Time in prison is just one of many possible consequences of failing to pay your child support. Recently I came across this on the U.S. Department of State website which states that if you are behind on “child support payments in excess of $2,500, you are ineligible to receive a U.S. passport. If this applies to you, Passport Services strongly recommends that you contact the appropriate State child support enforcement agency to make payment arrangements before applying for a passport.” While I was in a sporting good store recently I witnessed a man being turned down for a hunting license, thanks to a new State mandated computer system that all licensees must adhere to. He was denied the hunting license because he is behind on child support. So you can’t hunt, fish, or even leave the country. It’s also been brought to my attention that the government can withold child support payments from your tax refund! Feel free to leave comments or questions at the end of this article.
In research for this article I interviewed my Aunt, whom was a Child Support Enforcement Officer. Since 1985 she was an Employee of the State of Mississippi but her position is funded by a Federal Program which insures that parents receiving government aid are financially assisted by the state mandated wage garnishment, of the non custodial parent. These were time limited positions for child support enforcement.
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Polybabydadic
The majority of her time was spent in determining paternity. This is how it works. The mother gives a name, or five names (in some cases), and child support enforcement sets off to locate the potential fathers. Once an address is obtained for these men, a letter is sent instructing them to come to the appropriate location for a paternity test. Sometimes married men (or their wives), received these letters. Once in the office the potential father could accept paternal responsibilities. This was a rare occurrence. Normally the potential father would ‘deny’ that he is the father.
DNA Testing
DNA testing used to require the withdrawing of blood, but more recently ‘swabbing‘ has been used. The baby, mother, and potential are all swabbed to obtain a sample of their DNA. The DNA is then sent off to a laboratory and analyzed. The mothers DNA ‘markers’ are noted and then subtracted from the DNA of the baby. The remaining DNA should be a match with the real father.
Once Paternity is established, the father’s wages were assessed. There were guidelines for how much a father will pay. It’s based on a percentage of his income per child. If the father doesn’t have a job then the judge would set the child support based on a minimum wage job, at 40 hours per week.
Divorces
Mississippi passed a law in the 1990′s (which is often ignored) which states that all divorces involving children must have a child support withholding order. A form would then be filled out by a Child Support Enforcement Officer and mailed to the employer of the non custodial parent. This was a wage garnishment form designed to help the government insure that babies in Mississippi are being taken care of. Also, if the custodial parent is on some form of government assistance like Medicaid or Welfare, there is a state law which mandates the withholding order. This one is strictly enforced.
Licenses
Besides not being able to obtain a hunting or fishing license. You could also be denied a Drivers License when you stand in line for one of these. My Aunt relayed a story about a certain lawyer that would never pay his child support. The only way they could get him to pay was to threaten to remove his license to practice law. The Child Support Officer could use the same threats with a medical doctor. The ability to disrupt the lives of the non custodial parent seems to have no boundaries.
What if you leave the state?
Leaving the state won’t help you avoid paying child support. You may prolong it, but you can’t avoid it by skipping the state. Thanks to the Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement and Support Act, your arrest warrant for failure to pay child support follows you anywhere in the United States. For example, one of the arrest warrants my Aunt had issued resulted in a man being arrested in California. He was driving a tractor trailer loaded with produce. Although this was a routine traffic stop, once the man’s license was entered into the police computer, his warrant for failure to pay child support in Mississippi popped up. He was arrested and his employer’s produce sat in the hot California sun, spoiling before making it to market.
How you are tracked
The government tracks its citizens thanks to a few interconnected circumstances. This tracking is made possible by your Social Security Number, which is really how the government sees its citizens. Using your Social Security Number to obtain employment, results in a W-2 being issued to the I.R.S.. Large companies have to report this information every three months. Smaller companies may only report this information at the end of the year. Thanks to the Homeland Security Act, this process most likely alerts them as well. But the end result is that a Child Support Officer knows where you are, and if they’re aggressive, you’ll be arrested.
Time in jail
Time in jail is only pursued if the Child Support Officer has a father or mother who refuses to cooperate. You won’t go to jail if you are trying to pay your child support (actually paying, not just talking about paying). Once the Officer feels that they have wasted enough time trying to get you to pay, they have a warrant issued to bring you before a judge. Sometimes they may just lure you to the court with a subpoena, without mentioning that you’re going to be arrested when you arrive. My Aunt relayed a heart breaking story of having to place a mother in jail who wouldn’t keep a job and pay her child support. Since the split with her previous husband this woman had given birth to another child. Inside the courtroom, the mother was placed in handcuffs and escorted to jail, leaving her one year old behind crying.
