Kenya N. Rahmaan
In a recently published article, captivatingly titled, ‘How Mississippi is trying to ‘unf-ck’ its child support program.’ the author, Anna Wolfe, details problems with the state’s child support system. While an interesting topic and one that needs addressing, not only in Mississippi but nationally, a solution was not listed within the article. The colorful word was used in a direct quote offered by State Senator Hob Bryan of District 7. According to Wolfe (2020), Sen. Bryan went on the record to say that ‘the child support system in Mississippi is f-cked up, and nobody knows how to un-f-ck it.’ That is extremely disappointing coming from an elected official tasked with, along with other duties, overseeing operations for one of the most important social programs affecting families headed by single heads of households.
Even though how parents are affected by the system was mentioned, the article focused on computer infrastructure. According to Wolfe, the child support division had not digitized all of its cases, so the processes to move them through the system could not be automated. However, the system is problematic before cases are established and reach the stage of being manually or automatically processed. That is one of the contributing factors to the child support system being f-cked up in the first place. There are numerous ways to un-f-ck the system, but here are a few to start the process.
One. Stop forcing custodial parents to sue non-custodial parents (NCPs) for child support when applying for public benefits.
When the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) became law in 1996, a noteworthy change in the welfare program was that custodial parents were required to sue the other parent in exchange for benefits. https://youtu.be/sE5EnetBlnk As reported by Paula Robers of the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) (2005),
federal law requires that states impose a child support cooperation requirement on the responsible individual unless that person can establish “good cause” refusing to cooperate, 42 USC § 65(29) Cooperation must be in “good faith” and includes 1) appearing at interviews, hearings and legal proceedings; and 2) submitting to genetic testing (for purposes of establishing paternity) when ordered by a judge or administrative agency. 42 USC §§ 654(29)(B) &(C).
If the other parent cannot afford to pay more than what the government provides through social net programs, they should not face scrutiny or punishment. That behavior is equivalent to being penalized for being poor. And being poor is not, nor should it ever be a crime. By merely removing the child support cooperation mandate in all low-income cases, the country would be well on its way to un-f-cking the child support system.
Two. Repeal the Bradley Amendment.
Arguably, enacting the Bradley Amendment is one of the worst pieces of legislation associated with the modern-day child support system. EveryCRS.com (2000) explained that the Bradley Amendment prohibits the retroactive state modification of child support arrearages. The amendment’s implementation came with a near guarantee that non-residential parents, primarily low-income, would be indebted to either the custodial parent of the government for their lifetime. Under current law, no matter the circumstance, a state cannot modify delinquent child support obligations (EveryCRSReport.com).m https://youtu.be/dv0KpADLlFY It is unbelievable that legislators were unaware of how burdensome a law like this would be on NCPs.
To put the potential damage that the Bradley Amendment can cause into perspective, consider child support being ordered in the amount of $400 after a baby is two months old. The NCP will be responsible for the current month of support and the retroactive month of support totaling $800. This amount could be sustainable, considering that the parent is working and can afford the order amount. Now, take, for instance, a father who is unaware that he is a father or has been sued for child support until a decade after a judge entered the child support order as a default judgment. Some will say that this does not happen very often. However, this occurs more often than people would like to acknowledge.
Once he is finally made aware of the child and the order, he also informed that the child support debt has accumulated to an astounding $48,000 over that decade. When including interest that most states charge on late child support payments, 12% in Colorado, Kentucky, and Washington, the father is instantaneously indebted for nearly $54,000 almost overnight. The Bradley Amendment prohibits that debt from being erased, even given the circumstances. If the custodial parent received public benefits, she must sign her rights to any child support collected over to the state, making the debt state-owed. As of FY2019, state-owed arrears totaled just over $23 billion.
