# Child Support and Incarceration

- Link: https://thechildsupporthustle.com/child-support-and-incarceration/
- Published: 2024-05-06T09:23:35+00:00
- Author: MsRockMon

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### May 27, 2015 

Kenya N. Rahmaan

With the recent murder of South Carolina father, Walter Scott, who ran from the 
police because he had a warrant for failing to pay [child support](https://Thechildsupporthustle.com),
The Federal Office of [Child Support](https://Thechildsupporthustle.com) Enforcement
Agency (OCSE) is trying to do damage control.  The office has released its March/
April newsletter, which is comprised of articles discussing [child support](https://Thechildsupporthustle.com)
enforcement and incarcerated parents.  Nothing in the articles will be able to alleviate
advocates of child support reform, even though great details are describing the 
relationships between prison administrators and child support enforcement agencies
across the country.  The newsletter showcased states that allegedly offer assistance
to incarcerated parents but fails even to mention possibly abolishing the laws that
actually sentence parents to prison because they owe child support in the first 
place.  

OCSE (2015) states that one in two state prisoners are parents.  Instead of eliminating
jail as a punishment for parents, states such as Indiana offer information as a 
viable resource for incarcerated parents.  The goal of the different agencies when
implementing such programs is to help parents incarcerated in state prison facilities
navigate the child support system and understand their rights and responsibilities(
OCSE, 2015).  Information can be an essential tool when one’s freedom is not being
threatened. 

However, children and parents could be better served by our government agencies 
when dealing with child support issues if tangible changes were made to not only
eliminate prison as a punishment for owing child support debt but also ensure that
100% of the child support payment reaches the children.  Currently, Indiana retains
all child support payments received in cases where the family receives Temporary
Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) benefits.  Not to mention, a parent who is 
convicted of nonsupport of a child can be found guilty of a Class D or Class C felony.
A Class D felony conviction can carry a three-year sentence, while a C felony can
mean a parent spends eight years behind bars.  If convicted, the fines will add 
at least $10,000 to child support arrears, which will continue accumulating during
incarceration.  Indiana parents do not need information more than they need to be
excused from the debt that quickly adds up while incarcerated, accompanied by the
elimination of the threat of being arrested once freed from prison.

The Child Support Report (2015) shares that after release, many owe an average of
$23 thousand or more in child support.  Much of this debt results from interest,
penalties, and fees that build during imprisonment.  Some parents may consider themselves
lucky if they live in Kansas and only owe $23,000 in child support debt upon release.
This is because, according to the National Conference of State Legislators or NCSL(
2013), Kansas can fine its parents who fail to pay support $100,000 and jail them
for seven months if convicted. 

The state offers a couple of programs that may reduce state-owed arrears, but the
amount excused is only a mere drop in the bucket when compared to the average debt
owed by newly released prisoners.  Obligors can receive an adjustment of up to $
2,000 on state owed arrears if they complete approved courses in prison (OCSE, 2015).
This amount will do very little to decrease the amount of arrears for most imprisoned
parents in the state.  In 2013, $669,234,974 was the total amount of arrears owed
in Kansas (NCSL, 2014). 

This astronomical amount can be attributed to the 8% interest that the state charges
on late payments.  The arrears-reducing programs offer minimal benefits to incarcerated
and newly released parents.  When the money for child support is collected, the 
excessive amount of arrears will always decrease the amount of money that will actually
be paid directly to the children.  Arizona is a state that focuses on education 
as a means to reduce arrears for incarcerated parents. 

A group of agencies, Arizona’s Division of Child Support Services, has created a
program that promotes three specific aspects of debt forgiveness.  The program, 
according to OCSE (2015), created a concept of a three-pronged arrears program which
consists of

 * a hardship forgiveness program, 
 * a consistent payer program,
 * and a Personal Development Initiatives program.

The idea of assisting parents with such programs may be a soothing solution for 
the heads of office who want to appease people who disagree with the child support
system.  However, this plan may backfire.  The amount of money that may be forgiven
is not significant when viewing the big picture of child support debt owed by parents.

For example, when a parent completes the GED program, they can apply for reduced
arrears.  Unfortunately, debt forgiveness is not automatic.  According to the OCSE(
2015), the child support office encourages noncustodial parents to complete a GED
program to apply for a $1,000 waiver of state-assigned arrears.  It would be more
beneficial to parents and children if other opportunities were offered after program
completion, as well as guaranteed debt forgiveness. https://youtube.com/live/4CYD5I4vo9o

A thousand dollars could be quite significant for a noncustodial parent if they 
only owed a thousand dollars in arrears.  That is not the case in many situations.
As of 2013, the state of Arizona reported a total of $1,737,681,855, and there was
only $402,671,342 owed in current support (NCSL, 2014).  These programs offer no
substantial assistance to parents as they face reentry barriers after being released
from prison.  The OCSE newsletter continues to describe a few other programs that
are supposed to help incarcerated parents with maintaining and paying child support
debt upon release. 

The best solution for these parents is to have zero child support debt owed upon
release from prison.  The punishment of imprisonment for parents who owe child support
debt should be abolished as it seems to lend only a minimal deterrent to parents.
This is especially true when they are simply unable to afford the payment.  One 
of the major misconceptions of the child support program in TANF cases is that the
child support is supposed to repay the case award distributed to the low-income 
family. 

This award is a grant and not a loan.  This means that this money is not supposed
to be repaid to the government.  This money has already been paid for through taxes.
Adding the interest, penalties, and fines on money that is technically not a loan
is even more criminal than incarcerating poor people because they cannot afford 
to pay a debt. 

In this quest for child support reform, we must first rid parents of the threat 
of imprisonment as a punishment for failing to pay child support debt.  Parents 
like Walter Scott should not be jailed because they struggle to pay their bills.
And no person, parent or not, should be gunned down in the back while fleeing possible
arrest for owing any type of debt in the United States.  This is 2015.  We should
start living in the present instead of reenacting the debtors’ prisons and similar
punishments of the past.

References:

National Conference of State Legislatures.  (2013, January).  Criminal nonsupport
and child support.  Retrieved from www.ncsl.org/research/human-services/criminal-
nonsupport-and-child-support.aspx

National Conference of State Legislatures.  (2014, May 20).  2013 State by state
data on child support collections.  Retrieved from http://www.ncsl.org/research/
human-services/2013-state-by-state-data-on-child-support-collections.aspx

Office of Child Support Enforcement.  (2015).  _Child support report_ (47-3).  Retrieved
from https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/programs/css/march_april_2015_child_support_report.
pdf