Once in jail, you’re stuck there until you get a job. Now I know this sounds crazy, but my Aunt said that you couldn’t leave jail until you could prove that you had a job. Normally family members took care of this obligation for their incarcerated loved ones. The Child Support Officer actually does the legal writing. They have a lawyer at their assistance that really does nothing more than just sign whatever gets placed in front of their face. So your life of freedom is really in the hands of the Child Support Officer.
The squeaky wheel gets the oil
My Aunt said she averaged carrying around 800 ‘cases’ at any one time. Also, she would only make appearances in court once a month. So she would try and accomplish all she could on that day. She made it very obvious, in our conversation, that the custodial parents who were the most assertive with her, took priority over people who compained little. So if your Ex loves the idea of harassing you, expect to hear from the Child Support Enforcement Officer often.
Oh yeah, I almost forgot, it’s of no consequence for the female to have you in court as often as she’d like. The judge always makes the man pay the court costs.
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Cindy,
You need to concentrate your energy on raising your child! That is all that matters now. We may not make perfect choices as adults, but often we can decide how our children are raised. You have an excellent opportunity to raise a child right in a world that has gone so wrong. I wish you the best of luck.
Barry
ScaredMommy… I feel for you and hope it all works out!
Barry
i am a 21 yr old single mother to a 1 yr old baby boy, who father is dead beat father of the year! my sons father who is also a father of a 3 year old little girl by some one else, \i am on very good term with her mother so that we can raise both kids to grow up knowing each other cause God know their dead beat daddy wont do it! he gets payed under the table and is makin over 3000 a month! he is on child support for both kids had\s never made ! payment to any and has only giving me 20 dollars 1 time in his life for diapers! he didnt even send a 1st bday present for him on his 1st bday ( i moved out of state)! he claims to other people in the streets hes sending me money to help with my son (liesss) he has a cell phone (he pays that bill his only bill!) the rest of the monet i guess he spend on his self for drugs nd clubbing use! im unemployed but have been non stop job hunting everyday and have no luck due to no experience but i try my hardest and every penny i get goes for my son clothes diapers nd needs! thank the lord for food stamps! but i was wondering how can i prove my baby daddy is working under the table to avoid child support payments? and what will be done? he refusces to tell me the name of the company…i only know the street and what type of job it is.
My husband was picked up on a warrant for non payment of child support. While he did owe a large amount he was making attempts to pay it and it had been being paid for nearly a month plus our taxes had been taken as well. He left me with 5 children. I had twins the following week. We are sitting here not knowing what to do or what will happen all the time his ex wife continuously harrass me. I cannot work due to the fact that I am still recovering from surgery and also I would pay more in child care than I would even make. So I guess trying to pay the support does not matter since it seems to be that way. I dont understand, if it’s all about the kids then why does it not matter that my children are suffering now?
did i forget to mention that she dosnt share the cost when i drive 863 mils one way to pick them up and 863 miles to take them home the courts are for women and that will never change i hate to be like that but its true and yes there are guys that dont care about there kids and thay need that kind of sentance not the ones who try
i was sentanced to16 years in prison for not paying child support got out on prbation and been making payments for the last 8 years and now that i cant find a job because of the felony thay want to throw me back in jail so dont ever get divorceed in indiana thay think that debters prison is the only way to do things
well child support is child support. there are to many people getting it and the gov can not control what the moms do with it…lol if two parents chose to separate then the other should pitch in on the cost of the kids.. if they were married the money would still go into the house hold for whatever reason…. some use it like they should and some dont.. just make sure u are the one that does good by ur kids.. i get child support and the first thing i did when i got some money i went straight to wal mart and bought clothes for my babys.. i love when my kids have good clean clothes and have things they both want and need… so u just have to hope the baby mama is good and has a brain..
Not trying to stir the pot here, I truly sympathize with those of you that are not getting paid the support you deserve! I also have known several men though that work very hard, and take home paychecks that will hardly get them by, while their baby’s momma treats her new boyfriend to vacations and meals out on HIS hard earned money. That is injustice and it’s no wonder (though I don’t condone it) that men in that position skip on payment.
