Child Support Enforcement is Important

The Douglas administration has failed to seriously address the issue of non-payment of child support.  The vast majority of single parents who receive child support are women, so while I acknowledge there are a small percentage of fathers in this situation, I see it as primarily a topic for women and their children.

Many women who need assistance from the state are left asking for help because the absent parent fails to make support payments.  The system is so cumbersome that many women simple give up and stop trying to get the state to collect the back payments.  It is time consuming and intimidating to have to go to court over and over in an attempt to get the money that is owed.   Children are the true victims in these situations. There is currently more than $1 million in back child support payment owed to parents in this state.  Certainly some of that money will never be collected, but it is way past time the state take this as a serious situation and make some fundamental changes.

I took the opportunity of Challenges for Change to work with the department of children and families, the office of child support, the tax department, the department of labor, the judiciary and law enforcement to have a serious conversation regarding getting better compliance with the requirements of child support.  There are several key issues; the office of child support is understaffed and does not have “field” workers who can go and check up on non-paying parents; tax and labor have no way to check folks who are working under the table; the court system lacks time to have these issues seen as a high priority and does not have simple systems in place for a parent to ask for assistance. 

It became obvious to all parties that the remedy for this situation need not be overly complex.  When a parent fails to make payments, the office of child support can contact local law enforcement to check out the situation.  Frequently the custodial parent knows where the other parent is and what they are doing for work.  Local law enforcement can then serve the necessary paperwork and begin the process of collection. 

As governor, I will make sure that children stop being the victims of non-payment of child support.