ArticlesCategory :: Child SupportBy USA Today 8/27/2010 "A jury on Thursday rejected a claim by billionaire Donald Bren's two grown children for $134 million in retroactive child support." Read the entire article: http://www.usatoday.com/money/companies/management/2010-08-26-bren-child-support_N.htm?csp=34money By Las Vegas Review Journal 8/30/2010 "...The gunman who killed five people and wounded a sixth in a Lake Havasu City shooting spree before committing suicide was facing criminal prosecution for theft and legal action from his estranged girlfriend who was seeking financial support and custody of their two children. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.lvrj.com/news/police-seek-motive-in-arizona-mass-shooting-101846083.html?ref=083 By The Royal Gazette - Bermuda 8/31/2010 ""Deadbeat parents" will be stopped from licensing their motor vehicles until they pay outstanding child support under new legislation to be tabled this autumn." Read the entire article: http://www.royalgazette.com/rg/Article/article.jsp?articleId=7da8fb730030000§ionId=60 By St. Louis Post-Dispatch - Missouri 9/2/2010 "...Leonard Wilson, 36, admitted that he sold the boxes to others knowing that the pills would be used to manufacture methamphetamine and that he used the money to pay child support and other expenses. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/article_321ebbb4-b6a2-11df-871e-00127992bc8b.html By Neighborhood Star.com 8/26/2010 "A Frankfort man, being forced to pay child support for a son who was kidnapped by his mother and taken to Poland 10 years ago, has won a key legal ruling in his case." Read the entire article: http://www.southtownstar.com/neighborhoodstar/frankfort/2638818,082610gerardo.article By 24/7 Press Release 8/26/2010 "...Miriam Lee took the singer to court, alleging that he was the father of her 14-year-old son. When McKnight failed to respond to her claims, the judge ordered McKnight to pay more than $340,000 in past due child support payments. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.24-7pressrelease.com/press-release/establishing-legal-paternity-in-florida-167189.php By Sydney Morning Herald 8/26/2010 "...In a report that might not be well received by some single mothers, the acting Ombudsman, Ron Brent, found that the Child Support Agency had at times been unduly influenced by stereotypes about fathers not meeting their obligations. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.smh.com.au/national/fathers-stereotyped-by-child-support-agency-20100825-13s89.html By Seattle Post Intelligencer 8/23/2010 "A Federal Way woman faces multiple charges in a case involving a faked pregnancy and thousands of dollars in child support payments." Read the entire article: http://www.seattlepi.com/sound/425615_sound101319679.html By Madison County - St. Clair Record 8/24/2010 "A case brought by a man who claims a laboratory failed to follow procedures and botched a paternity test more than a decade ago is set for case management on Wednesday." Read the entire article: http://www.stclairrecord.com/news/229088-case-over-botched-paternity-test-set-for-case-management-wednesday By The Southwest Times 8/25/2010 "The Kansas Payment Center has introduced an electronic method for parents to make their child support payments." Read the entire article: http://www.swdtimes.com/article_2336.shtml By Toronto Sun -- Canada 8/12/2010 "Burt Reynolds has been given a reprieve from his ex-wife Loni Anderson as he continues to recover from heart surgery - she's waived the $400,000 he owes her in back child support, according to a U.S. tabloid report." Read the entire article: http://www.torontosun.com/entertainment/celebrities/2010/08/11/14993041-wenn-story.html By New York Times 8/20/2010 "Paul Hillier, the conductor who was arrested en route to his appearance at the Mostly Mozart Festival for nonpayment of child support, said he was withholding the money from his ex-wife because she did not allow his daughters to visit him, The Daily Mail of London reported on Wednesday." Read the entire article: http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/19/after-arrest-over-child-support-payments-conductor-speaks-out/?src=mv By Los Angeles Times (blog) - California 8/11/2010 "...In a years-long legal feud set to start trial next week, Bren's now-adult children are seeking retroactive child support in the amount of $400,000 a month each for the years between 1988 and 2002. According to their attorney, Bren was giving children Christie and David Bren a fraction of that sum -- about $10,000 a month -- for several years. ..." Read the entire article: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/08/billionaire-kids-donald-bren-child-support.html By Dads Divorce.com 8/13/2010 "My husband pays his ex-wife for child support and other costs each month via check. She won't give him her banking information so he could set up a direct deposit. She hasn't cashed a single check in 10 months! If she doesn't want/need the money, can we reclaim it and put it into a savings account for the kids?" Read the entire article: http://www.dadsdivorce.com/articles/can-i-reclaim-child-support-payments-that-went-unused.html By Daily Mail - Charleston 8/13/2010 "Some low-income West Virginia families who are owed back child support will be notified later this month that they will receive one-time payments of $500 each." Read the entire article: http://www.dailymail.com/News/statenews/201008120890 By Black Star News 8/12/2010 "A City agency has failed to disburse millions of dollars in child support payments that have already been collected and should have been either disbursed to parents who have won custody of children in family court proceedings or returned as refunds to non-custody parents for overpayments, The Black Star News has learned." Read the entire article: http://blackstarnews.com/news/135/ARTICLE/6747/2010-08-12.html By USA Today 7/18/2010 "... The job cuts, prison officials say, mean a dramatic reduction in job training for inmates preparing for release, lost wages for prisoners to pay down child support and other court-ordered fines, and more tension in already overcrowded institutions. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.usatoday.com/news/military/2010-07-19-1Ainmatelayoffs19_ST_N.htm By Chicago Sun Times 8/12/2010 "What warrants a guy jumping from a third-story window? Fire? Terrorist attack? For a North Side man Tuesday, it was to avoid going to jail for allegedly not paying child support." Read the entire article: http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/2591286,CST-NWS-jump12.article By WVNS-TV – West Virginia 8/11/2010 "According to the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources, the state has received money from the federal economic stimulus funds." Read the entire article: http://www.wvnstv.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=84275 By Malaysia Star (blog) - Malaysia 8/7/2010 "The setting up of a Child Custody Agency with the power to compel errant parents to pay maintenance and alimony is being studied, said Women, Family and Community Development Deputy Minister Senator Heng Seai Kie." Read the entire article: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/8/7/nation/20100807144810&sec=nation By DNA Worldwide - Paraguay "Fernando Lugo, the president of Paraguay, has has been ordered to undergo a paternity test to establish whether or not he fathered a second illegitimate child." Read the entire article: http://www.dna-worldwide.com/dna-news/news/2010/08/11/president-of-paraguay-to-face-paternity-test/ By San Francisco Chronicle - California 8/8/2010 "In 1978, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a Wisconsin law that denied marriage licenses to noncustodial parents who were behind in child-support payments By WalesOnline – United Kingdom "...But Meredith, from Merthyr Tydfil, said he had not deducted any money from his wages because he was disputing the amount owed. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2010/08/07/firm-failed-to-take-85k-child-support-from-pay-91466-27014831/
By Wall Street Journal 8/5/2010 "...A New York state appellate court on Tuesday became the first in the state to rule that a same-sex partner may be liable for child support. ..." Read the entire article: http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2010/08/05/same-sex-partners-in-new-york-can-be-liable-for-child-support/ By WLKY Louisville - Kentucky 8/4/2010 "Police said a man tried to set himself on fire at the Child Support Center in downtown Louisville." Read the entire article: http://www.wlky.com/news-archives/24510843/detail.html By Helium "...The sad part is that it's not necessarily because the person that is asked to pay doesn't want to help take care of their children. It's contentious because the needs and the abilities of that parent are not taken into consideration. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.helium.com/items/1912136-child-support-guidelines By ChicagoNow (blog) - Illinois 8/4/2010 "...Last week in Cook County, a judge ordered a man to pay thousands of dollars in past child support for a child that isn't his. The man even took a paternity test to prove he wasn't the father, but it was too late. Back in 1998, the child's mother went to court to get child support and the man never responded to the summons. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/chicagos-real-law-blog/2010/08/crazy-illinois-law-alert.html By Osawatomie Graphic - Kansas 8/4/2010 "...She cited one example where a man was making child support payments to his ex wife and was always on time. The only problem is he paid in cash and there was no paper trail, which allowed the woman to claim he never made a single payment, costing him about $15,000. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.graphic-online.com/2010080410273/news/osawatomie/new-method-for-support-payments.html By Baltimore Sun - Maryland 8/2/2010 "...In the divorce she was to get $10, 000 a month alimony and $16, 000 in child support, including $4,000 in nanny services, $2700 for credit cards, $800 for entertainment and $600 for housekeeping. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/wreg-ex-wife-denies-involvement-in-wright-murder-story,0,6542559.story By MLive.com - Michigan 7/28/2010 "County residents who fall behind on their child support payments could have their cars immobilized and have to pay up to $250 in additional fees to get their vehicles back under a new Friend of the Court initiative." Read the entire article: http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2010/07/falling_behind_on_child_suppor.html By Vallejo Times-Herald - California 7/29/2010 ""Review and Adjustment" on Sept. 29 will cover modifying a child support order." Read the entire article: http://www.timesheraldonline.com/news/ci_15629276 By Tbo.com - Florida 7/29/2010 "They tell Winter that they haven't made their payments because they're unemployed. Despite their efforts to land a job they remain part of the county's 11.8 percent unemployed." Read the entire article: http://www2.highlandstoday.com/content/2010/jul/29/la-jobless-parents-cant-afford-to-pay-child-suppor/ By WBXH - Louisiana 7/28/2010 "A Baton Rouge man is fighting to prove he is not the father of two children he believes he has wrongfully been paying child support on, possibly for years." Read the entire article: http://www.wafb.com/Global/story.asp?S=12889910 By Minnesota Public Radio - Minnesota 7/30/2010 "The recession is creating a crisis for the courts and for families dealing with child support. Parents who have faithfully kept up with their child support are falling behind and flooding the courts with requests for help, so Hennepin County officials are taking steps to keep the problem from getting worse." Read the entire article: http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2010/07/30/reconsider-child-support/ By ABC Online 7/30/2010 "A Darwin woman has been jailed for claiming more than $50,000 in child support for five children removed from her care by the government." Read the entire article: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/07/30/2969016.htm By WXVT - Mississippi 7/29/2010 "Hundreds of Mississippi Department of Human Services child support cases are under review as officials investigate whether process servers lied about delivering subpoenas for court proceedings." Read the entire article: http://www.wxvt.com/Global/story.asp?S=12894326 By Radio New Zealand – New Zealand 7/30/2010 "But Fathers of New Zealand says dropping late penalties and giving parents more contact with their children, will encourage people to pay." Read the entire article: http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/stories/2010/07/30/04e12a76cd84 By ABC Action News - Florida 7/30/2010 "...According to a pay check stub, Thorpe’s employer regularly garnished his check for a total of $578 to pay his child support. “My ex-wife kept on complaining 'Kevin, I am not getting the money'. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.abcactionnews.com/dpp/money/consumer/taking_action_for_you/father%E2%80%99s-child-support-money-doesn%E2%80%99t-reach-his-child- By San Antonio Express - Texas 8/2/2010 "...Since Bexar County was known for incarcerating more “deadbeat dads” than any other place in Texas, Wilson's outlook could have been bleak, he acknowledged Friday. But what he didn't realize was that Bexar County also has one of the most effective job placement programs in the state for low- or no-income parents who want to work. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.mysanantonio.com/moms/program_helps_parents_pay_child_support_99735604.html By Bnd.com – Illinois 8/1/2010 "...The stimulus payment, intended for people with disabilities, was automatically applied to Williams' unpaid child support. That transaction alerted state officials, who had not been aware that Williams was getting a disability check. ..." By San Antonio Express - Texas 7/27/2010 "Thirteen people from San Antonio, almost half of them former employees of a company that processes child-support payments for Texas and 15 other states, have been charged with diverting thousands of dollars of those payments to themselves." Read the entire article: http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/feds_making_child_support_fraud_arrests_99256384.html By DadsDivorce.com "...Suddenly she is threatening to take me back to court for full custody and to have child support initiated. Can you tell me what legal grounds she may have and what I may encounter?..." Read the entire article: http://www.dadsdivorce.com/articles/what-is-the-burden-of-proof-needed-for-a-modification.html By HollandSentinel.com - Michigan 7/20/2010 "If you don’t drive to the courthouse to pay your child support, you might not be going anywhere else either." Read the entire article: http://www.hollandsentinel.com/news/x6415285/Giving-deadbeats-the-boot By The Star-Ledger - NJ.com – New Jersey 7/19/2010 "Democratic state senators are mounting a challenge to a bill that would garnish income tax refunds from homeowners delinquent on their property taxes, questioning whether it adequately protects child support payments and saying it would punish the unemployed." Read the entire article: http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/07/nj_senate_democrats_challenge.html By Daily Mail – United Kingdom 7/19/2010 "...Ms Beverley had updated her Facebook status the previous evening to read: 'Now who's laughing? You have got done big time by the CS (sic) so now leave us alone for good. Your son hates you and so do I.'..." By Glenn Sacks, MA, Executive Director -- Fathers and Families 7/22/2010 "California Senator Rod Wright (D-Los Angeles) has long been a leader in working toward a balanced family law system, and is sponsoring three child support reform bills this year." Read the entire article: http://www.fathersandfamilies.org/?p=8778 By Knoxville News Sentinel - Tennessee 7/25/2010 "...Facebook and other social networks, such as Twitter, Flickr, Photobucket and MySpace, are becoming the latest legal tool in divorce and child-support battles. ..." Read the entire article: http://m.knoxnews.com/news/2010/jul/25/in-the-age-of-facebook-divorce-battles-go/ By Gordon E. Finley Miami Herald -- Letters to the Editor 7/20/2010 "...Given that current Florida family law fails these reality tests, it should be changed to: 1. Presume equal shared parenting for both parents, which is what research shows that the children of divorce want, and it also is the case that children turn out better under equal shared parenting; ..." By SILive.com 7/21/2010 "Rep. Michael McMahon has secured $90,000 for the office of District Attorney Daniel Donovan to expand its Violence Against Women program." Read the entire article: http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2010/07/mcmahon_secures_90g_to_assist.html By The Detroit News - Michigan 7/21/2010 "...The final vote can't come quickly enough for Virginia Chester, a 37-year-old single mom in Grant, Mich., north of Grand Rapids, who cashed her last unemployment check on July 3. "My only income is child support, which is enough to feed us," said Chester, who was laid off as a billing processor in June 2009. "The last few weeks, I haven't been able to pay any bills."..." By The Boston Globe 7/18/2010 "... Two years ago, Niro’s youngest son graduated from college, ending child support payments and leaving his former wife with alimony of $65 a week. “The next thing I know, I get summonsed to court for alimony adjustment,’’ he says. A probate court judge increased the alimony to $700 a week even though the couple had divorced nearly a quarter of a century ago — five times longer than they were married. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/family/articles/2010/07/18/years_and_marriages_later_former_spouses_still_owe_alimony/ By Houston Chronicle 7/17/2010 "Q. Why is it that I pay child support after all the taxes have been taken out of my check, yet my ex-wife does not have to pay taxes on the money she receives, roughly $13,000 per year?..." Read the entire article: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/7113081.html By Plain Dealer (blog) - Ohio 7/12/2010 "...Elroy Thomas knew there might be trouble when he went to pick up his 6-year-old daughter from his ex-wife's house on Father's Day. So he had a police officer accompany him. Thomas had a court-issued visitation order to spend the day reserved for dads with his first-grader. But his ex had denied his visitation rights before. ..." Read the entire article: http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2010/07/child_visitation_rights_go_une.html By The Marshall Democrat-News - Missouri 7/9/2010 "A criminal summons has been issued for a Marshall woman for failing to pay child support. Billie J. Weathers, 39, is charged with two counts of nonsupport, a class D felony." Read the entire article: http://www.marshallnews.com/story/1648459.html By Roland C. Warren -- The Root 7/12/2010 "... Folks who support the notion of financial abortions say that we should make things equal and give a father the choice to walk away from his responsibility to a child, despite what the mother wants, just as a mother has the legal option to abort their child, despite what the father wants. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.theroot.com/views/your-take-are-all-abortions-equal By Cord Jefferson - The Root 7/6/2010 "...Professor Frances Goldscheider teaches sociology at Brown, where she came up with the idea that, she says, has made her question some of her deepest, most long-standing beliefs: "While I thought I was a feminist all my life, when I started studying the family and fatherhood in general, I realized that I was really an egalitarian. I want a level playing field in the family for men and women. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.theroot.com/views/what-if-i-dont-want-be-daddy?page=0,1 By Helium "If you have a child or one on the way but are not married, it is important to take one thing into consideration. The fact that you should get a paternity test done is extremely important." Read the entire article: http://www.helium.com/items/1892224-importance-of-getting-a-paternity-test-for-unmarried-couples-expecting-a-baby He has a DNA test to prove it's not his son, but still has to pay child supportMonday, 12 July 2010