I give you ladies credit for trying. I’m not trying to say that all mothers are horrible with the cs payments. I do speak with my husbands ex on a near daily basis. We are on good speaking terms and she has had no problem admitting to me that she quits her jobs and her husband doesn’t want to work, and they are having their 2nd baby together. The son that her and her husband have together has nicer clothes that actually fit, as to the son her and my husband share. SOME of the parents out there are taking advantage of the money and not trying to help the child it is meant for. You are right it is not called child allowance, but it is not called “support my dead beat husband and our child we had together”. This is a touchy subject just as the whole drug testing for state aid. If I desperately needed state aid, I would take a drug test. If making sure that the unfortunate kids whose sole provider could care less about them, is getting proper clothing, schooling, food, and medical attention, means that I need to show proof I will. It is about the kids right? There are some guys who claim they send the money but don’t, I will not argue that, but I was with my husband every time he was sending the money out, if it wasn’t me doing it my self. We also buy new clothes and shoes to replace the ones he is sent to us in.
Everyone needs to keep in mind that not everyone in the world “follows the rules”, or does the right thing. There are pretty sick people out in the world who abuse the help they get.
And my husband is not a deadbeat, in fact he was working and going to school and raising their son, while his ex was in rehab for drinking and drugs while around their son. His mother was watching him one day, when his ex came by to visit, took the child and left. The LAST thing that was said to my husband was that he was out of their lives and she wanted nothing to do with him and him to have nothing to do with the child. For 4 YEARS it was as if she didn’t exist on earth. She found out my husband and I were getting married, her and her husband were pregnant and suddenly she wanted child support. BUT on my husbands weekends she would ignore his calls, or get a new number. My husbands paid/pays cs, I see the bank account for checks mailed online through the acct to this woman. Yet we see the child benefiting in no way. Oh but they have the utilities paid, fancy phones, new clothes, new cars, AND another baby on the way. With both of them refusing to work, how do they get everything for themselves and the family they started together, and nothing for the child, who is the reason they get a check?
SO excuse me for thinking that there should be some justice for the kids that are being left behind, and for thinking that the ones who “care about the kids” would maybe think that it is a reasonable idea to show proof that they are supporting the child. I guess I am the ignorant one.
I personally don;t feel I should have to show proof for NOTHING if I get child support. Both parents are equally responsible of raising a child. This includes, home, lights, water, food, clothing shoes, daycare expenses and more. And when a non-custodial parent is only required to pay $167 a month, that’s NOTHING for all those things listed above. It’s hard raising kids alone. I have one child and diapers, wipes and child care kicks my butt. Then I’m stressed out on how I can get up the rent. lights, water and put a meal on the table for my child. I have 2 jobs and going to college full time just to make it. My child is left here and there just so I can manage to keep us above water. $167 a month don’t put a dent in any of my bills. I mean my child care a week is $115. SO how do you people who think I should show a receipt or get permission to get into a account know how I feel and what I go thru….wow,I can complete tell you are not in my shoes or else you who not have mad such an ignorant statement.
And for you chicks who get with these sorry men and get mad at the baby mama for taking the deadbeat to court should go and re-evaluate yourself. You so freaking in love with the deadbeat until you can’t even see the clear picture. Besides, what good woman or good man wants to be with a person who don’t support their kids?? That speaks alot about your character anyways. I’m so sick of these women who get with these sorry men and point the finger at the baby mama like she is a bad person. But understand this, that man is only going to tell you what he wants you to know about his baby mama. You don’t know what happen between the 2 and you don’t know for sure if he is actually paying the money. SO word of advise ladies and gents, if it’s not your child, stay the hell back…peace
Also to the parents out there a little advice most states can do reviews if you know the other parent got a better job/ more pay and that goes both ways I.E. the soldier who’s kids is getting ready to move to hawaii if she’s making more money they can review it and increase her share of the support also some states if she leaves the home state then she has to pay for airfare for you to see your kid. I know I do court ordered. But see my ex and I are civil for our kids sake and split the airfare of course I don’t raise support on him and I give it to him while the kids visit. That just how grown ups should opperate
I thinks its funny how some think the $ should go directly to the child or get set aside for the guilds needs does that then mean I should split the rent electric water garbage bills 2 ways and bring it in as proof to get the money its called child SUPPORT for a reason not child ALLOWANCE. I know some mothers are aweful to their kids but what about those of us who depend on that money to HELP with bills so we can give our kids better than living in the run down projects.
