I’ve written recently about noncustodial parents who are unable to pay their court-ordered child support. I reminded people that last year in Michigan a woman who had been jailed for failure to pay for her son’s incarceration, was ordered released from prison because she didn’t have the money to pay. Evidence in Edwina Nowlin’s case included the fact that she’d been crashing on friends’ couches because she couldn’t pay rent. In short, the court said that inability to pay made incarceration unconstitutional. We don’t have debtor’s prison in this country. Except…
Except in child support matters. There it apparently makes no difference whether the noncustodial parent can pay or not. We’ve seen cases of guys in far worse shape than Edwina Nowlin who were jailed for nonpayment of child support. One indigent man spent a year in prison for nonpayment of support for a child who isn’t even his.
We’ve also seen the report by the Office of Child Support Enforcement that said that 63% of those behind on support payments report on average less than $10,000 in income. Of course, they probably earn more than that but just don’t report it all. But still, it’s a strong indication that these parents aren’t living in the lap of luxury.
Here’s another (NJ.com, 6/28/10). Although the article could use some editing, readers can still get the following information: sheriff’s deputies conducted a “sweep” of child support debtors in New Jersey. In Cumberland County, 39 child support debtors were captured, who owed some $423,177.23. A grand total of $1,200 was collected, or a little over one-fourth of a cent on the dollar.
Statewide, the authorities did better, but still not very well.
A total of 965 warrants were served and out of an outstanding $13,695,010.42 owed, approximately $267,883.31 was collected.
That’s about two cents for every dollar owed. In other words, the sheriff’s department deputies found these people, slapped cuffs on them and took them to jail. The only way they could avoid prison was to pay up, but they didn’t. Across the board, almost without exception, they didn’t. If that doesn’t suggest something about the actual ability to pay of the almost 1,000 child support debtors hauled in, nothing does.
But to the reporter writing the article, they’re all “deadbeats.” Be careful, buddy. There but for the grace of God go you. They’re not deadbeats; they’re poor.
In this recession in which 75% of job losses have been incurred by men, people find it hard to keep up the child support payments. Thrown out of work, they don’t have the money for basics, much less an attorney to go to court to try to convince a judge, who has every incentive not to, to lower the child support amount to reflect the changed circumstances. So the arrearages build up and up, not because these parents can pay but callously choose not to. They build up because the parents don’t have the money to pay or to get a new order. They build up because the child support system fails to provide summary access to courts for modifications of orders.
Once the arrearages reach some sort of critical mass, the taxpayers then spend scads of money for the police to find these parents and then scads more to incarcerate them, take away their drivers’ licenses, etc. All of which makes it less and less likely that the kids will see a dime.
And just think; there’s a rumor afoot that sane people designed this system. Me? I don’t believe a word of it.
Thanks to John for the heads-up.