By WXYZ - Michigan 7/8/2010 "He’s on the hook for tens of thousands of dollars in back child support. But he says the boy is not his son—and has the DNA test to prove it." Read the entire article: http://www.wxyz.com/dpp/news/region/wayne_county/he-has-a-dna-test-to-prove-it's-not-his-son,-but-still-has-to-pay-child-support By Worcester Telegram - Massachusetts 7/1/2010 "...A published 2004 study by Arizona State University professors Sanford Braver and David Stockburger concluded that Massachusetts’ guidelines for determining how much child support an obligor will pay were among the highest in the United States. Since then, the state’s guidelines have actually been raised — in January 2009, in the middle of the worst economy since the Great Depression. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.telegram.com/article/20100701/NEWS/7010723/1020 By Huffington Post 6/30/2010 "...He said the actor has paid Grigorieva "tens of thousands of dollars," is providing his daughter with health insurance and a nanny and has bought a lavish home and a car for his ex-girlfriend. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/30/mel-gibson-oksana-grigori_n_630428.html By Children & Young People Now – United Kingdom 6/29/2010 "...Field added that the role of breadwinner has been taken over by the taxpayer because unmarried fathers are often "young, unemployed, unemployable and unskilled". But Rob Williams, chief executive of think-tank Fatherhood Institute, said Field’s views dated to the 1950s and called on policy-makers to focus on schemes to support fathers’ engagement with family life. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.cypnow.co.uk/news/ByDiscipline/Social-Care/1013144/Fatherhood-Institute-chief-slams-Frank-Field-unemployed-fathers-comment/ By Sydney Morning Herald - Australia 6/30/2010 "...And if they don't turn up for the fortnightly meeting their welfare payments will be suspended. ..." Read the entire article: http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/welfare-changes-take-effect-from-july-20100630-zl00.html By Yahoo Sports 6/27/2010 "Landon Donovan is telling SI.com he will take responsibility if a woman’s claim that he made her pregnant proves true." Read the entire article: http://g.sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/news/report-woman-planning-paternity-claim-on-donovan--fbintl_ap-wcup-donovan-paternity.html By Albany Times Union – New York 6/25/2010 "New Yorkers need divorce reform, but no-fault divorce is not enough. It does nothing for spouses left in difficult or dire financial circumstances by the capricious laws now governing spousal support." By Plain Dealer (blog) - Ohio 6/27/2010 "...Child support is the modern, moral equivalent of debtors' prisons, which were outlawed in the 19th century. Nonpayment of child support constitutes a felony. Falling behind in payments due to a job loss results in fines, jail time and a felony conviction -- which makes it all the more difficult to find work. It is just a downward spiral. ..." Read the entire article: http://blog.cleveland.com/letters/2010/06/deadbeat_dads_dads_oppressed_b.html By Mail Tribune - Oregon 6/27/2010 "...Child support offices around the state were open Saturday in an effort to increase the number of births in which a father is legally recorded. The state must meet paternity-establishment requirements to get federal block grant money for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100627/NEWS/6270332 By The Desert Sun – California 6/25/2010 "Spurred by a newspaper's report that California's welfare debit cards can be used to withdraw cash in more than half the casinos in the state, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Thursday issued an immediate ban on state-provided cash assistance at ATMs in gambling establishments." Read the entire article: http://www.mydesert.com/article/20100625/NEWS06/6250328/Gov-Schwarzenegger-halts-use-of-welfare-debit-cards-at-casinos By PS News - Australia "An audit of the Child Support Agency has found improved communication with clients but limited progress on creating organisational change and client service." Read the entire article: http://www.psnews.com.au/Page_psn2239.html By People.com 6/28/2010 "...Gibson's camp says the actor's ex-girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva is in violation of the custody arrangement the pair hammered out for baby daughter Lucia when they split-up—and therefore, she isn't getting a penny more than the sum they agreed to in mediation if she failed to live up to her end of the bargain. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/b188026_mel_gibson_fewer_visits_with_daughter.html?cmpid=rss-000000-rssfeed-365-topstories&utm_source=eonline&utm_medium=rssfeeds&utm_campaign=rss_topstories#ixzz0sCEdPw2x By National Post - Canada 6/21/2010 "...Instead, he’s a man hopelessly ensnared in a crushing bureaucratic machine: He’s in jail because he couldn’t pay child support, but he couldn’t pay child support because he was unemployed … and he was unemployed because the court took his driver’s license for failure to pay child support … after he went bankrupt paying his court costs. ..." Read the entire article: http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2010/06/21/matt-gurney-man-jailed-by-courts-after-courts-bankrupt-him/ By Glenn Sacks and Ned Holstein -- Cleveland.com 6/19/2010 "...While genuine child support evaders certainly exist, many noncustodial parents fall behind in their support because the current system is mulishly impervious to the economic realities working people face, such as layoffs, wage cuts, unemployment and work-related injuries. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.cleveland.com/opinion/index.ssf/2010/06/fathers_day_deadbeat_dad_raids.html By Deseret News 6/21/2010 "...The president outlined a series of plans to fund local projects that help train men for jobs, prevent domestic violence and take other steps to encourage healthy and loving families. He also announced a Justice Department program that would use the court system to help find jobs for men just leaving prison so they could meet their child support obligations and reconnect with their children as soon as possible. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700042059/Obama-Lets-help-Dads-connect-with-their-kids.html By Telegraph.co.uk 6/7/2010 "...Malcolm Hurlston, chairman of the CCCS, said: "Men have been hard hit by the recession and are emerging as the new underclass. Debt alone is no longer the problem. It is loss of income and other rising costs. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/borrowing/7808411/Debt-Men-are-emerging-as-the-new-underclass.html By Indiana University 6/15/2010 "Just in time for Father's Day this Sunday (June 20), the Indiana Business Research Center in Indiana University's Kelley School of Business has offered some interesting statistics, based on the most current data." Read the entire article: http://newsinfo.iu.edu/news/page/normal/14716.html By USA Today 6/16/2010 "Half of all U.S. children won't live with their father for part of their childhood. But just because "non-resident" dads don't live with their kids doesn't mean they're not involved with them." Read the entire article: http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2010-06-16-intouchdads16_CV_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip By Chicago Sun-Times - Illinois 6/14/2010 "Illinois is attempting to force a Frankfort man to pay child support for a son who allegedly was kidnapped by his mother 10 years ago and taken to Poland." Read the entire article: http://www.suntimes.com/news/24-7/2390340,CST-NWS-gerardo14.article By Fort Smith Times Record – Arkansas 6/13/2010 "...From a personal financial perspective, divorce ranks at or near the top of life events that can cause mass financial destruction. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.swtimes.com/business/article_3ee24de0-770d-11df-84bb-001cc4c03286.html By Ithaca Journal – New York 6/13/2010 "A new TV show aimed at finding deadbeat parents will begin filming its first two episodes in Bradford County, Pa., in early July." Read the entire article: http://www.theithacajournal.com/article/20100613/NEWS01/6130329/1126/NEWS/TV+show+targeting+deadbeat+parents+to+film+in+northern+Pennsylvania By Find Law – Virginia/Massachusetts "I need to find the legal definition of "full time high school student" as it applies to child support termination under Virginia Law." Read the entire article: http://boards.answers.findlaw.com/n/pfx/forum.aspx?msg=83656.1&nav=messages&webtag=fl-family_law By HG.org 6/2/2010 "One common question is whether a parent has to pay child support if the children are receiving social security payments as a result of the parent's disability." Read the entire article: http://www.hg.org/article.asp?id=18966 By Star Community Newspapers - Texas 6/9/2010 "...Bennett said that Johnson is a good father and a good provider for her son and his five other children. She added that he spends a lot of time with her son. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.scntx.com/articles/2010/06/09/news_update/215a.txt By Salt Lake City Weekly - Utah 6/8/2010 "...Like a lot of parents in his situation, the 41-year-old retired Navy seaman is the ink blot of a Rorschach test: he could be viewed as a “dead beat” or “beat dead” dad, depending on one’s sympathies. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.cityweekly.net/utah/article-11413-divorced-dad-hunger-strikes-to-protest-child-support-laws.html By Baxter Bulletin -- Arkansas 6/4/2010 "...The website now has a "deadbeat dads and moms" sub-section for people who are not paying court-ordered child support in Baxter County, according to a Baxter County Sheriff's office news release from Sheriff John Montgomery. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.baxterbulletin.com/article/20100604/NEWS01/6040344/1002/New-features-added-to-sheriff-s-website By Houston Chronicle - Texas 6/6/2010 "Q: My son pays child support even though he has never been ordered by a court to do so. If he is sued for back child support, what kind of proof of payment will he need to produce?..." Read the entire article: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/7039783.html By Reading Eagle - Pennsylvania 6/6/2010 "My ex-husband and I could not revise our child-support arrangement ourselves, so we took it to court. At the hearing, my lawyer, a specialist in family law, was better prepared than his, a generalist who made numerous mistakes in preparation and presentation." Read the entire article: http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=225245 By Wire – New Hampshire 6/6/2010 "...Divorced parents will no longer have to go to court to recalculate child support when one child in the family turns 18, provided Gov. Lynch signs House Bill 1420. Sponsored by Rep. David Bickford (R-New Durham), the new law will allow child support to be automatically recalculated for remaining children when an older child becomes an adult. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.wirenh.com/News/News_-_general/Front_Door_Politics%3A_End-of-session_done_deals_201006064160.html By News Journal -- Texas 6/5/2010 "QUESTION: Since the new health care law allows young adults to remain on their parents’ health insurance until age 26, will that affect requirements for child support payments for divorced parents?" Read the entire article: http://www.news-journal.com/features/answer_line/article_e46ca20e-1b17-5bc5-ad88-5a78e6f2c6c4.html By The Sydney Morning Herald 6/4/2010 "In a case which highlights the difficulties of keeping a low profile when you have a Facebook account, a court has ordered that the social networking site be used to serve legal documents on an elusive father in a child support dispute." Read the entire article: http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/court-uses-facebook-to-serve-paternity-test-order-20100603-x7dc.html By DadsDivorce.com 5/28/2010 "Divorce attorneys often hear frustrated dads upset that they have to keep paying more and more child support while the ex-wife barely works and appears to be living off the child support payments." Read the entire article: http://www.dadsdivorce.com/articles/my-ex-is-living-off-child-support.html? By Helium - Nevada "No matter how frustrating it is going thru the process of enforcing child support, this frustration pales in comparison with the frustration that comes from dealing with the deadbeats themselves." Read the entire article: http://www.helium.com/items/1693875-nevadas-child-support-enfocement-failure By Shreveport Times - Louisiana 5/21/2010 "A Shreveport woman faces charges for filing a false tax return in her ex-husband’s name and collecting the funds in child support back pay." Read the entire article: http://www.shreveporttimes.com/article/20100521/NEWS03/100521014/-No-heading- By Houston Chronicle - Texas 5/25/2010 "...Jonas, 48, blames his incarceration on a vindictive spouse who wants to hold him to support and medical payments of $11,000 to $18,000 a month despite a decline in his income. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7022077.html By ABC 4 - Utah "...Kenyon Eastin says he's not a deadbeat Dad just misunderstood. The judge overseeing his case will not lower his child support payments from $800 dollars a month to $525 a month. Eastin claims lowering his payments are necessary for his survival, "It's not that I don't want to pay my child support, I cannot afford what the judge has set and he says I am voluntarily unemployed."..." Read the entire article: http://www.abc4.com/content/news/slc/story/Missed-Child-Support-Payments-Deadbeat-Dad-or-a/TdYoJDsZbU2rsGP7o6E3sg.cspx By CTV.ca - Canada 5/19/2010 "A Quebec couple's nasty separation is before the province's highest court to determine whether unmarried conjugal couples should benefit from the same rights and protections as married couples." Read the entire article: http://montreal.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20100519/mtl_lola_100517/20100519/?hub=MontrealHome By Wayne Parker, About.com Guide "Being involved in a family law proceeding like divorce, child custody, child support or others can be confusing and overwhelming for a father." Read the entire article: http://fatherhood.about.com/od/legalhelpforfathers/a/family_law_terms.htm?nl=1 By New York Daily News 5/22/2010 "...She reportedly also wants full custody of their two kids even though it was first thought the couple were going to agree to joint custody. ..." By KYW1060.com - Philadelphia 5/19/2010 "..."We really want to reach out to our clients who aren’t deadbeat fathers or mothers but are just dead broke.”..." Read the entire article: http://www.kyw1060.com/Montco-Job-Fair-Held-for-Parents-Who-Owe-Child-Sup/7105395 By Metropolitan News-Enterprise - California 5/19/2010 "A man whose 18-year-old daughter was four months short of graduating from boarding school had to still pay child support to her stepfather, the Third District Court of Appeal ruled yesterday, despite a state law requiring an agreement in order to uphold “voluntary” support obligations." Read the entire article: http://www.metnews.com/articles/2010/scho051910.htm By Appleton Post Crescent - Wisconsin 5/19/2010 "Slackers are not only the fathers in divorce cases. When the courts have awarded the father placement of the kids of a relationship, they receive little help from the local child support system." Read the entire article: http://www.postcrescent.com/article/20100519/APC0601/5190338/Letters-State-can-hold-delinquent-moms-accountable-too By Salt Lake City Weekly - Utah 5/18/2010 "Kenyon Eastin, 41, is on day four of a hunger strike from within the Tooele County Jail, protesting the treatment he has received in Utah divorce court." Read the entire article: http://www.cityweekly.net/utah/blog-3616-jailed-father-hunger-strikes-to-protest-child-support.html By Washington Examiner 5/18/2010 "A Virginia woman was taken into custody after police say she tried to pay off her boyfriend's child support using money stolen from a Maryland bank." By NBC Philadelphia - Pennsylvania (Video) "According to court documents, the 71-year-old wrote 293 checks to himself over the course of 13 years as the Director of Finance for the Valley Forge Convention and Visitors Bureau." Watch the video: http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local-beat/Alleged_Embezzler_Used_Money_for_Child_Support_Philadelphia.html By MyFox Washington DC 5/12/2010 "Frederick County Virginia Police have arrested a woman they say robbed a bank and tried to use the money to make her boyfriend’s child support payment." Read the entire article: http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpp/news/virginia/woman-robs-bank-to-pay-boyfriends-child-support-051210 By RTT News - Nevada 5/10/2010 "...The doctor who is accused of administering a fatal dose of propofol to the late King of Pop, won the fight on Friday when a child support hearing master denied a prosecutor's push to suspend his Nevada medical license for failing to pay $16,000 in child support. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.rttnews.com/Content/EntertainmentNews.aspx?Section=2&Id=1299305&SM=1 By Honolulu Star-Bulletin - Hawaii 5/12/2010 "QUESTION: The Child Support Enforcement Agency used to issue checks to child-support recipients but now deposits the money directly into U.S. Bank. The trouble is, no U.S. Bank branches exist in Hawaii, so anyone trying to access the money through ATMs gets hit with fees, which seems messed up. Can you look into this?" Read the entire article: http://www.starbulletin.com/columnists/kokualine/20100512_Child_support_may_be_directed_to_any_bank.html By Chicago Sun-Times 5/10/2010 "They've called it the "Mancession" -- a recession that has affected men disproportionately because of its brutal impact on male-dominated sectors like construction and manufacturing." Read the entire article: http://www.suntimes.com/business/2254120,CST-NWS-mancession10.article By Taranaki Daily News – New Zealand 5/10/2010 "A New Plymouth couple emerging from an expensive 18-month battle with the tax man over child support payments are wondering how many others are in the same boat." Read the entire article: http://www.stuff.co.nz/taranaki-daily-news/news/3674517/Couple-have-IRD-warning-for-others By State Gazette - Tennessee 4/29/2010 "...Bivens spoke to students at Dyer County High School on Thursday as part of a campaign called "What's the Rush?", which aims to raise awareness of the legal, financial and social consequences of becoming a teen parent. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.stategazette.com/story/1630479.html By Hamilton Spectator - Canada 5/3/2010 "...The donors are also vulnerable. They could find themselves being forced by a court to financially support the child they essentially gave up. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.thespec.com/News/BreakingNews/article/761843 By The New York Times 5/4/2010 "...But the court limited its rulings, ultimately leaving it up to the State Legislature to decide whether to amend state law to grant nonbiological parents full custody rights. ..." Read the entire article: http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/04/court-expands-rights-of-gay-parents/ By Pittsburgh Tribune-Review 5/7/2010 "A Greensburg woman, who allegedly tried to hire a hit man to kill her ex-boyfriend so she could obtain full custody of their son, needed to wait to make the deal until she received a child support payment from the victim." Read the entire article: http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/breaking/s_679889.html By Herald Sun - Australia 5/7/2010 "MOTHERS who do not have custody of their children and avoid paying child support to custodian fathers will be hounded and spied on at the same rate as men." Read the entire article: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/national/non-paying-mums-to-be-chased-for-child-support-like-deadbeat-dads/story-e6frf7l6-1225863412585 By Lexington Herald Leader - Kentucky "...Those contracts are exempt from review by the committee, even though some of them are more than $1 million a year, and county attorneys fear that the review might delay collection of child-support payments. ..." By Hollywood reporter 4/26/2010 "EXCLUSIVE: A man who says he pitched a reality show about collecting unpaid child support has sued Fox and production outfit 3Ball Prods for $1.19 million for going forward with the project without him." Read the entire article: http://thresq.hollywoodreporter.com/2010/04/deadbeat-dads-lawsuit.html By Cincinnati.com 4/27/2010 "As high school seniors prepare for graduation each year, the Clermont County Child Support Enforcement (CSE) office receives a lot of calls asking whether child support and medical insurance orders end when a child turns 18 or graduates from high school." Read the entire article: http://rodeo.cincinnati.com/getlocal/gpstory.aspx?id=100225&sid=165295 By This is Nottingham – United Kingdom "...David felt close to his only child from the moment she was born. "Emma would fall asleep on my chest. She would come into work with me on the Tube. We just bonded," he recalls, fondly. Today they share the same love of music and horses and even have similar handwriting. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/news/14-year-old-caught-courtroom-wrangle/article-2079992-detail/article.html By The Trentonian – New Jersey 4/21/2010 "...“He was dissatisfied,” said Mercer County Prosecutor Joe Bocchini of Johnson regarding his appearance in family court. “He was not happy. He felt the judicial system let him down.”..." Read the entire article: http://www.trentonian.com/articles/2010/04/21/news/doc4bcfa687b9adf456604573.txt By WLNS - Michigan 4/22/2010 "...Don Bentley: "'Cause I haven't been working. That's how I got back on my child support. Not many jobs out there."..." Read the entire article: http://www.wlns.com/Global/story.asp?S=12359566 By KOCO Oklahoma City 4/19/2010 "The number of parents paying child support out of their unemployment compensation has increased by more than half in a year, according to figures from Oklahoma Child Support Services." Read the entire article: http://www.koco.com/mostpopular/23195891/detail.html By 2TheAdvocate - Louisiana 4/17/2010 "...A related bill, SB236, weakens equal protection and works against the best interests of the child, as the child will in most cases be summarily denied true parenting by at least one parent, usually the father. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.2theadvocate.com/opinion/91150304.html By WLNS - Michigan 4/15/2010 "The Michigan appeals court says a man who mistakenly believed he was the father of his girlfriend's son cannot be pursued for child support." Read the entire article: http://www.wlns.com/Global/story.asp?S=12316946 By The Australian - Australia 4/16/2010 "MEN are using a new law to win back hundreds of thousands of dollars paid in child support for children they later discovered were not theirs."' Read the entire article: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/duped-dads-win-back-child-payments/story-e6frg6nf-1225854290980 By WRAL.com – North Carolina "Five men who say they're victims of paternity fraud met with some state lawmakers on Thursday." Read the entire article: http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/7427907/ By RightFielders Women in Sports - USA 4/16/2010 "With all of the marriages and subsequent divorces in Hollywood, celebrity child support is a hot topic these days." Read the entire article: http://sports.rightpundits.com/?p=4371 By WJZ 13 4/13/2010 "...Lawmakers approved a negotiated version of the legislation between the House of Delegates and Senate on Monday, the last day of the session. ..." Read the entire article: http://wjz.com/local/child.support.changes.2.1629434.html By 2TheAdvocate - Louisiana 4/8/2010 "A bill that would increase penalties against parents who deliberately fail to pay child support on time won Senate approval Wednesday." Read the entire article: http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/90185527.html By Pop Eater 4/12/2010 "...This begs the question, why is Jon the one paying Kate $20,000 a month in support payments? Dare we say it, should Kate be the one paying Jon? ..." Read the entire article: http://www.popeater.com/2010/04/12/jon-gosselin-kate-gosselin-custody/ By KING5.com 4/8/2010 "...William L. Field - nice guy. William J. Field - a guy who doesn't pay his kids' child support. The state of Arizona, didn't know the difference and wiped out William L. Field's bank account. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.king5.com/news/consumer/Wrong-mans-bank-account-cleared-for-child-support-money-90288342.html By Houston Chronicle - Texas 4/5/2010 "...In this case, however, the mom has a head of gray hair and has been collecting Social Security for more than a decade. The father was born in the heart of the Jazz Age, when a fellow named Coolidge resided in the White House. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/6944043.html By Jackson Clarion Ledger - Mississippi 4/4/2010 "For the first time, some paternity and child support cases are being heard at night in Hinds County Chancery Court." Read the entire article: http://www.clarionledger.com/article/20100404/NEWS/4040354/1001/Nighttime-court-aids-with-DHS-caseload By David Usher -- NewsWithViews.com 4/4/2010 "...The two remaining goals of welfare reform -- reducing the number of women on welfare rolls and improving child support collections – became the primary goal. PRWOWA served but one obvious purpose: to convert welfare assistance into child-support entitlements. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.newswithviews.com/Usher/david191.htm By WebWire (press release) - USA 4/6/2010 "...Chromosomal Laboratories, Inc. has seen steady growth for the past six years in all areas of DNA analysis, from forensic DNA, to infidelity to paternity testing which has had the largest growth so far this year. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.webwire.com/ViewPressRel.asp?aId=114892 By The Times and Democrat – South Carolina 4/4/2010 "...Many of the inmates who sued in federal court are being held for non-payment of child support. Child support inmates usually make up half or more of the total population, which averages about 400 inmates. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.thetandd.com/articles/2010/04/04/news/doc4bb80b755238c943943852.txt By UPI.com 4/5/2010 "An 81-year-old woman is suing her ex-husband in Los Angeles for the $50-per-month child support she says he was supposed to start paying in 1950." Read the entire article: http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2010/04/05/Child-support-60-years-late-woman-sues/UPI-98721270511136/ By Glenn Sacks -- Fathers and Families 4/7/2010 "...Fathers & Families has worked closely with Assemblyman Paul Cook, the American Retirees Association, and others on AB 2416, and last week thousands of you responded to our Action Alert in support of the Bill. We are pleased to announce that today the bill passed the Assembly Judiciary Committee unanimously. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.fathersandfamilies.org/?p=6658 By E-Online 4/7/2010 "...As his lawyer promised yesterday, the reality-TV dad has asked a Pennsylvania judge for primary custody of his eight kids with Kate Gosselin. By The National Law Journal 3/26/2010 "A prominent advertising executive's alleged promises to support his longtime girlfriend if they broke up are unenforceable because the couple never married, a Manhattan judge has ruled." Read the entire article: http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202446834354&Ad_Execs_Promises_to_Support_Longtime_Girlfriend_Ruled_Not_Binding By WJBF-TV 3/26/2010 "South Carolina is nearing completion of a centralized computer system to help track deadbeat parents and enforce child support payments, 22 years after federal law required it." Read the entire article: http://www2.wjbf.com/jbf/ap_exchange/south_carolina_news/article/ScChildSupportSystemAboutReadyAfter22YearsSc/68360/ By Kansas City Star 3/28/2010 "Thousands of single or divorced parents could face new child support fees ranging from $10 to $350 under legislation that would add a few bucks to Missouri's meager bank accounts. By McCook Daily Gazette 3/26/2010 "...Our State Disbursement Unit, which handles State Child Support, now emails billing statements to non-custodial parents. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.mccookgazette.com/story/1621504.html By South Bend Tribune.com - Indiana 3/27/2010 "...According to court records, Chambers told police he was behind in his child support from being unemployed before being hired as the store manager in 2007. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.southbendtribune.com/article/20100327/News01/100329501/-1/XML By Dayton Daily News - Ohio 3/28/2010 "Who’s your daddy? The answer can have a major impact on a child’s life, including custody, inheritance, Social Security and veterans benefits, health insurance coverage and family medical history." Read the entire article: http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/dayton-news/paternity-testing-business-thrives-consumers-pay-big--625451.html By PR Web (press release) –North Carolina 3/29/2010 "Rosen Law Firm has launched a complete NC child support calculator application for the iPhone and iPod touch. This is the first and only iPhone app to offer calculations for all three North Carolina child support worksheets, covering primary, joint and split custody." Read the entire article: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2010/03/prweb3797464.htm By 2TheAdvocate - Louisiana 3/31/2010 "...Quinn’s Senate Bill 475 would change the first-offense penalty of not paying child support from a maximum fine of $500 to a minimum fine of 5 percent of the amount owed, plus reasonable attorney fees. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/89573937.html By Times Bulletin 3/21/2010 "Here are the three levels of marital fighting: 1. Daily Drama - There is a disagreement and the couple doesn't talk to each other for awhile; 2. Forced Camping - Someone sleeps on a couch; 3. Attorney Contacted - Someone starts doing math the day after they sleep on the couch." Read the entire article: http://timesbulletin.com/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=4&ArticleID=158083 By Chicago Sun Times 3/24/2010 "...Agim Demiri of Naperville was in court for a child support case when he got upset and threw a raw egg at the presiding judge, according to a release from the DuPage County Sheriff's office. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.suntimes.com/news/24-7/2121033,egg-hearing-judge-child-support-032410.article By Charleston Daily Mail - 3/19/2010 "West Virginia's child support enforcement agency plans to use a $5 million federal stimulus grant to make its operation more efficient by ditching the paperwork." Read the entire article: http://www.dailymail.com/News/statehouse/201003190502 By Baltimore Sun 3/22/2010 "Some child support payments in Maryland could soon go up - a change that state Human Resources Secretary Brenda Donald called "long overdue."..." Read the entire article: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/legislature/bal-md.childsupport22mar22,0,2824239.story By News Leader 3/12/2010 "...Creating regional offices for the Family Support Division, rather than operating offices in each of the state's 114 counties." Read the entire article: http://www.news-leader.com/article/20103120383 Child support is more complicated than The Sun realizes -- Readers ResponseWednesday, 17 March 2010
By Baltimore Sun - Readers Response -- 3/16/2010 "Your view for increasing the child support guidelines ("A matter of fairness," Feb. 12) shows your lack of understanding of the real world and how families live." Read the entire article: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/readersrespond/bal-supportletter0315,0,6807030.story By Siskiyou Daily News - California 3/15/2010 "...Gary Sams, Regional Director of the SMRDCSS, stated at the meeting that he was making the request to reduce the Child Support Assistant II positions due to a number of factors, including the effects of the slowed economy on child support collections." Read the entire article: http://www.siskiyoudaily.com/news/x1526465147/Layoffs-approved-for-child-support-services By National Post - Canada 3/12/2010 "...When it comes to unanswered questions, Ms. Jordan said the "big two" are child support and custody or access -- issues that she said come up more often than she would like. ..." By Trevor Griffey -- Olympia Newswire (blog) – District of Columbia 3/15/2010 "One of the more significant points of difference between the state House and state Senate’s budget proposals relates to how to continue to fund welfare benefits, or funds for recipients of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)." Read the entire article: http://www.olympianews.org/2010/03/17/tanf-pass-through-in-jeopardy/ By Vikki L. Conwell -- Atlanta Journal Constitution - Georgia 3/16/2010 "...Kaufmann is one of a growing number of pro se litigants, people who use the courts without representation from an attorney. With the proper paperwork, clients can litigate simple proceedings such as uncontested divorces between parties who have reached a settlement agreement and possess few assets. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.ajc.com/business/family-law-centers-a-373776.html By Delmarva Daily Times - Maryland 3/16/2010 "...The parents were charged after the deputy witnessed physical injuries on both parents, according to police. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.delmarvanow.com/article/20100316/NEWS01/100316036/1002/WICOMICO-CRIME--Fight-over-child-support-leads-to-assault-charges By Baltimore Sun - Maryland 3/14/2010 "Fortunately I've never been divorced, so I've avoided the pitfalls of Maryland's child support system. Unfortunately, I know other's who haven't." Read the entire article: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/readersrespond/bal-supportletter0314,0,6741493.story By Washington Post 3/12/2010 "...Opponents argue that increases in child support payments are ill-advised because so many people face financial struggles in the recession. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/11/AR2010031103922.html By Justice News Flash 3/5/2010 "Raleigh, NC-Leading North Carolina divorce lawyers, Gailor, Wallis & Hunt, report that the most heated debate that arises during the process of divorce is about child custody, child support and visitation." Read the entire article: http://www.justicenewsflash.com/2010/03/11/north-carolina-divorce-attorneys-report-what-about-the-custody-of-our-children_201003113642.html By The Daily Record 3/9/2010 "The Maryland Senate on Tuesday passed legislation to change — for the first time since 1989 — the guidelines courts use to set child support payments." Read the entire article: http://mddailyrecord.com/2010/03/09/md-child-support-guidelines-haven%E2%80%99t-been-changed-in-two-decades/ By MetroWest Daily News – Massachusetts 3/10/2010 "A Framingham man told police Tuesday he bought cigarettes with a stolen credit card number so he could sell them and give the money to his baby's mother." Read the entire article: http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/news/x497924584/Framingham-man-charged-with-using-stolen-credit-card-number-for-child-support By WYFF Greenville – South Carolina 3/9/2010 "Greenville sheriff’s deputies are looking for a woman who they say forged child support checks and taking other checks that she wrote to herself." Read the entire article: http://www.wyff4.com/news/22785847/detail.html By New Zimbabwe.com "A BULAWAYO magistrate has ordered a father to pay maintenance to his 20-year-old daughter in what is believed to be a landmark case." Read the entire article: http://www.newzimbabwe.com/news-1994-Woman,+20,+wins+child+support+claim/news.aspx By DadsDivorce.com 2/1/2010 "Question: My ex-wife remarried and I have two boys with her, 15 and 10 years old. Her new husband supports her. She has her own cleaning business and makes about $600 per week. But she only reports she makes $400 a month when it to comes child support time. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.dadsdivorce.com/blog/ask-a-divorce-lawyer-remarriages-and-how-they-affect-child-support.html By Gothamist – New York "A Long Island woman lost her $500 down payment, after learning that the hitman she’d hired to kill her husband was actually an undercover cop." Read the entire article: http://gothamist.com/2010/03/06/li_mom_hired_bargain_bin_hit_man_to.php By Nick DiMarco --- MarylandReporter.com 3/3/2010 "An effort to raise child support payments for the first time in more than two decades met with intense debate in the Senate Tuesday." Read the entire article: http://www.marylandreporter.com/page5503459.aspx By Kingsport Times News - Tennessee 2/25/2010 "..."We see the effects of teen pregnancy a lot," said Guy Jones, deputy director of the Tennessee District Attorneys General Conference. The DAs enforce child support in more than two-thirds of the state. By law, teen parents, whether they have a job or not, are required to pay child support. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.timesnews.net/article.php?id=9020907 By Find Law – Florida 2/23/2010 "...The revised statutes assume shared parenting from the beginning of a child placement or support case. This model empowers parents to create comprehensive parenting plans that address child-related issues outside of the courts. ..." Read the entire article: http://knowledgebase.findlaw.com/kb/2010/Feb/82977.html By Financial Times – United Kingdom 2/24/2010 "...The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission, which took over the CSA’s functions in 2008, is still suffering serious IT problems, with cases getting “stuck” in the system, producing an “exponential rise” in the numbers that have to be handled manually, the Commons work and pensions committee, said." Read the entire article: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/1f27e8f8-1cd5-11df-8d8e-00144feab49a.html?nclick_check=1 By Fort Wayne Journal Gazette - Indiana 2/26/2010 "Parents who owe child support will have to pay up before collecting jackpot winnings at Indiana’s casinos under a bill passed unanimously by the Indiana House on Thursday." Read the entire article: http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20100226/NEWS07/302269977/1002/LOCAL By WLNS - Michigan 2/2/2010 "Jackson County judges say they've found a way to get people who own child support to pay up. Since it started two years ago, they say their "pay or stay program" has been successful. If people don't pay up, they'll stay put in jail for the weekend." Read the entire article: http://www.wlns.com/Global/story.asp?S=12046436 By Las Vegas Sun - Nevada 2/25/2010 "By a 21-0 vote, the Senate approved a bill to get more major employers to electronically transfer to the state the child support payments withheld from their workers." Read the entire article: http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/feb/25/senate-oks-bill-electronic-child-support-filing/ By Brantford Expositor - Canada 2/25/2010 "Leaving all of the emotional implications aside, one of the key issues when it comes to a divorce that involves children is the one that addresses child support." Read the entire article: http://www.brantfordexpositor.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2467267 By Reading Eagle - Pennsylvania 2/20/2010 "A Berks County Court judge said more and more parents are blaming the hard economic times for their failure to pay child support. Judge Timothy J. Rowley, who presides over support cases, said he is hearing parents making reference to the difficult job situation." Read the entire article: http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=197649 By KTSM News Channel 9- Texas 2/19/2010 "The Office of the Attorney General says one Socorro woman owes them hundreds of dollars, but she says they actually owe her money." Read the entire article: http://www.ktsm.com/news/troubleshooters/woman-told-to-pay-back-child-support By Danville News - Pennsylvania 2/22/2010 "...Randall Albertson, who owns Price’s Recycling Co. of Milton, said he was supposed to report to jail today for contempt of court since the state couldn’t account for $240 in child support payments he collected, under court order, from an employees’ paychecks. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.dailyitem.com/0100_news/local_story_053194847.html By Muncie Star Press - Indiana 1/23/2010 "...Delaware County police arrested Mansfield's daughter, Amy Jo Barker, 41, at his Briar Road home Friday evening on a four-year-old civil warrant. The warrant was issued after Barker failed to appear for a court date concerning unpaid child support she owes to her ex-husband, Clifford McKee. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.thestarpress.com/article/20100223/BUSTED/2230316 By Wyoming Tribune - Wyoming "...Senate File 8 requires parents to provide medical support of children as well as child support. Having passed the Senate, it is pending in House Judiciary. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.wyomingnews.com/articles/2010/02/22/news/20local_02-22-10.txt By KDKA - Pennsylvania 2/23/2010 "..."An individual is being responsible financially for a child that is not theirs and they feel that the responsibility should be carried on by the true biological father," Solobay said. ..." Read the entire article: http://kdka.com/kdkainvestigators/child.support.ruling.2.1515142.html By Columbus Dispatch - Ohio 2/21/2010 "As the recession drags on, record numbers of Ohio parents can't afford their court-ordered child-support payments. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.dispatchpolitics.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2010/02/21/copy/child_support.ART_ART_02-21-10_A1_0SGLBA8.html?adsec=politics&sid=101 By Cherokee Tribune - Georgia 2/21/2010 "Fewer people in Cherokee County are divorcing, according to court records, but those who have divorced are having more trouble getting child support payments." Read the entire article: http://www.cherokeetribune.com/view/full_story/6419944/article-Divorce-down--but-child-support-a-problem?instance=home_news_left
