLY contact some of you might have with your kids, especially if they live out of State. We know how important it is to be able to talk to your kids. We also think it's important for them to be able to call you when they need to.
SPARC has always looked for a way to manage this kind of problem, but had never found anything worthwhile. Recently we were made aware of something what we think is a great solution.
A company called Legacy Communications markets a "restricted use calling-card". Basically it's a pre-paid calling-card that can only call certain specific 'pre-loaded' numbers. We think this is a fantastic tool to help manage and encourage telephone access with your children. We contacted Legacy and cut a private deal with them to make them available to users of the SPARC site. We call it (not surprisingly) the "SPARC Card".
When you can give or mail this card to your children, it allows them to call you whenever they want, from any phone, no matter where they are for 12¢ a minute. (From anywhere in the US to anywhere in the US.) Using the SPARC Card also helps support the SPARC site- we get a small fraction of the per-minute charge when the card is used.
You can set it up (for example) so that the kids can call your home, your office, and your cell phone, but nowhere else. The card CAN'T be used to call a number you haven't pre-approved, PERIOD. This is as close to 'abuse-proof' as you can get.
- Your ex CAN'T use it to call her friends.
- The charges CANNOT be 're-routed' or transferred.
- Only numbers YOU pre-approve can be dialed.
- You can 'recharge' the card whenever you want.
Even if the card is stolen, the ONLY person the thief can call is YOU, and that leaves a traceable record of when and where they called from. :) You're welcome to make as many copies of the SPARC Card as you want so you can have 'extras' available to give to your kids.
The SPARC Card works through an access code (like a PIN number). This means you can make up your own "card" with only the access code on it, so the card cannot be traced back to SPARC. You may make an unlimited number of cards, with as much or as little information on them as you like.
The SPARC Card is 'debit-based' which means that if the card is lost, you're NOT out any money. Because it's not a regular pre-paid card, no one can rack up fees with it. You (and only you) can 'recharge' the minutes on the card any time you want. You can also cancel the card any time you want.
To register for a SPARC Card Account, use the following links:
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