July 16, 2014July 16, 2014
Kenya N. Rahmaan
There are currently 29 states that have official child support debt compromise programs as part of their child support programs. Other states claim that they decide on debt compromise based on individual cases and situations. Although these programs could offer some sense of relief to parents who owe large amounts of arrears, the validity of these programs benefiting those parents is questionable. The state of Ohio reports operating a fully implemented debt compromise program since 2009.
According to the National Conference of State Legislation or NCSL (2014), the regulation allowed the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) to promulgate rules on the waiver and compromise of permanently assigned arrears. This rule relates to child support debt owed exclusively to the state to receive Temporary Aid for Needy Family (TANF) benefits. These debts can increase to alarmingly high amounts compared to the meager amount of money provided to the families as a welfare grant. The idea of repaying a relatively low sum of money accompanied by interest and penalty fees is commensurable to predatory lending practices.
Some states have implemented debt compromise programs to combat high debt that are too difficult for the noncustodial parent to complete. The law states that the Department developed rules that provide flexibility to local agencies in making these determinations (NCSL, 2014). Unfortunately, the flexibility afforded the agencies does not seem to be standard practice. Researching for statistics reflecting the active debt compromise programs is nonexistent.
The department clearly expresses all criteria that must be met but fails to vindicate the effectiveness of the debt compromise programs. The only conclusion for the lack of positive data is that very few parents benefit from these programs. One may be permitted to request a waiver for owed arrears by proving whether the compromise would be in the state’s best interest. These policies should present an uncomfortable position for the states since the government emphatically maintains that its unjust practices, which target parents, are in the best interest of the ‘child.’
Along with promoting paying current child support and being responsible for one’s children, the state’s best interest includes one key element that people should not ignore. According to the ODJFS, the best interest of the state of Ohio refers to the state avoiding the accrual of uncollectable debt that harms the state of Ohio’s child support program. The negative effect is directly akin to the number of grants and incentive payments that the state receives based on mandated performance measures. The ODJFS clearly states in the debt compromise rules, and regulations that arrears compromise must maximize receipt by the state or federal incentives based on the performance of the child support program (ODJFS).
These are but a few examples of mandated criteria that states and agencies must meet before considering child support debt forgiveness. The government will consider excusing the debt when, among other limited reasons, the noncustodial parent is incapacitated, unemployed, underemployed, or incarcerated, which prevents a modification request. The list goes on, and the lack of data on the success of the debt compromise programs is nonexistent.
The ethical thing to do is to provide some relief when income does not meet the debt amount. However, the government refuses to mandate that the states pass that relief on to the parents. It does not benefit parents to have these debt compromise programs in place but fail to utilize them in a meaningful way. As long as debt compromise programs are mere options for states, parents will remain indebted to the government.
References:
National Conference of State Legislation. (n.d.). State Child Support Agencies with Debt Compromise Policies. Retrieved April 30, 2014, from http://www.ncsl.org/research/human-services/state-child-support-debt-compromise-policies.aspx
Office of Child Support Enforcement. (2011, September). State Child Support Agencies With Debt Compromise Policies | Office of Child Support Enforcement | Administration for Children and Families. Retrieved April 30, 2014, from