By Columbus Dispatch - Ohio 2/21/2010 "..."After taking out child support and insurance, I was left with next to nothing," he said. "I mean, I was lucky to have $80 or $90 every two weeks for my personal self -- and that's for everything."... Read the entire article: http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2010/02/21/Child_Support_Blues_print_ve.ART_ART_02-21-10_A4_0SGLBHF.html?sid=101 By Morganton News Herald – North Carolina 2/18/2010 "With the national unemployment rate more than 10 percent, a nationwide trend of missed child support payments or requests for reduced payments hits close to home." Read the entire article: http://www2.morganton.com/content/2010/feb/18/child-support-woes/ By Indianapolis Star - Indiana 2/10/2010 "Marion County prosecutors have filed forgery charges against a former state worker in connection with stolen child-support refunds." Read the entire article: http://www.indystar.com/article/20100210/NEWS02/2100375/Forgery-charges-filed-against-ex-state-worker By FayObserver.com – North Carolina 2/19/2010 "The director of the Cumberland County Social Services Department wants to privatize child-support enforcement." Read the entire article: http://www.fayobserver.com/Articles/2010/02/19/977371 By News Channel 7 – North Carolina 2/16/2010 "Levi Robertson says lately he has been spending a lot of time in courthouses across the Upstate. He said a child he fathered more than a decade ago recently was adopted by another family but the child's mother was still cashing his child support checks." Read the entire article: http://www.mensenews.org/administrator/index.php
By Las Vegas Sun 2/8/2010 "A man who once earned between $500,000 and $4 million a year in the stock market should have a chance to get his child support payments reduced now that the economy has soured and his earnings have declined, a court has ruled." Read the entire article: http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/feb/08/court-man-should-get-chance-lowered-child-support/ By Indianapolis Star - Indiana 2/15/2010 "A bill that would force casinos to screen jackpot winners for parents who owe child support faces a key hurdle in the Statehouse today." Read the entire article: http://www.indystar.com/article/20100215/LOCAL/2150332/Child-support-payout-proposal-irks-casinos By Billings Gazette - Montana 2/14/2010 "...Of that total, nearly $1 million was paid to Alternatives Inc. for room and board, $136,000 went to restitution for crimes, almost $600,000 was paid in income taxes, $154,000 was used to pay medical expenses and $80,000 was paid out in child support. Offenders also save as much as they can to prepare for their release. ..." Read the entire article: http://billingsgazette.com/news/local/article_4af673ae-190c-11df-8521-001cc4c03286.html By Utica Observer Dispatch – New York 2/15/2010 "Facing the loss of his law license, local attorney Leon Koziol on Monday compared his failure to pay child support for the last two years to the acts of civil disobedience carried out by Rosa Parks and other civil rights leaders in American history." Read the entire article: http://www.uticaod.com/news/x626058306/Koziol-responds-to-law-license-suspension By Utica Observer Dispatch, New York 2/11/2010 "Koziol has previously railed against the payments, calling them a violation of civil rights that disproportionately affect men, who are less likely to be awarded custody of their children than are women." Read the entire article: http://www.uticaod.com/features/x196130039/Koziol-has-law-license-suspended By Kingsville Record - Texas 2/10/2010 "...By deducting child support from employee paychecks, Texas employers play a key role in improving the economic security of children who rely on child support to cover many of their basic needs. ..." Read the entire article: http://kingsvillerecord.our-hometown.com/news/2010-02-10/Editorial/THANK_YOU_TEXAS_EMPLOYERS.html By UPI.com - Florida 2/10/2010 "A Florida man says the state is trying to force him to pay child support for a child who was born when he was 7 years old." Read the entire article: http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2010/02/10/Man-too-young-for-child-support-claims/UPI-74931265829387/ By Bermuda Sun - Bermuda 2/10/2010 "...A vast number of the country's laws are antiquated. Family Law is just one area of many in need of reform. It is not the courts' job to straighten out personal relationships but that's what it ends up being in the case of feuding parents. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.bermudasun.bm/main.asp?SectionID=4&SubSectionID=135&ArticleID=44616 By DailyAdvance.com 2/6/2010 "An example is Child Support Enforcement, the cost of which is being turned over by the state to local governments, starting July 1." Read the entire article: http://www.dailyadvance.com/yet-another-unfunded-mandate-14975 By Indianapolis Star - Indianapolis 2/10/2010 "Marion County prosecutors have filed forgery charges against a former state worker in connection with stolen child-support refunds." Read the entire article: http://www.indystar.com/article/20100210/NEWS02/2100375/Forgery-charges-filed-against-ex-state-worker By Department of Defense - USA 2/1/2010 "...Family support programs are a big winner in the budget with $8.1 billion. This includes funds for child support and youth programs, spouse employment, and commissaries. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=57818 By Mirror.co.uk – United Kingdom 2/2/2010 "Student dads who do not financially support their children could begin to pay child maintenance, the Government has signalled." Read the entire article: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2010/02/02/lessons-in-life-115875-22012416/ By Open Market.com - USA 2/2/2010 "Virginia legislators recently killed bills to extend child support to adult college students." Read the entire article: http://www.openmarket.org/2010/02/02/virginia-legislators-kill-bills-to-mandate-child-support-for-adult-college-students/ By WYFF4.com – South Carolina 2/1/2010 "A man went to a home to give his ex-girlfriend child support that she was demanding ended up being hit with a baseball bat, he said." Read the entire article: http://www.wyff4.com/news/22400848/detail.html By BoxingScene.com - USA 1/30/2010 "Former four-time heavyweight titlist Evander Holyfield recently filed documents in Cobb County Superior Court in Georgia to alter his existing child support agreement with his ex-wife Dr. Janice Itson." Read the entire article: http://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&id=25009 By Kansas City Star - Kansas 1/31/2010 "Missourians with overdue taxes may soon have more difficulty avoiding payment. Gov. Jay Nixon is a proposing a law that would let the state seize delinquent taxes directly from people's bank accounts." Read the entire article: http://www.kansascity.com/news/breaking_news/story/1718974.html By Southeast Texas Record 1/27/2010 "Montgomery County District Judge Frederick Edwards improperly sentenced a father to 180 days in jail for failure to pay child support, Ninth District appeals judges decided on Jan. 14." Read the entire article: http://www.setexasrecord.com/news/224359-justices-order-release-of-jailed-dad By WSAZ-TV – West Virginia 1/28/2010 "...Each inmate is required to have a job, help out around the facility, pay court costs, child support and put money away for their release. They are randomly drug tested and checked on at work. They are allowed two two-hour passes a week to do things like go to the bank and get hair cuts. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.wsaz.com/news/headlines/82843807.html By Baltimore Sun -- Maryland 1/27/2010 "An Abingdon man was found shot after Harford County sheriff's deputies tried to serve a warrant for child support, according to the sheriff's office." Read the entire article: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/harford/bal-warrant0127,0,730352.story By News-Leader.com - Missouri 1/19/2010 "...In addition, men have been disproportionately hit by the downturn's impact on industries like manufacturing and construction. That's critical because nearly 83 percent of custodial parents are women, leaving men to pay most child support obligations. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.news-leader.com/article/20100119/LIFE04/1190304/Job+loss+hinders+child+support+payments By The Star-Ledger - NJ.com - New Jersey 1/26/2010 "We’ve profiled two women in this space whose EPPICards — state-sanctioned debit cards from which users can access child support and alimony payments — were victims of fraudulent charges." Read the entire article: http://www.nj.com/business/index.ssf/2010/01/another_eppicard_user_misled_o.html
By Mansfield Chad – United Kingdom 1/26/2010 "ATTEMPTS by officials to force a bill of more than £40,000 on to the Wellow home belonging to a father fighting the Child Support Agency have been put on hold by a judge." Read the entire article: http://www.chad.co.uk/news/Wellow-dads-CSA-case-latest.6014004.jp By ABC News - Idaho 1/19/2010 "High unemployment caused by the recession has created unprecedented need statewide for food stamp aid and other public assistance programs, the chief of Idaho's Department of Health and Welfare said Tuesday." Read the entire article: http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=9604333 By Emanuel Cavallaro Springfield News Sun - Ohio 4/26/2009 "Four years ago, when Jamie Bowshier came home from Iraq, he had everything he wanted in life: A wife, three kids, a job, a house. A promising future. When he returned to his house on Seymour Street, he found that neighbors had lined the street with American Flags and tied red, white and blue balloons to the stop signs. ...Bowshier, 34, is now divorced and has lost custody of his three children. His kitchen countertop is lined with a month’s worth of mail, most of it bad news: late notices, Veterans’ Affairs documents, bills he can’t afford to pay. But things were going bad even before that. After the divorce late last year, he withdrew money from his 401(k) to catch up on his bills. Soon after, his paychecks were garnished for child support payments. His child support obligation was later reduced by about $200 when his ex-wife started working. But by that time, he was so far behind it seemed impossible to catch up." Read the entire article: http://www.springfieldnewssun.com/news/springfield-news/losing-everything-96076.html By Jamaica Gleaner - Jamaica 11/16/2009 "One particular tip from my Flair anniversary article - "legal tips for men" - attracted greater interest than others; namely, "If you had been maintaining a child and later discover that he or she is not your biological child, you may make an application for all sums spent on that child to be repaid to you."..." Read the entire article: http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20091116/flair/flair3.html By Star News - Minnesota 1/14/2010 "...Zeise said the county does not support transferring child support administration from the county to the state. ..." Read the entire article: http://erstarnews.com/content/view/10876/211/ By CTV.ca - Canada 1/8/2010 "A Montreal father is challenging a federal child support law that suspended his passport for failure to pay child support." Read the entire article: http://montreal.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20100108/mtl_deadbeat_passport100108/20100108/?hub=MontrealHome By MyFox Atlanta – Georgia (Video) 1/12/2010 "Federal investigators have virtually shut down a Georgia child support collections agency for keeping money that was supposed to go to children." Read the entire article/watch video: http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/dpp/news/i-team:-child-support-service-011210 By NewsChannel5.com - Tennessee 1/12/2010 "Gilmore was employed by Policy Studies, INC., who placed Gilmore at Child Support Services of Tennessee, where he is presumed to have gotten access to personal information." Read the entire article: http://www.newschannel5.com/Global/story.asp?S=11812538 By Daily Citizen - Georgia 1/12/2010 "The Division of Child Support Services (DCSS) and the Fatherhood Program are collecting teddy bears and other stuffed animals for children as part of their “Bearable Hugs for Georgia’s Children” campaign." Read the entire article: http://www.northwestgeorgia.com/local/local_story_012113653.html By Land Line Magazine - Missouri 1/12/2010 "...Besides losing their jobs and having numerous paychecks bounce, some Arrow drivers claimed that while the company deducted child support payments from their checks, the money was not forwarded on to the state agency in charge of disbursing the funds to the children and families. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.landlinemag.com/todays_news/Daily/2010/Jan10/011110/011210-01.htm By Telegraph.co.uk - United Kingdom 1/10/2010 "Emma Chapelhow, 13, claimed that the £43,000 the CSA was demanding her father, David, pay to his former partner, her mother, would bankrupt him and significantly impact on her lifestyle, and threatened to sue to the agency over a breach of its duty of care to her." Read the entire article: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/6961718/Reprieve-for-hero-father-over-Child-Support-Agency-demand.html By Appeal-Democrat - California 1/10/2010 By OregonLive.com - Oregon 1/9/2010 "...It should also be our highest priority for the children of divorced parents to have significant physical contact with both biological parents. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2010/01/involving_both_divorced_parent.html By YahooNews 7/2/2009 "Employers cut a larger-than-expected 467,000 jobs in June and the unemployment rate climbed to a 26-year high of 9.5 percent. Workers also saw weekly wages fall, suggesting Americans will have little appetite to spend and the economy's road to recovery will be bumpy." Read the entire article: By Cape May County Herald – New Jersey 12/23/2009 "To The Editor: This is concerning the "child support sweep" story in the Herald. I know the Herald only prints the information given them, but sometimes there are some circumstances that should be looked into before someone’s name is printed that could be potentially harmful to their reputation." Read the entire article: http://www.capemaycountyherald.com/article/57668-arrest+result+clerical+error By WJBF-TV – South Carolina 1/3/10 "...The new law requires men who believe they may have fathered children to register with the state or they can lose the ability to have a say in whether a child is put up for adoption. The registry cannot be used to pursue child support. ..." Read the entire article: http://www2.wjbf.com/jbf/ap_exchange/south_carolina_news/article/ScHopesNewFatherRegistryCouldSpeedAdoptionsSc/48410/ By MyFox Atlanta - Georgia 12/31/2009 "Federal investigators have stepped in to stop a Georgia child support collection agency from doing business, but this has left many parents confused about what they are now supposed to do." Read the entire article: http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/dpp/news/feds-stop-child-support-collection-firm-123109 By Traverse City Record Eagle - Michigan 1/2/2010 "...Michigan banks are now prohibited from freezing funds in accounts where only exempt funds are direct deposited and are easily identified as such. Public benefits can still be garnished where the debt involves alimony, child support, federal taxes or another federal agency, but beyond that are legally exempt. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.record-eagle.com/business/local_story_002220152.html By Burlington Times News – North Carolina 1/1/2010 "...Some men who try to have contact with their children can’t. Some men who pay to help support their children have legitimate concerns about how the money is spent. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.thetimesnews.com/articles/left-30706-align-need.html By The Northwest Florida Daily News - Florida 1/1/2010 "...During his interview, Schumacher confirmed he sold the marijuana to pay his child support. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.nwfdailynews.com/news/walton-24186-home-beach.html By WHAS 11.com (subscription) - Kentucky 1/5/2010 "...Family Rights Lawyer Louis Winner tells us another part of the problem. Many of his male clients don't want to ask for child support from women. Winner said, "it becomes a little more difficult for the father to say you know what, I need to go after and get child support because it's the right thing to do and it costs money to raise children."..." Read the entire article: http://www.whas11.com/news/local/Public-list-shows-rising-number-of-deadbeat-moms-80739297.html By Edmonton Journal - Canada 1/6/2010 "...A computer glitch caused multiple withdrawals, emptying three months of payments before employees noticed and stopped the transfers, Alberta Justice spokesman Jay O'Neill said. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.edmontonjournal.com/news/edmonton/Computer+glitch+wreaks+havoc+with+Alberta+child+support+payments/2408779/story.html By Vineland Daily Journal – New Jersey 12/24/2009 "A Millville woman wanted on a warrant for failure to pay child support was arrested Tuesday night by Vineland police." Read the entire article: http://www.thedailyjournal.com/article/20091224/NEWS01/912240324 By Sydney Morning Herald - Australia 12/27/2009 "NEARLY 1000 parents have had travel bans slapped on them because they are behind with their child support payments." Read the entire article: http://www.smh.com.au/national/parents-grounded-for-pay-failure-20091226-lfmk.html By WLKY.com - Kentucky 12/28/2009 "A family court judge in Kentucky has been publicly reprimanded over her handling of child support cases in three counties." Read the entire article: http://www.wlky.com/news/22074218/detail.html By Vineland Daily Journal – New Jersey 12/21/2009 "Addie Collins, 35, is being sought on a Cumberland County Superior Court Family Warrant for failure to pay $15,958.38 in child support payments." Read the entire article: http://www.thedailyjournal.com/article/20091221/NEWS01/912210309 By Bermuda Sun - Bermuda 12/18/2009 "A commonly cited problem faced by many parents (primarily fathers) who fail to fulfill this obligation is that they are often incarcerated, lose their job and consequently lose their ability to pay child support." Read the entire article: http://www.bermudasun.bm/main.asp?SectionID=4&SubSectionID=135&ArticleID=43928 By Englewood Herald – Colorado 12/22/2009 "...Village Police have charged a Monticello woman with damaging a 2004 BMW 754i with a hammer and dresser drawer in a dispute with a man over child support. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.catskillsnews.com/News/2009/December09/22/York_arr-22Dec09.html By KOAT.com – New Mexico 12/22/2009 "Douglas Miller said he jumped through hoops to make child support payments for his daughter." Read the entire article: http://www.koat.com/news/22032370/detail.html By The Canberra Times - Australia 12/16/2009 "Employment, health and child support services are to be brought together under one roof in a major shake-up to welfare services delivery announced yesterday." Read the entire article: http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/local/news/general/welfare-services-set-for-shakeup/1707038.aspx By Danville News - Pennsylvania 12/11/2009 "Getting parents to pay child support at a time when many Valley residents are losing employment is a tough job." Read the entire article: http://www.dailyitem.com/0100_news/local_story_345205845.html By Bradford Telegraph Argus – United Kingdom 12/14/2009 "A father-of-six has won a long-running battle with the Child Support Agency (CSA) for a refund of more than £1,350 – with the help of the Telegraph & Argus.: Read the entire article: http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/4792087.Dad_wins___1_350_refund_from_CSA___and_an_apology/ By NewsOK.com - Oklahoma 12/10/2009 "About 44,000 people in Oklahoma soon will see their state-collected child support income drop by $25 each year." By Coshocton Tribune - Ohio 12/10/2009 "Coshocton County Job and Family Services released a notice that the Office of Child Support recently was made aware of phishing text messages that have been sent to some e-Quick Pay debit card holders." Read the entire article: http://www.coshoctontribune.com/article/20091210/NEWS01/912100315 By jonathanturley - Florida 12/1/2009 "...He waited a year to get a hearing before Family law Judge Julian Piggotte to reduce his $2200 monthly payments in light of his lower income. Instead, Piggotte increased the payments and left Nelson with just $200 a month to survive. She then recused herself because her husband works with Nelson’s ex-wife at the state attorney’s office. ..." Read the entire article: http://jonathanturley.org/2009/12/03/father-loses-job-seeks-reduction-in-child-support-so-florida-judge-increases-payments-by-300-and-then-recuses-herself-for-a-conflict/ By Catherine Jun -- The Detroit News 12/7/2009 "Scores of Michigan parents have fallen behind on their child support payments, and state regulations prevent some from ever catching up." Read the entire article: http://www.detnews.com/article/20091207/METRO/912070348/Michigan-rules-derail-child-support-payments By Columbia Dispatch -- Ohio 12/5/2009 "Like a country song, the tale of the motorized bar stool that a Licking County drinker rode into notoriety grows richer with each added verse." Read the entire article: http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2009/12/05/barstool.ART_ART_12-05-09_B1_GLFT8ME.html?sid=101 By Canada.com - Canada 12/3/2009 "...After getting divorced, his ex-wife then married the man who was the child's actual biological father -- yet Mike is still legally obligated to pay child support: “I pay child support to a biologically intact family,” Mike told me, his voice cracking with incredulity. “A father and mother, married, who live with their own child. And I pay support for that child. How ridiculous is that?”..." Read the entire article: http://communities.canada.com/vancouversun/blogs/parenting/archive/2009/12/03/dna-paternity-test.aspx By WFTV.com9 – Florida 11/9/2009 "Eyewitness News found a local teacher who's only bringing home around $50 per week. A family court child support decision left him struggling to live and Eyewitness News found out it is not an isolated case." Read the entire article: http://www.wftv.com/news/21564032/detail.html By Robert Franklin, Esq. -- Mens News Daily 12/2/2009 "John Nelson went from six-figure-earning software exectutive to unemployed overnight. But his $2,200 child support payment didn't change that quickly. It took a year for him to get a hearing, and when he finally did, the judge increased his obligation." Read the entire article: http://mensnewsdaily.com/glennsacks/2009/12/02/family-attorney-marsha-freeman-the-system-is-broken/ By FOX Charlotte – North Carolina 12/1/2009 "...More women going back to work. Earning more money. And suddenly able to pay more child support. But they might not want to. Hollen talked about a recent case, saying "The mom said that she was only working part time and couldn't get to work. Come to find out she had a car, she had her own place, she was working full time."..." Read the entire article: http://www.foxcharlotte.com/dpp/news/deadbeat_moms_120209 By Janesville Gazette - Wisconsin 12/1/2009 "...Family breakups are generally just as financially difficult for fathers as for mothers. Women’s advocates often claim that divorced or separated mothers are quickly reduced to poverty, while newly single fathers enjoy large increases in their standards of living. Once again, this is outright nonsense. ..." Read the entire article: http://gazettextra.com/news/2009/dec/01/deadbeat-dads-term-unfair-caring-fathers/ By Seattle Times 11/22/2009 "Last December, a state child-support enforcement officer in Vancouver made a startling discovery: The state of Washington had taken nearly $21,000 over 10 years from a father for child support he did not owe." Read the entire article: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2010327508_childsupport22m.html By Examiner.com - Michigan 11/25/2009 "...This law has stopped many fathers their rights and or visitation to their children. Some even can’t pay child support, her husband is responsible. But there is a flip-side to this as well….Some husbands don’t want to be responsible for children that are not theirs, but the law make them pay the child support. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.examiner.com/x-3284-Detroit-Top-News-Examiner~y2009m11d25-You-are-the-fatherBut-if-shes-married-under-Michigan-Law-youre-not The Birmingham News - al.com - Alabama 11/24/2009 "...Ron Burt, project director for the program that serves people in the Bessemer Cutoff, said more than half of the participants in the fathering court program faced jail time for failure to pay child support. Burt said some are quick to label the men in the program "deadbeat dads," but that it is usually a lack of work or low-paying jobs that has caused them to fall behind." Read the entire article: http://blog.al.com/birmingham-news-stories/2009/11/bessemer_court_program_helps_m.html By Gather.com - USA 11/19/2009 "...Based on U.S. Census data, non-custodial mothers are 20% more likely to default on their child support obligations than non-custodial fathers. This is despite the fact that non-custodial mothers are less likely to be required to pay child support. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977909476 By Gather.com - USA 11/19/2009 "...“The Child Support System is a little known mess of incompetence and corruption…unless of course you have been caught up in it.” These are the opening words to a new website that promises to play a part in gathering a petition to Reform Child Support Law! ..." Read the entire article: http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977909451 By In-Forum - Minnesota 11/18/2009 "The state of Minnesota is considering taking on the collection of court-ordered child support, which is now handled by counties." Read the entire article: http://www.inforum.com/event/article/id/260026/group/life/ By KVBC - Nevada 11/16/2009 "Michael Jackson's former doctor remains under criminal investigation for the pop star's death. But as far as the doctor's late child support payments, his slate has been wiped clean." Read the entire article: http://www.kvbc.com/Global/story.asp?S=11516252 By The Barrie Examiner - Canada 11/17/2009 "...I explained to the frontline worker that I receive $825 net from the Department of National Defence and $475 net from Veterans Affairs, however, I pay $900 in child support, which leaves me $400 a month to live off. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.thebarrieexaminer.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2178550 By KCTV5 11/19/2009 "In states like Kansas, DNA evidence is not enough to prove who a child's father is under the law." To View Video: http://www.kctv5.com/video/21605184/index.html By Middletown Journal - Ohio 11/10/2009 "A dad who has refused to pay child support will spend the next five Father’s Days in jail." Read the entire article: http://www.middletownjournal.com/news/crime/dad-sentenced-to-spend-fathers-days-in-jail-for-not-paying-support-393288.html By Fox4kc.com - Missouri 11/6/2009 "...With no money, doing odd jobs, and a sobriety issue, Gainey fell behind in his child support, and wound up facing criminal charges. Despite that, prosecutors deemed him a good candidate for a diversion program that could give Gainey a fresh start and keep him out of prison: fathering court. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.fox4kc.com/news/wdaf-story-daddy-do-over-110609,0,5997057.story By Lufkin Daily News - Texas 11/8/2009 "Dear Jeff: My son has been divorced for three years now and has three children in his custody. The mother is supposed to pay child support but has been in hiding all this time." Read the entire article: http://www.lufkindailynews.com/hp/content/business/stories/2009/11/08/ask_the_lawyer.html By 4029TV.com - Arkansas 11/5/2009 "They have failed to pay child support for years. Now, the Washington County Sheriff's Office has put the faces of “deadbeat moms and dads” on its Web site, and it's getting a lot of attention." Read the entire article: http://www.4029tv.com/news/21535509/detail.html By WESH.com - Florida 11/7/2009 "...Rodriguez was divorced twice and owed child support to two former wives that he couldn't pay. One friend said Rodriguez became more and more bitter about being unable to find another engineering job, about having to move back in with his mother and about making around $20,000 a year working at Subway. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.wesh.com/news/21549316/detail.html By The Star-Ledger - NJ.com – New Jersey 11/8/2009 "By early morning yesterday, it was clear the four-day "Fugitive Safe Surrender" in Newark was on track to be one of the biggest in the country." Read the entire article: http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/jersey/index.ssf?/base/news-15/1257642908201950.xml&coll=1 By Hilton Head Island Packet – South Carolina 11/7/2009 "Separate accusations against former Beaufort County Clerk of Court Elizabeth Smith and a former Union County Clerk of Court for misuing state child support funds haven't shaken the state's confidence in its 46 clerks of court." Read the entire article: http://www.islandpacket.com/news/local/story/1027330.html By Times Online - UK 11/5/2009 "Surveillance powers to counter terrorism will be used to track absent parents who fail to pay child support, the Government said yesterday. " Read the entire article: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article6903610.ece By Examiner.com - USA 11/4/2009 "...Since being laid off, Dave had sent out hundreds of resumes and not one single interview. It wasn't Dave’s fault yet the child support bureau suspended his license and he was being hauled into court. Dave was now a criminal and said he would start robbing people to avoid going to jail. After that the child support bureaucracy started taking child support from Dave’s unemployment and he and his family lost their home. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.examiner.com/x-16500-Lake-County-Independent-Examiner~y2009m11d4-Economic-crisis-turning-dads-into-criminals By Donna St. George -- Washington Post 11/4/2009 "Maryland officials are proposing what would be the first increase in 20 years in the recommended amount for child support payments." Read the entire article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/03/AR2009110303428_pf.html By My Eyewitness News Memphis - Tennessee 11/3/2009 "A private child support agency that collects money from Memphis parents has landed itself in Federal Court. Child Support Services of Atlanta was sued by the U.S. Postal Service. The USPS says the company is using the mail in a scheme to illegally collect money." Read the entire article: http://www.myeyewitnessnews.com/news/local/story/Child-Support-Company-Sued-By-U-S-Postal-Service/559MR0E_Bk60gathWF6RnA.cspx By The Washington Post 11/4/2009 "CBS sportscaster Jim Nantz must pay $916,000 yearly in alimony and child support to his ex-wife and give up their Connecticut home under terms of a newly issued divorce decree." Read the entire article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/03/AR2009110303395.html By Charleston Gazette – West Virginia 11/1/2009 "A Putnam County woman has sued the state Department of Health and Human Resources for more than $15,000 in unpaid child support she allegedly lost because DHHR did not file her claim in a timely manner." Read the entire article: http://wvgazette.com/News/Putnam/200911010427 By Catholic Online - Ohio 11/1/2009 "...Ray Lautenschlager, President of Parents and Children for Equality, says she is correct. He has been following the Macfarlane case for years. "Parents who lose custody are being ordered to pay to support their children twice: first in their home where when they spend time with the children, and then in the other parent's home."..." Read the entire article: http://www.catholic.org/prwire/headline.php?ID=8027 By Monroe News Star - Louisiana 10/31/2009 "Richard King, 36, of 1316 Keystone Road, Monroe, was accused of forging time sheets at a temporary employment agency. Monroe police charged King with felony theft, arrested him and booked him at Ouachita Correctional Center, where he remained on a $5,000 Saturday." Read the entire article: http://www.thenewsstar.com/article/20091031/UPDATES01/91031010 By The Auburn Plainsman - Alabama 10/30/2009 "Last week, the Alabama Supreme Court ruled parents whose parental rights have been terminated are still required to pay child support, setting a legal precedent within the state. The Supreme Court overturned a state appeals court decision that stated a parent who lost rights to a child was no longer required to pay child support." Read the entire article: http://www.theplainsman.com/pages/full_story/push?article-Our+View-+Ruling+on+Child+Support+Creates+Questions-+Worry%20&id=4200351&instance=home_news_lead_story By Alan Bock Sr. editorial writer -- The Orange County Register 10/23/2009 "...Then people offering services described what's available. The county has a child-support office that can help parolees get child-support payments adjusted or devise a realistic payment schedule, and can help them get drivers' licenses or a state ID card. Santa Ana College has a free program to get a GED." Read the entire article: http://www.ocregister.com/articles/prison-parolees-parole-2621461-many-most
By Quad City Times - Iowa 10/24/2009 "Proposed state budget cuts will mean the loss of more than $15 million in child support payments in Iowa, according to state estimates." Read the entire article: http://www.qctimes.com/news/state-and-regional/article_0bbb00ea-c053-11de-9cbc-001cc4c03286.html By Silver City Sun News – New Mexico 10/26/2009 "...The surveys determined that the majority of people needed simple legal advice in four main areas: landlord-tenant rights, family law (including divorces, custody, paternity and child support), consumer protection (identity theft), and estate planning (wills, and powers of attorney). So the attorneys got together and planned a day of free legal advice in the form of several short seminars on issues such as family law, consumer protection, landlord-tenant rights and estate planning." Read the entire article: http://www.scsun-news.com/ci_13648348 By Tyler Morning Telegraph - Texas 10/24/2009 "A Smith County Probation Department employee pocketed thousands of dollars from Spanish-speaking men who depended on her to process their child support payments. Glenda Everett-Olvera instead stole their money and the mothers and children who needed the child support were left to do without, an assistant district attorney said." Read the entire article: http://www.tylerpaper.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091024/NEWS08/910240336 By The Associated Press - USA 10/23/2009 "The doctor being investigated in Michael Jackson's death told a court he can't afford to pay $13,000 in child support and other debts because he was forced to close his medical practice after physical threats against him and his staff, according to court documents obtained Friday." Read the entire article: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gvcLH28ub3AyGjplQ256FNiOT6CQD9BGVERG0 By York Daily Record - Pennsylvania 10/27/2009 "Just after 1 p.m., a former boyfriend was visiting the mother of his child at an apartment in the first block of West Broad Street when an argument took place over child support concerning their 9-month-old daughter, according to York Area Regional Police Sgt. Rod Varner. During the argument, the girlfriend got a large kitchen knife and cut her ex-boyfriend in the arm and abdomen, he said. He was taken to York Hospital by ambulance, he said." Read the entire article: http://ydr.inyork.com/ci_13644287 By OPB News, Oregon 10/28/2009 "The state of Oregon is planning to streamline the way parents make child support payments. ..." Read the entire article: http://news.opb.org/article/6113-oregon-using-federal-grant-simplify-child-suppor-payments/ By Naples Daily News 10/28/2009 "...“She is a deadbeat mom and owes me close to $15,000 in child support,” Ballard said of the alleged victim, adding that he has custody of their 6-year-old daughter. Ballard said Amy Nicole Engel, 36, also known as Amy Brownlow, is the mother of his child and made up the kidnapping story. Court records show he obtained a domestic violence restraining order against her and she was sentenced to probation after violating it, and spent time in jail here. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2009/oct/28/federal-kidnapping-charges-dropped-against-estates/ By Providence Journal – Rhode Island 10/26/2009 "Greg Isaac, center, says he is doing his very best to pay his child support but is having trouble because of the bad economy and lack of jobs (he’s applied for over 50)." Read the entire article: http://www.projo.com/news/content/CHILD_SUPPORT_10-26-09_IOG52JP_v26.37ce26a.html
By Teri Stoddard -- Family Rights Examiner 10/26/2009 "How can a well-respected nuclear physicist become a destitute man on the run, then ultimately a hunger-striking inmate? If you asked Dr. Amir Sanjari, he'd say all you have to do is go through a divorce in Indiana." Read the entire article: http://www.examiner.com/x-15873-Family-Rights-Examiner~y2009m10d26-Jailed-father-refuses-solid-food-122-days-and-counting By Daily Gleaner - Canada 10/19/2009 "Occasionally, a client comes into the office who has suffered through a marital breakdown, and it's sad to see, particularly when there are children involved. Invariably, once the regrets are extended, the question we ask is, "How amicable is the separation?"..." Read the entire article: http://nbbusinessjournal.canadaeast.com/gleaner/article/828504 By The Australian - Australia 10/19/2009 "THE Rudd government is planning to roll back the controversial shared parenting law passed in the final term of the Howard government, enraging men's groups, which say the laws have finally given them access to their children after separation." Read the entire article: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,26228074-5013404,00.html By SYS-CON Media - Montvale, New Jersey 10/19/2009 "...Pennsylvania is the first state in the nation to meet and exceed the five federal performance standards for establishment of paternity, establishment of court orders for child support, collection of current support, cases paying on arrears and administrative cost effectiveness. In addition, more than 85 percent of children receiving support currently have health insurance or other means of medical support. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.sys-con.com/node/1149505