Repealing this amendment will put an end to parents entering the child support system in deep debt. In turn, parents face severe punishment associated with owing child support debt. For instance, license suspensions and passport revocation would essentially stop, increasing job opportunities both in America and overseas. Secondly, credit scores drastically lowered due to child support arrears, which hinder parents from obtaining basic living needs such as housing, employment, and transportation, would be restored. Erasing all state-owed debt accumulated due to the Bradley Amendment will ensure that parents have money better spent on their children. For all of these reasons, repealing the Bradley Amendment is a must if the child support system is to be un-f-cked.
Three. Make Shared-Parenting Automatic in All Child Support Cases.
There are thousands of studies and reports explaining how beneficial the relationship between both parents is to children. Every year since welfare and child support were ‘reformed,’ the federal government has paid a $10 million grant to every state to operate the Access and Visitation (AV) program. According to the OCSE (2020), States are permitted to use grant funds to develop programs and provide services such as:
The importance of shared parenting is proven by over two decades of financing by the federal government and should be improved by merging child support and shared parenting. These two issues are traditionally separate and should be married to better the overall well-being of children. Under the Obama Administration, there was a proposal that child support staff simultaneously address visitation and child support issues. https://youtu.be/W_-Mirec17M Susan Jones (2013) reported that buried deep in President Obama’s FY 2014 budget was a new mandate requiring states to include parental visitation arrangements in child support, the same way custody arrangements are settled in divorce cases. The order would be effective in FY 2019.
The mandate was a win-win for both NCPs and their children. According to Jones, when fathers are engaged in their children’s lives, they are more likely to meet their financial obligations. Sadly, the win was short-lived. The state mandate has been returned to voluntary under President Trump’s Administration, effective FY 2020. By reinstating this mandate, the benefits can be insurmountable. If the time spent with the child is shared equally between parents from the first day, the financial obligation will rest solely on the parent who has their child at any point in time. Household expenses and other costs associated with being an adult and maintaining a home would be the responsibility of the individual parent.
In other words, 50/50 shared parenting = $0 in monthly child support payments. When additional costs occur, such as medical needs, extracurricular activities, etc., they should be split evenly between both parents. Both parents are equal and should be treated equally concerning raising and caring for their children. One should not be mandated to finance the other’s lifestyle simply because they have a child together. Likewise, one parent should not have total control over when the other parent sees, spends time with, talks to, and parents their child. As with all domestic court guidelines and laws, this rule would not apply in proven cases of abuse or violence. Requiring shared parenting with zero child support is a perfect way to un-f-ck the child support system.
Yes, the child support system in Mississippi and around the United States is f-cked up. Parents are aware of this serious issue, but the legislators are also mindful of the problems. Instead of pretending that the case has to do with a non-functioning computer system or the program being understaffed and underfunded, we have to examine the root of the problems. That is the child support system in its entirety. From the start of establishing child support to the termination of a child support case where there are arrears owed, the system is f-cked by design. And it can be un-f-cked. It’s time to do just that.
References:
<
p id=”a0″>Arthur, J. (2018, July 31). Do parents who owe the most child support debt have reported income? Office of Child Support Enforcement. Retrieved January 5, 2021, from https://www.acf.hhs.gov/css/ocsedatablog/2018/07/do-parents-who-owe-most-child-support-debt-have-reported-income
The Bradley amendment: Prohibition against retroactive modification of child support arrearages. (2000, July 27). Every CRS Report – EveryCRSReport.com. https://www.everycrsreport.com/reports/RS20642.html
Office of Child Support Enforcement. (n.d.). Access and visitation (AV). Retrieved January 5, 2021, from https://www.acf.hhs.gov/css/grants/current-grants/access-and-visitation-mandatory-grants
Roberts, P. (2005, November). Child support cooperation requirements and public benefits programs: An overview of issues and recommendations for change. CLASP | The Center for Law and Social Policy. https://www.clasp.org/sites/default/files/public/resources-and-publications/files/0252.pdf
<
p id=”a4″>Wolfe, A. (2020, December 28). How Mississippi is trying to ‘unf-CK’ its child support program. Mississippi Today. https://mississippitoday.org/2020/12/28/how-mississippi-is-trying-to-unf-ck-its-child-support-program/
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.