I personally think that ALL the child support payments should be sent into a separate bank account and the ONLY way the parent who has custody can take money out is if they have proof of what the CHILD needs and the COURT clears it, and then they need to show PROOF that the money did go to the child. I have 2 kids with my husband, and he has one with another woman, who admitted to me that there was a possibility that the child isn’t my husbands. She’s married now, sending my husband dirty pictures, and when she receives the child support payment, buys a new phone with all unlimited privileges on it, gets her hair done, buys new clothes for herself, doesn’t work and her husband refuses to work. Now when she does allow my husband to see “their son” he has ratty holy clothes shoes that don’t fit, and 80 style underwear with #2 stains in them. I do agree that whomever doesn’t have the child should pay child support, BUT when they are not allowed to see the child, and the money is clearly NOT going to the child it is very VERY frustrating. Personally even though I am a female and yes I may be in the same position soon since I can’t stand my husbands ex, and will probably be divorcing him, I could care less if he paid me, the fighting and the games I think are more hurtful to the kids than anything. Some women I feel are just lazy and don’t want to push themselves a little harder to provide for their 1-2 kids. I’d rather my kids be proud of me for what I’ve given them with the hard work I’ve done for them.
I also think it’s kinda disgusting that some women will argue that the money is for the kids and that the father’s not paying will only hurt the kids, then turn around and say that the mother is entitled to the money. I don’t care if I am verbally attacked for saying these things. It really doesn’t hurt the kids unless the person throwing the punches (usually the mother) raises them to “fail”. My mother raised my sister on her own and she is one of the most driven, hard working, loving, successful girls I know. I know a number of women who have raised their kids on their own and the kids are successful and happy, and could care less about the parent that walked away. If anything it will hurt the other parent in the long run for not watching their child grow.
Well if some of you illiterate people would learn how to speak proper English and spell you might not have these problems. You can’t get a real job speaking Ebonics.
Well i’m dating a guy who has a babyma who still likes him so he missed o ne payment and she sends a warrant out for his arrest. he doesnt even make enough for him to pay that amount a month n shes being an ass cause he wont get back with her. with all do respect some wome do things out of spite. they dont try to reason with a person at all. I hate immature ppl who dont try to put there feels aside for the kids. Him being locked still not gone get him to pay what he miss.
im a single mom of four i can not believe how fathers are being allowed to get away from paying child support i have two baby daddy one pays 20 dollars a month of child support just because he told the court he applied for disability and the other one is on the run drivn with a license but nobody can find him only because its my money i guess they dont care im tryn so hard to do it on my own im gettn tire dont know how long before my family has no choice but to be split because of me giving up i have a part time job not enough to get all the bills pays its hard to get a job i have been in 4 different shelters in a year my kids have been to four different schools this yr so sad we have went to bed hungry many nights the cash assistant that i received for one month i had to work hard to get im so afraid of me not being able to keep my family together i am really tryn because i love my kids with all my heart they r my life but im so exhausted please someone who can give me some feedback in what i can do someone that can help i would greatly appreciate it God bless .
My oldest daughter’s father hasn’t payed child support at all and she is ten. He just barley meet her last June for the first time ever. He has three younger children with another woman and states he can’t work due due his “Disability” . The social security office denied him disability ssi and just lays around. Now I see kids with disablilites working at Home Depot, Wa-Mart, McDonalds, ect.. I think that is ashamed that he can’t or WON’T work a minumal wage job
My X husbands new wife refuses to let him work anything more than part-time & only graveyard. He might see a more attractive woman & leave her otherwise. If I’m lucky, I get 90$ a week. Which doesn’t cover much of anything for 3 teen/pre-teen girls. He’s behind almost 40G, doesn’t file taxes(I’d get that money), & get’s GRANT MONEY to go to school. He has a B.A. & trained in Military for a job in civilian world that makes 120G a year at least. What burns my butt is him not having file taxes & him getting GRANT money. I can not because of the debt he left on me
I am a single mother of one, who is divorced and my exhusband has not paid or seen my daughter in 3 years, along with the fact he has another daughter that after 6months he stopped having anything to do with. This man made 60,000 a year and only had to pay 350 a month. while I was making 30,000 and supporting my daughter. For those who say if the child isn’t with you you don’t have to pay, please think about that statement your child doesn’t deserve to be fed or clothed or given a roof because after you were an adult enough to make the child you decide you no longer want the responsibility? GROW UP! the only person being hurt by all the arguments of non-payment are the children, my daughter has a roof and clothes and food all provided by me, but when she wants to go hangout with friends she can’t when she wants to play sports she can’t music lessons art lessons nothing.