By DesMoinesRegister.com, Iowa 10/16/2009 "A western Iowa boy given his mother’s last name at birth because the father was unknown should keep the mother's surname, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled today. The ruling upheld an Iowa Court of Appeals ruling to reverse a Buena Vista County judge’s earlier decision to change the boy’s last name as requested by his father, Joshua Braunschweig." Read the entire article: http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20091016/NEWS/91016009/-1/SPORTS09 By WYMT - Kentucky 10/15/2009 "A flagrant child support bust leads police to something they say they won't soon forget. Police were out early Thursday morning going after more than fifty parents they say are behind on child support payments. The bust led police to a home where police say they found a woman and three children living in some of the worst conditions they say they have ever seen." Read the entire article: http://www.wkyt.com/news/headlines/64443667.html By West Virginia Record – West Virginia 10/8/2009 "Former spouses often squabble over child support, but only once have they squabbled at the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals." Read the entire article: http://www.wvrecord.com/news/221529-former-spouses-argue-over-child-support-at-supreme-court By The Coloradoan - Colorado 10/8/2009 "A former Denver Broncos player who has been repeatedly cited for failing to pay child support has been ordered to appear in court once again to explain why he's behind on his payments." Read the entire article: http://www.coloradoan.com/article/20091008/NEWS01/910080332/Johnson-ordered-to-court-on-child-support-complaint By The Star – United Kingdom 10/8/2009 "A SOUTH Yorkshire dad has been left bewildered by demands of £10,000 from the Child Support Agency - despite paying maintenance at a level agreed by a court." Read the entire article: http://www.thestar.co.uk/news/Dad39s-arrears-claim-fight.5711654.jp By People.com 10/9/2009 "Kate Gosselin has filed paperwork asking for child support and temporary spousal support in the wake of Jon Gosselin taking nearly $230,000 fromn their bank account, says Mark Momjian, one of her divorce attorneys." Read the entire article: http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20311469,00.html?xid=rss-topheadlines By People.com 10/13/2009 "Jon and Kate Gosselin arrived separately Tuesday to meet with their attorneys and a court-appointed arbitrator to hammer out financial issues in their contentious divorce." Read the entire article: http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20311872,00.html?xid=rss-topheadlines By West Virginia Record - West Virginia 10/8/2009 "A Kanawha County woman is alleging the procrastination of her attorney, a former family lawmaster, left her on the hook for over $55,000 in child support overpayments." Read the entire article: http://www.wvrecord.com/news/221530-former-kanawha-family-lawmaster-accused-of-mishandling-family-law-case By Akron Beacon Journal - Ohio 10/5/2009 "Jeremy Bowling hasn't made a single child-support payment in 19 months. He does, however, have a decent excuse. He's dead. Has been for 19 months." Read the entire article: http://www.ohio.com/news/dyer/63561382.html# By Governors Office of Consumer Affairs 8/31/2009 "The Governor’s Office of Consumer Affairs (OCA) is cautioning parents about engaging private companies to collect outstanding child support." Read the entire article: http://consumer.georgia.gov/00/press/detail/0,2668,5426814_94800056_148120518,00.html By Connecticut Post - Connecticut 10/7/2009 " A man state marshals attempted to take into custody Tuesday night for allegedly failing to pay back child support opened fire, injuring one of the marshals, police said." Read the entire article: http://www.connpost.com/ci_13500846?source=most_viewed# By MyNorthwest.com – Washington State 10/6/2009 "Some needy families in Washington are getting larger welfare checks thanks to a change in federal law. The change allows states to send child support payments directly to welfare families instead of keeping some of the money for administration." Read the entire article: http://www.mynorthwest.com/?nid=11&sid=221362 By Abilene Reporter-News - Texas 10/5/2009 " Christian leaders seem to be asking themselves for answers on the steady erosion of institutional marriage. Steve Queen, director of First Baptist Church’s Ministry of Counseling and Enrichment, said he wished the state of Texas allowed for “legal separations,” allowing those in struggling marriages to sometimes separate, get child support through a court order and attempt to work things out in the interim." Read the entire article: http://www.reporternews.com/news/2009/oct/05/the-other-side-of-marriage/ By Press-Register - al.com - Alabama 9/30/2009 "The Alabama Supreme Court set a new legal standard in the state Wednesday by ruling that child support payments are not automatically extinguished when parental rights are terminated." Read the entire article: http://blog.al.com/live/2009/09/updated_alabama_high_court_set.html By Wavy.com 9/30/2009 "WAVY.com's investigation into a local contractor revealed a criminal history of bounced checks and bad business dealings. Now our ongoing investigation of Dan Robinson and RIDG Inc. revealed allegations of unpaid child support from one employee's paycheck, and that father says if he doesn't come up with money soon, he has to go to jail." Read the entire article: http://www.wavy.com/dpp/news/local_news/local_wavy_virginiabeach_RIDG_Inc_child_support_accusations_20090930 By The News-Press, Ft. Myers Florida 10/2/2009 "A Lee County courts program is violating the civil rights of people ordered to pay child support, sometimes resulting in their wrongful arrest, an attorney claims in a petition filed with a state appellate court." Read the entire article: http://www.news-press.com/article/20091002/SS08/91001080/1075 By Atlanta Journal Constitution - Georgia 10/5/2009 "A Georgia woman is personally liable to seeking child support payments from former pro basketball player Jason Caffey after he had filed for bankruptcy protection." Read the entire article: http://www.ajc.com/news/georgia-woman-must-repay-154645.html By Quad City Times - Iowa 10/5/2009 "Advocates are pushing for improvements to Iowa's child support policies, saying it can take too long to adjust the amount parents are ordered to pay. That delay is most apparent when a parent paying child support loses a job or faces another significant change in their financial circumstances, they say." Read the entire article: http://www.qctimes.com/news/local/article_ae367734-b160-11de-a2b4-001cc4c03286.html By Examiner.com - USA 10/3/2009 "In the Matter of Thomas B. v Lydia D. the New York State Supreme Court, Appellate Division, ruled on Thursday, October 1, that parents in New York State cannot contract away their obligation to take care of their children until age twenty-one. The issue before the court was whether or not a child's full-time employment by itself constituted emancipation and therefore released the parents from child support obligations." Read the entire article: http://www.examiner.com/x-14537-Albany-CPS-and-Family-Court-Examiner~y2009m10d3-Court-says-parents-in-New-York-cannot-contract-away-obligation-to-support-children-until-age-21 By Boston Herald - Massachusetts 9/30/2009 "The state Appeals Court has refused to get involved in a mother’s efforts to force a Newton sperm bank to reveal the identity of her twin daughters’ father so she can sue him for child support." Read the entire article: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view/20090930appeals_court_denies_case_to_id_sperm_donor/srvc=home&position=recent By Farsley Today – United Kingdom 9/25/2009 "After a battle with the Child Support Agency, Armley's Tony Nelson couldn't believe his eyes when he received a letter telling him he was entitled to a refund." Read the entire article: http://www.farsleytoday.co.uk/4270/Armley-man-gets-Child-Support.5680518.jp By The Chattanoogan Opinion - Tennessee 9/28/2009 "I just learned one of my young male neighbors, presently unemployed, was recently jailed and is now serving 11/29 for non-payment of child-support. I guess I'm one of the few ones who scratch my head and could never understand the benefits to the child or children and society as a whole for locking someone up for failure to pay child-support, especially if they're not in a position to pay due to job loss." Read the entire article: http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_159775.asp By Greg Hardesty --The Orange County Register 9/17/2009 "A Costa Mesa mother who started a Web site to track parents who fail to pay child support has been sued for slander by the man who inspired her venture: The father of her 8-year-old son." Read the entire article: http://www.ocregister.com/articles/young-rebeil-child-2570681-support-lawsuit By Orlando Sentinel - Florida 9/21/2009 "...Question: I pay child support for two girls, ages 9 and 7, but my ex-wife refuses to allow me to claim any one of them as my dependent. Is there any way to prevent this from happening? ..." Read the entire article: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/features/orl-livask-lawyer-child-support-092092109sep21,0,4051759.column By GroundReport - USA 9/21/2009 "... In the case of parental responsibilities however, these roles while changing have not kept up with the times in terms of gender bias toward men's rights in the areas of child custody, more specifically as applied to a Mother paying her fair share of child support. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.groundreport.com/Business/Where-Is-The-Outrage-For-Deadbeat-Mothers/2908017 By Fort Wayne Journal Gazette - Indiana 9/21/2009 "The Indiana Supreme Court last week issued sweeping changes to the state’s child-support guidelines that will take effect Jan. 1. The changes could mean some parents who don’t have primary custody of their children will actually receive child-support payments from custodial parents." Read the entire article: http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20090921/LOCAL/309219992/1002 By Steve Lash Daily Record (subscription) - Maryland 9/21/2009 "A man who waited nearly 13 years to contest paternity of his ex-wife’s child must continue to pay child support, even though he’d had a vasectomy years before she conceived and the DNA test ultimately proved he was not the child’s biological father. Maryland’s top court said a Garrett County judge erred in ordering the paternity test without considering if Darren G. Kamp’s challenge was in the best interest of the child, Julie, in light of the strong bond she and Kamp had formed." Read the entire article: http://www.mddailyrecord.com/article.cfm?id=13439&type=UTTM By Steve Vockrodt Bizjournals.com - Kansas 9/22/2009 "The Missouri Court of Appeals sided with a former employee of the Kansas City Club who said he was fired because he received a court order to pay child support." Read the entire article: http://kansascity.bizjournals.com/kansascity/stories/2009/09/21/daily12.html By It Online – Georgia -- Press Release 9/23/2009 "In 2003, The American Association of Blood Banks found that in almost 30 percent of the paternity tests conducted the man being tested is not the biological father. ...Sharon Squires, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Sociology at California State University-Dominguez Hills, and Carnell Smith PfV have joined forces to develop a new on-line survey, the first of its kind, which will examine the emotional, financial, legal, and social impact of paternity fraud on men. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.itnewsonline.com/showprnstory.php?storyid=65824 By Reuters -- Press Release 9/17/2009 "...The Fatherhood Initiative of the YMCA of Greater Des Moines is a program designed to help strengthen parental skills and involvement of men who have been living apart from their children and/or involved in court child support cases. The Fatherhood Initiative is based on the premise that the lives of children, families and the community as a whole improve when fathers and mothers share responsibility for their children. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS148021+17-Sep-2009+PRN20090917 By Columbus Dispatch - Ohio 9/20/2009 "...My ex-wife recently told me that I was behind in support. When I said that our son was no longer a minor, she said that I should review our divorce papers, which, somehow, extended my responsibility by almost a year because he has not graduated from high school. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.columbusdispatch.com/live/content/life/stories/2009/09/20/matrimony.html?sid=101 By John Bear -- Valencia County News Bulletin - New Mexico 9/19/2009 "A Bosque Farms Police Officer has been arrested on a warrant for past-due child support, making him the second officer from the department arrested in as many weeks." Read the entire article: http://www.news-bulletin.com/nb/index.php/news/607-BF-officer-surrenders-in-child-support-case.html By The Times of Trenton - NJ.com -- New Jersey 9/19/2009 "A local attorney has uncovered a glitch in the software the state uses to calculate child support awards, prompting an investigation into how widespread the problem is, officials have confirmed." Read the entire article: http://www.nj.com/news/times/regional/index.ssf?/base/news-18/1253339125156690.xml&coll=5 By Atlanta Journal Constitution - Georgia 9/19/2009 "One man was killed and another critically injured Friday following a shooting in Haralson County on Friday, about an hour west of Atlanta. The incident apparently began when a woman and her husband stopped by the Buchanan home of her ex-husband to pick up a child support payment, said Deputy Jim Beck." Read the entire article: http://www.ajc.com/news/one-killed-one-critical-141797.html By Mount Vernon News - Ohio 9/16/2009 "A Mount Vernon man will not be forced to continue to pay child support for his 18-year-old daughter while she is in college following a hearing Monday." Read the entire article: http://www.mountvernonnews.com/local/09/09/16/child-support-ends-at-18-for-family By Los Angeles Times - California 9/15/2009 "A prosecutor in the second trial of Cameron John Brown says he threw the 4-year-old off a Palos Verdes Peninsula cliff in 2000. His attorney says he loved her and that she slipped and fell." Read the entire article: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-brown16-2009sep16,0,4746093.story By Glenn Sacks, MA for Fathers & Families --- MensNewsDaily.com 9/14/2009 "Private child support collection companies are one of the more noxious plagues afflicting divorced parents. In 2008, Fathers & Families led a successful campaign against FOX, which planned to air Bad Dads, a show which would glorifies the role of private child support collectors. Fox dropped the show in the wake of our protests, which made 300 newspapers." Read the entire article: http://mensnewsdaily.com/glennsacks/2009/09/14/private-child-support-collection-firm-accused-of-scamming-innocent-fathers/ By Oneonta Daily Star – New York 9/15/2009 "A former Delaware County Social Services worker was sent to jail Monday to start a three-month sentence for stealing more than $53,000 from a fund containing child-support payments." Read the entire article: http://www.thedailystar.com/local/local_story_258072714.html By OC Register 9/14/2009 "A UC Irvine graduate student is accused of shooting his ex-wife to death outside on-campus housing Sunday night during a custody exchange of the couple’s 4-year-old son, police announced this morning." Read the entire article: http://www.ocregister.com/articles/woman-irvine-shooting-2563821-suspect-cns By Minneapolis Star Tribune -- Minneapolis 9/4/2009 "Mari Weiss is waiting for thousands of dollars in child support, money she needs to keep her home in Lakeland out of foreclosure. But the deadbeat isn't her ex-husband -- it's the state of Minnesota." Read the entire article: http://www.startribune.com/local/57428247.html?elr=KArksc8P:Pc:UHDaaDyiUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aU7DYaGEP7vDEh7P:DiUs
By KFYR-TV – North Dakota 9/9/2009 "..."Anytime you`re dealing with an order that`s too expensive it`s going to cause a problem," says Mike Schwindt, the child support enforcement director. "So this is a better way of making sure that there`s a more equal sharing of the resources that way. We think it`s a step in the right direction."..." Read the entire article: http://www.kfyrtv.com/News_Stories.asp?news=33799 By Minnesota Lawyer - Minnesota 9/3/2009 "...Enter the Family Law Appellate Mediation Pilot Project, instituted by the Court of Appeals a year ago. The case was immediately diverted into the program, and a trained mediator was assigned to the case. The case shortly thereafter settled, with the parties mutually agreeing to a substantially reduced back-support payment." Read the entire article: http://www.minnlawyer.com/article.cfm/2009/09/07/Appellate-family-law-mediation-converting-the-skeptics By Cherry Hill Courier Post -- New Jersey 9/8/2009 "I had a conversation with a friend whose son was arrested recently on nonpayment of child support. He had been unemployed for more than a year but was making minimal payments when he could." Read the entire article: http://www.courierpostonline.com/article/20090908/OPINION/909080308/1047 By KOLO - Nevada 9/6/2009 "A state task force is looking at ways to improve the collection of delinquent child support Read the entire article: http://www.kolotv.com/news/headlines/57610547.html By Marietta Times - Georgia 9/5/2009 "In an economy that continues to generate unemployment in record numbers and create financial stress, people looking for reviews or adjustments of their required child support payments are growing in number." Read the entire article: http://www.mariettatimes.com/page/content.detail/id/515549.html?nav=5002 By Courthouse News Service - Georgia 9/9/2009 "Child Support Services of Atlanta used the U.S. mail to wantonly mislead parents into believing it is a state agency and persuade them to send it child support payments, which its owner Stuart Clay Cole stole for himself, the Post Office claims. The federal complaint claims Cole's company has offices in Georgia and 12 other states, and used threats and intimidation to get money from noncustodial parents." Read the entire article: http://www.courthousenews.com/2009/09/09/Post_Office_Accuses_Georgia_Firm_Of_Interstate_Child_Support_Scam.htm By Hilton Head Island Packet – South Carolina 9/5/2009 "...Several sources, including clerks in other counties, said the kind of money that was transferred is intended to help clerks' offices handle child support cases and should not be used for other purposes. A state official said his office discouraged Elizabeth Smith more than a year ago from diverting the child support money to the Drug Court when she called to ask whether it would be appropriate. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.islandpacket.com/news/local/story/957322.html By The Washington Times 9/3/2009 "Maricopa County sheriff's detectives want to talk with embattled Montgomery College President Brian K. Johnson about an outstanding warrant that would land him in jail if he returned to Arizona. " Read the entire article: http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009/sep/03/ariz-warrant-cites-md-college-president/?feat=home_top5_shared& By WRDW-TV – Georgia/South Carolina 8/27/2009 "The Aiken County Sheriff's Office is looking for ten "Dead-Beat Moms." Each of them owes more than $25,000 in child support and is wanted by the Family Court." Read the entire article: http://www.wrdw.com/crimeteam12/headlines/55248602.html By Times Online – United Kingdom 8/27/2009 "A devoted father who discovered that two of his three children had been fathered by another man is suing his ex-wife for compensation." Read the entire article: http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/law/article6811203.ece By TVNZ – New Zealand 8/31/2009 "Fathers' groups are backing proposed changes to the child-support scheme which they say would make fathers happier to pay child support costs." Read the entire article: http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/fathers-back-proposed-child-support-changes-2956414 By Kentucky.com 8/26/2009 "Officials in western Kentucky have seized settlement money won by jail inmates to pay child support payments." Read the entire article: http://www.kentucky.com/471/story/909394.html By Fayette Front Page.com - Georgia 8/26/2009 "The Georgia Department of Human Services (DHS) Office of Child Support Services (OCSS) has nearly doubled the number of child support agents in response to an increased demand for services. OCSS recently added 21 new agents to the state’s Fatherhood Program as the number of non-custodial parents receiving unemployment benefits has quadrupled since 2008. The agents will help non-custodial parents who face various economic barriers find jobs so they can pay child support." Read the entire article: http://georgiafrontpage.blogspot.com/2009/08/number-of-ocss-agents-nearly-doubles-as.html By Aiken Standard (subscription) – South Carolina 8/26/2009 "The Aiken County Sheriff's Office hasn't reserved the term "deadbeat" for just dads - the agency's most recent wanted suspects are mothers who are at least $25,000 behind in child support payments." Read the entire article: http://www.aikenstandard.com/Local/0827DeadbeatMoms By KTLA News 8/11/2009 "...In the most recent fax, McDermott's supposed rep wrote, "Pat has asked that I portray to you his innocence. Pat has committed no crime. Pat simply wishes to be left alone. Let him live his life in peace and harmony. He is safe and has started anew again in a new place both physically and mentally. Stop this search immediately."..." Read the entire article: http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-newton-john-boyfriend,0,625888.story By Elkhart Truth - Indiana 8/23/2009 "...The former Marine, police officer and attorney -- the man who was trained to uphold and defend the law -- robbed the first of 38 banks. DESPERATE He was desperate to pay child support, he said. He wasn't going to be late. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.etruth.com/Know/News/Story.aspx?ID=491264
By Appeal-Democrat – California 8/17/2009 "I have noticed the banners in Marysville informing us all of “Child Support Awareness Month.” What I’d like to see is more awareness of the damage child support and the state’s involvement in it does to families." Read the entire article: http://www.appeal-democrat.com/articles/letter-85615-banners-marysville.html By Jeff Newman and Carol Harvat -- So Md News - Maryland 8/19/2009 "..."Friday is child-support day. It's an awful coincidence," Evans said, adding that it was unknown whether the caller had a scheduled court date. "It seems like there's a pattern here."..." Read the entire article: http://www.somdnews.com/stories/08192009/rectop143913_32193.shtml By FoxNews.com 7/31/2009 "A court battle over whether a sperm donor should pay a higher rate of child support has ended with a ruling that the man is liable because he has taken an active role in raising the children." Read the entire article: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,395642,00.html By William M. Bulkeley -- Wall Street Journal - USA "Processing of welfare, food-stamp and Medicaid claims in Indiana was plagued with difficulties when the state outsourced the system to International Business Machines Corp. and Affiliated Computer Services Inc. two years ago. The problem hasn't been resolved since then. "There's a myriad of problems," said Anne Murphy, secretary of the state's Family and Social Services Administration. "Error rates are too high. We're not processing claims within federal guidelines."..." Read the entire article: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125003802691324435.html By Examiner.com - USA 8/12/2009 "Frank Hatley has spent the last 13 months in a Georgia jail for failing to pay child support, despite the fact that Hatley, the child's mother, and the state knew he wasn't the father." Read the entire article: http://www.examiner.com/x-5845-Single-Parenting-Examiner~y2009m8d12-GA-man-relieved-of-child-support-debt-on-a-child-that-isnt-his By Tampa Tribune - Florida 8/12/2009 "...Jessica Horrigan is a fugitive for failing to make child support payments. Her grandmother told a reporter she'll try to track her down and make it right. ..." Read the entire article: http://www2.tbo.com/content/2009/aug/12/121628/60-moms-listed-pasco-sheriffs-new-deadbeats-site/news-breaking/ By Barron News Shield - Massachusetts 8/14/2009 "Recent Barron County discussions about merging the Child Support Agency with the Health and Human Services Department have now led to debate about more consolidations among county departments." Read the entire article: http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=20359451&BRD=1132&PAG=461&dept_id=157660&rfi=6 By CNBC - USA 8/13/2009 "An Ohio lab that lost its contract with the state for DNA testing wants Gov. Ted Strickland to review an agency's decision to award the work to a North Carolina company." Read the entire article: http://www.cnbc.com/id/32407735 By Mark Fass --The National Law Journal – New York 8/14/2009 "A woman who accepted title to the family home as prepayment for 15 years of child support cannot seek arrears simply because the house sold for only two-thirds of the value estimated at the time of the divorce, a Long Island judge has held." Read the entire article: http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202433039822&Housing_Bust_Ruled_No_Cause_to_Upset_Child_Support_Pact By Madison Messenger - Virginia 8/12/2009 "The parents of two-thirds of the babies born in Danville in 2007 were not married. In Pittsylvania County last year, 45 percent of the babies were born out of wedlock." Read the entire article: http://www2.godanriver.com/gdr/news/opinion/editorials/danville_editorials/article/more_than_a_name_on_a_certificate/13140/ By Indiana's NewsCenter - Indiana 8/11/2009 "Actions to boost child support collections from absent parents are down in at least two Northeast Indiana counties, and a Fort Wayne family practice attorney claims the state's new emphasis on automating welfare services is chiefly to blame." Read the entire article: http://www.indianasnewscenter.com/news/local/52989922.html By CNN.com 8/11/2009 "A Georgia man who spent a year in jail for nonpayment of child support -- despite the fact he has no children -- has been cleared of the debt, his attorney said Tuesday." Read the entire article: http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/08/11/georgia.child.support/index.html By Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott -- Woodlands Online, LLC - Texas "The start of a new school year is an exciting time! New teachers, classmates, books and supplies await a child on the first day of school. As Texas children head back to the classroom, it’s a good time to remind parents of the importance of supporting their children both emotionally and financially." Read the entire article: http://woodlandsonline.com/npps/story.cfm?nppage=31852 By Joe Schwartz -- The Independent Weekly – North Carolina 8/4/2009 "Carrboro mayoral candidate Amanda Ashley owes more than $20,000 in unpaid child support and has served jail time because of her failure to pay, according to Orange County court documents." Read the entire article: http://www.indyweek.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A398980 By Ellen Gabler of the Journal Sentinel 7/31/2009 "An employer who has refused to repay child support payments that he deducted from employees' checks was arrested Wednesday afternoon while working as an armed security guard." Read the entire article: http://www.jsonline.com/watchdog/pi/52029457.html By Bartlesville Live - Oklahoma "The state Department of Human Services wants to allow people to make payments at kiosks. Read the entire article: http://www.bartlesvillelive.com/content/news/state/story/State-looks-at-new-payment-option-for-child/HVBVWboiR0Gz-V7kD2sKlg.cspx By Dan McDonald -- MetroWest Daily News - Massachusetts 7/30/2009 "...In an interview yesterday, David Cohen acknowledged he has gone to jail after falling behind in payments, but said he fell behind because his ex-wife persuaded the courts to increase the alimony while he was struggling with several ailments, including heart conditions. He underwent surgery several times and was unable to work, he said. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/news/x1537495586/Man-ex-wife-spar-over-250K-in-child-support By Melissa Correa -- WWBT12 – Virginia 7/29/2009 "They can't print the checks fast enough. Right now, the state is handling about $2 million a day in child support payments. "You can run, but you can't hide. Move to California. Move to Idaho. Move to Texas. We will follow you," said Nick Young, Virginia Director for Child Support. Sign up for unemployment and the state's got you there too. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.nbc12.com/global/story.asp?s=10813031 By Steve Lombari -- InjuryBoard.com - Iowa 7/27/2009 "It should be called the Hatley Amendment, in honor of Frank Hatley, a 50-year-old man who’s been in jail since June 2008 for not paying child support even though two separate DNA tests in the last nine years prove he’s not the father. ..." Read the entire article: http://desmoines.injuryboard.com/miscellaneous/states-will-should-begin-jailing-mothers-who-wrongfully-identify-men-in-paternity-actions.aspx?googleid=267326 By FoxNews.com 7/27/2009 "A father who had no interest in his 4-year-old daughter did the unimaginable — hurling her off a 120-foot cliff to avoid paying child support, a prosecutor said Monday during the man's murder retrial." Read the entire article: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,534978,00.html?test=latestnews By Robert Rule -- Examiner.com 7/26/2009 "There is a growing fathers’ rights movement in the United States and especially Ohio where fathers are treated very unfairly. A little known fact about child support is that the county is allotted large sums of money for each case that is enforced." Read the entire article: http://www.examiner.com/x-16500-Lake-County-Independent-Examiner~y2009m7d26-Fathers-rights
By Tulsa World - Tulsa, Oklahoma 7/13/2009 "...Currently, the eight tribes that have child support programs are in negotiations on contracts that would allow the state to perform intercepts of IRS and state tax refunds for noncustodial parents who owe child support money. Under federal law, only states can make tax refund intercepts. ... Read the entire article: http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=20090713_11_A1_Whenth6749 By Larry Altman -- Daily Breeze - Torrance, California 7/22/2009 "The broker found slain inside a Westchester house twice had his license to practice real estate suspended for failing to pay child support, state records showed Tuesday." Read the entire article: http://www.dailybreeze.com/news/ci_12886508 By Kenosha News.com – Wisconsin 7/22/2009 "Kenosha County will use $450,000 in federal stimulus funding to beef up child support enforcement efforts through Sept. 30, 2010." Read the entire article: http://www.kenoshanews.com/news/county_board_accepts_450000_grant_6030979.html By FOX2now.com - St. Louis, Missouri "Senator Jeff Smith along with members of the Fathers Support Center announced the changes in front of the Civil Courts Building. The changes include letting judges dealing with child support cases assign non violent fathers to educational, vocational , or job training instead of giving them a felony and sending them to jail." Read the entire article: http://www.fox2now.com/ktvi-fathers-rights-child-support-071909,0,7959908.story By WBNG-TV - Binghamton, NY 7/20/2009 "A former employee of Delaware County admitted to stealing money from a child support payment fund." Read the entire article: http://www.wbng.com/news/local/51227967.html By Kansas City Star - Missouri 7/20/2009 "A new Missouri law decriminalizes nonpayment of child support for parents, assuming they don't have a serious criminal history. Instead of going to jail, the "deadbeats" will be enrolled into a program similar to drug court, the Post Dispatch reports. They'll get vocational help and, if necessary, substance-abuse counseling." Read the entire article: http://blogs.kansascity.com/crime_scene/2009/07/new-mo-law-eases-the-burden-on-deadbeat-dads-and-moms.html By Phyllis Schafly -- Townhall.com 7/21/2009 "...Did you know that debtor's prisons (putting men in prison because they can't pay a debt) were abolished in the United States before we abolished slavery, but that they exist today to punish men who are too poor to pay what is falsely called "child support"?..." Read the entire article: http://townhall.com/columnists/PhyllisSchlafly/2009/07/21/family_court_injustices_to_men By Sarah Hopkins -- WHAG - Hagerstown, MD 7/10/2009 "Paying child support is never easy, but paying it when you've lost your job is even harder." Read the entire article: http://your4state.com/content/fulltext/?cid=71772 By Jose de Wit -- Rio Grande Sun - NM 7/9/2009 "Just four days after he appeared on KDCE radio June 5 touting his volunteer work with Big Brothers Big Sisters, the state Human Services Department filed court papers to garnish child support payments from Española Mayor Joseph Maestas’ paycheck." Read the entire article: http://www.riograndesun.com/articles/2009/07/09/news/doc4a54d2eca1208717545068.txt By Douglass Dowty -- The Post-Standard - Syracuse.com - Syracuse, NY 7/9/2009 "A new do-it-yourself site allows state residents to fill out child support modification, adult name change and estate court papers online. There will also be access to these forms at the Criminal Courthouse in Syracuse." Read the entire article: http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2009/07/fill_out_name_change_child_sup.html By KOB.com - Albuquerque, New Mexico 7/10/2009 "New Mexico has collected a record in child support payments" Read the entire article: http://www.kob.com/article/stories/S1022273.shtml?cat=504 By Mark Curnutte -- Cincinatti.com 7/11/2009 "Families splintered by divorce face more hardship when a parent gets laid off. With the recession pushing the unemployment rate to 9.5 percent, job losses have not spared two-household families." Read the entire article: http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20090711/NEWS01/907120340/Child+support+echoes+unemployment By Tom Proebsting -- Huntington News 7/14/2009 "...Second, a growing segment of the prison population is there because of their failure to pay child support payments. Lump these offenders with those who steal and you have another significant group of inmates, the majority of which are there for non-violent crimes. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.huntingtonnews.net/columns/090714-proebsting-columnsprisonreform.html By ContactMusic.com 7/14/2009 "AKON's lawyers have denied the R&B superstar is running away from his responsibilities - after the mother of one of his children alleged it's impossible to serve the star with child support papers." Read the entire article: http://www.contactmusic.com/news.nsf/article/akon-denies-running-from-child-support-payments_1109639 By KOHD - Bend, Oregon -- 7/14/2009 "As local unemployment rates rise, child support is becoming harder for some parents to pay. The Oregon Department of Justice is offering a new program for those who lose their jobs and can't pay the same amount of child support they owe based on their old income." Read the entire article: http://kohd.com/news/local/134092 By Bill Rankin -- Atlanta Journal Constitution - Georgia 7/14/2009 "Frank Hatley has languished in a South Georgia jail for more than a year. The reason? He failed to reimburse the state for all the public assistance his “son” received over the past two decades. The problem? Hatley is not the biological father -- and a special assistant state attorney general and a judge knew it but jailed Hatley anyway." Read the entire article: http://www.ajc.com/news/court-knew-man-jailed-91036.html
By Tom McKee -- WCPO - Cincinnati, Ohio 7/14/2009 "Many leaders of Ohio's Job & Family Services Departments said Tuesday they're worried that future cuts in state funding will severely hurt their ability to serve people in need. JFS agencies handle food stamp distribution, adult and children protective services and child support enforcement." Read the entire article: http://www.wcpo.com/news/local/story/Ohio-Job-Family-Services-Directors-Fear-More/0z-46wk2F06N1eIQ9GwNIQ.cspx By Jade Bulecza -- WALB-TV - Albany, Georgia 7/15/2009 "A man who was wrongfully jailed for more than a year was released from the Cook County Jail this afternoon." Read the entire article: http://www.walb.com/Global/story.asp?S=10733482&nav=5kZQ By Ellen Gabler -- Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - Milwaukee, Wisconsin 7/15/2009 "Joshua Fritz has yet to keep his promise. As a result, some of his former employees are still waiting to find out what happened to child support payments that were deducted from their checks but never reached their children." Read the entire article: http://www.jsonline.com/watchdog/pi/50905152.html By Alberto Vargas -- Examiner.com – San Diego California 7/15/2009 "Across the country, unbeknownst to most Americans, many disabled veterans find themselves fighting a war they shouldn’t have to be fighting and they need some help. The issue at stake is the inclusion of disability benefits in the calculation of divorce settlements, where judges – on many occasions – have ignored existing federal law (USC Title 38; Section 5301)." Read the entire article: http://www.examiner.com/x-11974-San-Diego-Community-Issues-Examiner~y2009m7d15-Disabled-vets-losing-benefits-in-divorce-settlements By Chicago Sun-Times - Illinois 7/16/2009 "...Tribbett is seeking more child support from Briggs for their nearly 2-year-old daughter. "We're looking for Lance to support Nariana as he would if the child were living with him. We want Nariana to enjoy a lifestyle as any child whose father earns a substantial income might enjoy -- certainly nothing less than he provides for his other children," Mirabelli said. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/1668946,CST-NWS-briggs16.article
By Kristina Davis -- San Diego Union Triibune 7/16/2009 "...Von der Heyde said Rivera had been barraging her with text messages and e-mails asking her to reduce his $1,200-a-month child support. He was threatening to move back to Puerto Rico, she said. “I said to him, 'It's not me, it's the court order and based on what you earn,' ” Von der Heyde said. ..." Read the entire article: http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/jul/16/1m16wife001248-wife-suspect-attack-2-sorry/?northcounty&zIndex=132823
"...With unemployment at generational highs, more divorced parents are struggling to meet their child support or alimony requirements, citing lost jobs or reduced earning power. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-a1_3support.6945989jul19,0,7380347.story By Stephen Perrine - Op Ed -- New York Times 6/18/2009 "...Like most divorced fathers, I'm caught in exactly the kind of nightmarish situation that experts on stress say to avoid — a great deal of responsibility, but very little power. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/18/opinion/18perrine.html?ex=1308283200&en=afbffae6fe0971fd&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss By Marshall News Messenger - Marshall, Texas 7/6/2009 "A high-profile proposal to expand the Children's Health Insurance Program divided lawmakers this spring before fizzling out at the last moment and reignited sore feelings when it didn't make Gov. Rick Perry's agenda for the just-wrapped special session." Read the entire article: http://www.marshallnewsmessenger.com/news/content/region/legislature/stories/2009/07/06/0706uninsured.html By Michael Keifer -- The Arizona Republic 7/3/2009 "Los Angeles Angels outfielder Gary Matthews Jr. stole home in a game against the Arizona Diamondbacks on June 28. But three days earlier, he was tagged by the Arizona Court of Appeals in a child-support case that sets precedent in family-court fights in which the income of the parents is wildly lopsided. At issue was a 4-year-old child Matthews fathered by a Phoenix woman he never lived with. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2009/07/02/20090702matthews0702-ON.html "Jay Walker of Cedar Rapids says he’s losing his life, attempting to keep up with child-support payments for his 10-month-old son." Read the entire article: http://www.gazetteonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090705/NEWS/707059988/1006