If you are adult enough to have sex and make babies you must pay for them moms and dads alike, do not give in to the men because they are mad so what get madder for the sake of your babies people. my exhusband will pay every single cent that is entitled to me even if it takes his entire life I will not back down my daughter and i suffer enough He wanted a child in the first place so I hold him to his responsibilities for the sake of my daughter who deserves it and more!
As the moderator of DebtPrison.net… I would personally like to thank everyone for taking the time to share their opinion and life experiences on this subject. Child support comes with a lot of emotional feelings for each of us that have suffered over failed relationships. Your comments are greatly appreciated. The only true statement I can personally make about child support enforcement/broken homes… is that our country is in big trouble. If we continue on the path of parents splitting up and basically no one raising our children… then America is doomed. Kids need to be raised. How can they be raised if Daddy is gone and Mommy is working? Who is raising our children? People complain about the poor quality of our failing public school system. The problem isn’t the schools… it’s that our children aren’t getting raised at home… and once at school… the school administration is busy trying to keep students in their clothes and off drugs/alcohol. This is a serious subject… and it goes much deeper than just ‘dead-beat dads’. We all are in this together.
I would also like to say thanks for everyone keeping the language clean.
Thanks, Barry
same goes for both sides guys
…you don’t realize what happens to the mothers in poverty who have to sign over their parental rights just because they can’t afford the kids. so then THEY TOO too get to pay support to the father who left them penniless and got the kids.
it happens both ways people.
i gotta pay for the privilege to see and be a part of our kids’ lives. so i live outta my car til the money runs full out. lose the wages to garnishment, lose the house, lose the job to stress, go to to jail, etc
lose the kids either way
…so just go ahead and take me out of the equation altogether, before i have to squalor away on the streets. they need to be able to find me when they are 18, and i need to be able to be there for them then
but he’s so controlling that he’ll never sign off on that
where the heck are the kids in all of these scenarios?? BEST-INTERESTS my A**
NEED TO START A FACEBOOK PAGE–showing a picture to help locate the DEAD BEAT FATHERS, so we can get the served to come to court and the employers that is paying them under the table to report them in to the irs because they are helping them survive and not there children.
IT TAKES US MOTHERS AND FATHERS whom suppose to receive child support the right way to do what it takes to take care of our children.
surprised noone has brought up the unconstitutionality of this: passport, jail, licences…..triple jeapordy?debtors prisons are illegal, for any reason!!!!all lawyers who prosper from cs need to get leprosy of the tongue.
Personally, I think it should be split 50/50 that is when whoever gets the child is responsible taking care of the child. A divorce is a divorce and just that. I do not think either ex spouse should owe the other ex-spouse money to raise the kids. IF that kid is in your custody you are responsible to clothes, feed, and take care of that child during the time of that custody. It is up to the two of you to however long you want to be with that kid 60/40, 80/20, or which ever. You better know you can support that child during the time you have the child but no one should owe the other spouse child support. It is the most ridiculous law I have ever heard. Then turn around and send the ex spouse to jail. All this is , is nothing but a money making deal for the State for a bunch of lazy ex-spouces that all they want to do is get at each other throats by using the law. Biggest part of the time the whole child support system has to do with a jealous ex who does not like to see the other ex with someone else or moved on before they did. Then the whole deadbeat comment well you should have known who you got in bed with that is pretty much your own fault. Why should someone else pay for your miserable faults. Take your own responsibility raise the kids you love, quit forcing someone else to love them if it is not working out, if you can’t raise them give them up.
My daughters father owes child support He sent me a text message stating he was mad at me and wanted me to close the child support case because he lost his lic. I told him that we have to some type of legal agreement and he said no and for me to close the case. Within 3 weeks he has gotten his lic. back and I will only be getting a check for $115.00 He is behind over 2500.00. He does not care if she eats or gets to school. That is a dead beat dad