By Bob White -- News Enterprise - Elizabethtown, Kentucky "...First indicted on the Class D felony in 1993 in Hardin Circuit Court, Thompson was later convicted. After failing to catch up on the large arrearage, a probated prison sentence for Thompson was set for revocation. ... Read the entire article: http://www.thenewsenterprise.com/cgi-bin/c2.cgi?053+article+News.Local+20090703154141053053003 By CharlotteObserver.com – North Carolina 7/7/2009 "...States that allow debt collectors to seize consumers' wages have sharply higher bankruptcy rates than states such as the Carolinas, which prohibit or strictly limit the practice, an Associated Press analysis has found. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/business/story/819923.html By CivSource 7/7/2009 "The Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) announced a five-year deal with Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. today to use the company’s electronic payment card solution for assistance benefits like the state’s Child Care Assistance Program." Read the entire article: http://civsourceonline.com/2009/07/07/acs-illinois-ink-electronic-payments-deal/ By Bizjournals.com - Tennessee Story 7/6/2009 "More than 100 Shelby County workers will lose their jobs, according to the most recent Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development dislocated worker report released Monday." Read the entire article: http://www.bizjournals.com/memphis/stories/2009/07/06/daily5.html By Kirk Makin -- Globe and Mail - Canada 7/7/2009 "An Ontario Superior Court judge has ordered a crusading fathers'-rights activist to pay $20,000 to the federal government as punishment for mounting an ill-founded challenge to federal child-support payment guidelines." Read the entire article: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/father-ordered-to-pay-20000-punishment/article1207517/ By Sydney Morning Herald - New South Wales, Australia 7/7/2009 "More than $32 million has been clawed back from separated parents trying to dodge paying child support because they filed a tax return to get their tax bonus, the federal government says." Read the entire article: http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/tax-bonus-catches-child-support-dodgers-20090707-db90.html By WISC - Madison, Wisconsin 7/8/2009 "A local judge and a sheriff are squaring off over changes to a state statute. At issue is the penalty parents face when not paying child support. Critics said the recent change may actually eliminate a motivation to pay-up." Read the entire article: http://www.channel3000.com/news/19987405/detail.html By Tenikka Smith -- Eyewitness News Memphis - Tennessee 6/30/2009 "Starting July 1, 2009 child support services will no longer be handled at the Juvenile Court Downtown Memphis, instead at its brand new office in Hickory Hill. Back in February, Maximus, a private government agency won a contract to take over child support services for the county." Read the entire article: http://www.myeyewitnessnews.com/news/local/story/New-Child-Shelby-County-Child-Support-Office-Opens/5QiLS9L9UUCB09TKHp_XBw.cspx By YahooNews 6/29/2009 "The Supreme Court agreed Monday to hear arguments in a child custody dispute between a Texas mother and a British father that tests the boundaries of an international treaty. The court will take its first look at how American authorities handle the Hague Convention on child abduction, aimed at preventing one parent from taking children to other countries without the other's permission." Read the entire article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090629/ap_on_go_su_co/us_supreme_court_child_custody_2 By Siobhan Connally and James V. Franco -- The Record 6/26/2009 "A court in California has ruled a woman who conceived a child with the frozen sperm of her husband three year’s after his death, is not entitled to survivors’ Social Security benefits for the now 10-year-old child because the girl wasn’t born within 300 days of the man’s death. Essentially, he isn’t her natural father." Read the entire article: http://www.troyrecord.com/articles/2009/06/26/opinion/doc4a4432d73f7b8053227683.txt By Barbara Miller PennLive.com 6/28/2009 "Courts should choose joint physical custody of children by both parents as the first option in divorce, according to a Lancaster-based group lobbying for a change in state law. " Read the entire article: http://www.pennlive.com/news/patriotnews/index.ssf?/base/news/1246152311175610.xml&coll=1 By Miami Herald Sports 6/26/2009 "...After a process of thorough screenings and background checks, Riley is just as confident that Pat Beverley and Robert Dozier have regained their footing after a few missteps in their college careers. Neither Beverley nor Dozier were charged or arrested for a crime in college. But they arrive to the NBA having emerged from off-the-court incidents that included claims of academic fraud, domestic assault, accepting money from an agent and failure to pay child support. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/story/1116205.html By Star Telegram 6/29/2009 "Elvis had one. So did Anna Nicole Smith and Marilyn Monroe. They are the doctors who cater to celebrities, dispensing powerful painkillers and sedatives to some of Hollywood’s best-known entertainers. Now, as police investigate Michael Jackson’s sudden death, questions are swirling around the King of Pop’s personal cardiologist." Read the entire article: http://www.star-telegram.com/nation/story/1457911.html By Mike Sever -- RecordPub.com 6/28/2009 "Portage County’s Department of Job and Family Services has reached a settlement with the former head of its child support enforcement agency. The settlement pays Sylvia Strasshofer five years’ worth of salary, retirement witholding and Medicare contributions totaling $297,000. The payments cover the period from her termination through Dec. 31, 2011, and will come out of the JFS budget and not from the county general fund, according to county officials. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.recordpub.com/news/article/4617503
By Richmond Times-Dispatch -- Letter to the Editor 6/24/2009 "Regarding Del. Bill Janis' recent Commentary column, "Success Requires Thousands of Fathers": Janis is correct about the importance of fathers, but more is needed than marriage education. Virginia's family law system incentivizes family breakup, fatherlessness, and marriage avoidance." Read the entire article: http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-GRIGNOLR24_20090623-180404/275810/ By Examiner.com 6/24/2009 "Muhammad Ali and his daughter, boxer and new mother, Laila, are being dragged into Laila's husband's child support battle with his ex-wife from whom he has been divorced since 2004, according to Radar Online." Read the entire article: http://www.examiner.com/x-7371-LA-Celebrity-Gossip-Examiner~y2009m6d24-Muhmad-Ali-caught-in-child-support-battle By Smartmoney.com - USA 6/23/2009 "On television, “Jon & Kate Plus 8” has been a ratings bonanza. But as any divorce lawyer will tell you, “Jon Minus Kate” could be a complex financial maze — with college tuition alone posing a million-dollar dilemma." Read the entire article: http://www.smartmoney.com/Personal-Finance/Marriage-&-Divorce/Jon-and-Kate-Divorce-The-Money-Traps-Ahead/
By TheDenverChannel.com - Colorado 6/25/2009 "A strange phenomenon is taking place in Colorado because of the recession. Child support collections from those who are now on unemployment have skyrocketed over the past year. The money is intercepted before the unemployed person gets it and that means collections are up 232 percent." Read the entire article: http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/19861154/detail.html By Sara Murray -- The Wall Street Journal 6/22/2009 "Welfare rolls, which were slow to rise and actually fell in many states early in the recession, now are climbing across the country for the first time since President Bill Clinton signed legislation pledging "to end welfare as we know it" more than a decade ago." Read the entire article: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124562449457235503.html#mod=testMod By LocalNews8.com - Idaho 6/22/2009 " A state office says child support payments drawn from unemployment checks have increased 185% in the second quarter of 2009 compared to last year. The state Office of Recovery Services data also shows the amount it collected from unemployment checks increased 135% in the first quarter of the year compared to last year." Read the entire article: http://www.localnews8.com/Global/story.asp?S=10573769&nav=menu554_2 By Montgomery Advertiser - Alabama 6/21/2009 "Authorities in Baldwin County are conducting a Father's Day weekend roundup of parents who owe child support to their children." Read the entire article: http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/article/20090621/NEWS02/906210324/1009/NEWS02/Baldwin-County-targets-deadbeat-parents By StarTribune.com - Editorial 6/22/2009 "One Minnesota driver ignores a series of parking tickets, another neglects to deal with old speeding violations, and a third falls behind on child support. All three lose their driver's licenses, but they continue to drive and rack up more fines. A soon-to-start pilot program may give drivers like these -- and the courts that prosecute them -- some relief." Read the entire article: http://www.startribune.com/opinion/editorials/48634602.html?elr=KArks:DCiUo3PD:3D_V_qD3L:c7cQKUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUU By Toronto Star - Ontario, Canada 6/23/2009 "Ontario's ombudsman says an agency that helps single parents get court-ordered support payments is giving up on difficult cases. In his annual report, Andre Marin says the Family Responsibility Agency had been closing cases it found "impractical to enforce" and clearing accounts owing once a case was deemed closed." Read the entire article: http://www.thestar.com/news/ontario/article/655197 By Glenn Sacks and Dr. Ned Holstein -- Atlanta Journal Constitution – Georgia 6/21/2009 "This will be an exceptionally sad Father’s Day for millions of divorced and separated fathers and the children who love them and need them. Many dads have lost their jobs or suffered significant drops in income. Because it is difficult for fathers to get their child support orders modified downward, many decent, loving fathers are being jailed because they can’t keep up with their child support obligations." Read the entire article: http://www.ajc.com/opinion/content/opinion/stories/2009/06/21/sacksed_0621.html By Tom Sowa -- The Spokesman-Review 6/21/2009 "Bill Harrington made a quiet pilgrimage to Spokane, eager to celebrate the woman he calls the mother of Father’s Day. He left wondering if Spokane has a hard time recognizing its own place in history. Only a handful of people came to join Harrington’s two-part event, which started Saturday morning with remarks at the Spokane County Courthouse and ended with a wreath-laying at the west Spokane cemetery where Sonora Smart Dodd and her father are buried. The 62-year Harrington, a resident of Graham, Wash., near Puyallup, organized a celebration Saturday to mark the 100th Father’s Day. That initial Father’s Day occurred in downtown Spokane in 1910, the brainchild of Spokane resident Dodd. Dodd is credited with creating the day to recognize her own father’s role in raising six children and to give dads a day equal to Mother’s Day. ...“I was waiting for more than two months to see if anyone in Spokane was going to mark the day. When no one here was doing anything, I decided to go ahead,” he said. Both Harrington and another speaker, state Sen. James Kastama, D-Puyallup, said Father’s Day is the best time to call attention to what they say are inequities in legal and social services that tilt in favor of women and mothers in custody and divorce battles. “Fatherhood is important,” Harrington said. “More than half of all U.S. children 18 and under will not see their father on Father’s Day,” he added." Read the entire article: http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/jun/20/small-gathering-pays-tribute-first-fathers-day/ By Marisol Bello, USA TODAY 6/17/2009 "Child support payments are falling as parents lose their jobs. States report that more parents are failing to pay and more are going to court to reduce their obligations. Some custodial parents are asking for higher payments because their income is down. And more parents are using unemployment checks to pay child support. "It's the economy, simply put," says Iliana Rodriguez, director of Child Support Services in San Mateo County, Calif. "These are people who have never been unemployed in their lives." In San Mateo, contempt orders against parents who owe child support increased 129% — from 180 to 413 — in the six months ending in March over the same time the previous year. Most child support goes through state agencies. States collect and forward payments ordered by judges in divorces and other court actions, and they track payments to families on public assistance. There are no national figures, but states from New Hampshire to Texas are seeing similar problems: • In Texas, the amount of child support withheld from unemployment checks quadrupled in April to $10.7 million from $2.5 million in April last year, says Janece Rolfe of the Child Support Division. • Payments are down in Ohio, New Hampshire and Minnesota. Jeffrey Aldridge, deputy director of child support in Ohio, says the state collected $794 million in April, $10 million less than April 2008. New Hampshire collected $42 million from October to March, $2 million less than the same period a year ago. Minnesota took in $152 million for the first quarter, compared with $156 million in 2008. • In Arkansas, the number of parents who got approval to modify payments jumped 47% to 4,000 from July through March, from 2,730 a year earlier. "When those numbers start to go up, you know people are losing their jobs," says Dan McDonald, director of the Office of Child Support." Read the entire article: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-06-17-child-support_N.htm?csp=34&POE=click-refer
"Travis Henry made millions of dollars playing in the NFL. He has also made a lot of babies. The 30-year-old Polk County native publicly acknowledges he has nine children — with different mothers — but a Central Florida woman says that's not so. The number, she says, should be 11. Vanessa Colbert recently became the second woman in Orange County to try to collect child support from Henry. She says the former athlete fathered her twins, who are now 18 months old. Henry hasn't been ordered to pay support to Colbert or to the other woman, Dorothy Michelle Maloy, who did not return calls. But in Polk County, he owes more than $11,000 in back support in two cases. The Orange County women have joined a long line of mothers seeking money from the man who once played for the Denver Broncos, Tennesee Titans and Buffalo Bills." Read the entire article: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/moretop1/orl-loctravis-henry-babies-support-061809jun18,0,3573548.story?track=rss By Tim Turner -- Kokomo Perspective – Indiana 6/18/2009 "Non-custodial parents feel just as frustrated with the child support system as the custodial parents who don’t receive payment. Brandon Fossett waited over a year before the courts determined his son’s paternity. During that year, he spent time with the mother and child, and he said he helped however he could. He was reassured by the courts that he did not owe support and wouldn’t have to pay back support when paternity was determined; however, when the paternity test proved he was the father, he was hit with more than $2,000 in back support. Fossett, who was going through a period of homelessness at that time, was unable to come up with the money. He said that is when he got a true look at how the system treats non-custodial parents, even those like him who make regular payments each week. “I just wish there was a little more respect out of the judicial system for the people who are trying,” said Fossett. Read the entire article: http://www.kokomoperspective.com/articles/2009/06/18/news/local_news/doc4a395657a5926529763448.txt By WNDU16- Indiana 6/15/2009 "Roughly 5,000 people are supposed to pay child support in Cass County, and roughly 1,900 are behind on those payments. But the worst offenders will soon face criminal charges. Cass County prosecutor Victor Fitz flagged 18 people; together, they are behind in roughly $500,000 in payments, Fitz said. "These are people that aren't trying," Fitz said. "These are people that are playing cat and mouse with the system. It's more important for them to take care of their own selfish needs than to do their darndest to take care of their kids," he said. One of the people who isn't getting the child support he's supposed to is 38-year-old Todd Allen. "Any little bit would help," said Allen, who works nights at a foundry to support his two kids from a previous marriage. He now lives with his new wife; together, they raise 5 children. "There's weeks where it will be extremely tight and we live paycheck to paycheck," said Allen. His wife, one of the 18 people the prosecutor's office sent a letter to, lives out of state. The letter states she could face up to 4 years in prison. "Once that felony warrant is issued, if you're convicted, then every time you make out a job application and you get to that little 'have you ever been convicted of a felony?' box, you gotta check yes," said Ron Cruzan, a warrant officer with Cass County. Felony charges will be initiated Tuesday." Read the entire article: http://www.wndu.com/home/headlines/48108012.html By Sun Herald.com - Mississippi 6/16/2009 "An Iowa man has been sentenced in southwest Mississippi on three counts of felony child desertion. Jefferson County Circuit Judge Lamar Pickard sentenced Giraud Parker Jr. of Waterloo, Iowa, Monday to a five-year sentence in state prison and ordered him to pay $12,000 in back child support, plus court cost and fees." Read the entire article: http://www.sunherald.com/218/story/1414996.html By Austin American-Statesman - Texas (Commentary) 6/17/2009 "The Legislature took a significant step in addressing health care needs for uninsured children when it passed an innovative initiative. Importantly, it won't cost taxpayers a dime. Thanks to Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, and Rep. Mark Shelton, R-Fort Worth — who received valuable support from House Judiciary Committee Chairman Todd Hunter, R-Corpus Christi; House Human Services Committee Chairman Patrick Rose, D-Dripping Springs; and Sen. Chris Harris, R-Arlington — a new law will help make affordable health insurance available to hundreds of thousands of children who are served by the child support system but who are not covered by health insurance. The child support system already serves children whose parents do not live under the same roof. Under state and federal laws, the courts require parents to pay child support as well as medical support to help cover a child's health care costs. This ensures that parents — not taxpayers — bear financial responsibility for their children. The health care part of court-ordered child support is covered by what is called a "medical support order." Before issuing a medical support order, courts must determine whether the child's parents have employer-sponsored health insurance. If so, courts order the parents to enroll their kids in the employer-sponsored plan." Read the entire article: http://www.statesman.com/opinion/content/editorial/stories/2009/06/06/17/0617abbott_edit.html By Ryan Carter Record Herald - Ohio 6/15/2009 ""Why don't women who owe child support go to jail?" Two local men who pay child support recently made claims that the mothers of their children (who both have been ordered to pay child support) are treated with more leniency when they fail to make their child support payments. "My ex-wife is supposed to be paying child support on three of my kids," said a Fayette County man who requested anonymity. "I've been paying child support to her mother who has custody of the kids. I've already been locked up a couple of times for not paying." The man also claims that his ex-wife hasn't paid any child support since 2003. "She lives in (another state) and when I ask the child support agency why she can't be arrested, they tell me it's hard to enforce it when she's out of state," he said. "I just don't think it's right that they don't arrest her. I'm taking care of my business now and she isn't. It's not right." Another local man who has custody of his youngest child said his ex-girlfriend is also chronically late on child support payments, yet nothing has been done. "I'm perfectly fine taking care of my child and I like this setup," he said. "But if the shoe was on the other foot, I would most likely be in trouble. If you have a court order to do something, and in this case it's to pay child support, you should have to do it or pay the consequences."..." Read the entire article: http://www.recordherald.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=133468&TM=29083.55 By Arizona Daily Star - Arizona 6/11/2009 "State lawmakers took the first steps Wednesday toward letting people seeking a divorce to gain a financial advantage by claiming marital misconduct. On a 4-2 margin, the Senate Committee on Public Safety and Human Services voted to repeal a law that requires judges to decide issues of alimony and child support "without regard to marital misconduct." The change would permit introduction of evidence of everything from domestic violence and cheating to wasting money." Read the entire article: http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/fromcomments/296582.php
By LivingstonDaily.com 6/8/2009 "A judge recently sentenced a bunch of deadbeat dads to attend episodes of "The Jerry Springer Show." He wanted them to witness their shabby lifestyle lampooned by other deadbeats in front of a live audience. Current out-of-wedlock birth statistics — about 40 percent, and perhaps higher in some communities — indicate something is amiss. It would appear that whatever passes for sex education these days is a washout. This is not to scorn or shame women who bear children out of wedlock. Every life is precious, both baby and mother. Raising kids and doing it well is tough enough work without further scandalizing, especially for a single parent. A supportive family is a precious gift to mother and child. A family should include a dad. Meanwhile, some of the nicest, most caring and diligent families I know are making do without a dad on staff. But that's not easy. ...The jarring statistic quoted above highlights the need to get an honest fix on how we've drifted into these shallows. We obviously need to pass along some sounder advice to pubescent children sailing out into a real world." Read the entire article: http://www.livingstondaily.com/article/20090608/OPINION01/906080312 By Joel Schwartzberg -- The Star-Ledger - NJ.com - Newark 6/4/2009 "I never thought being a divorced father would put me in a special interest group, but in doing marketing research for my memoir on divorced dadhood, I came across several "dads' rights" websites, activists, and blogs arguing for stronger chilI never thought being a divorced father would put me in a special interest group, but in doing marketing research for my memoir on divorced dadhood, I came across several "dads' rights" websites, activists, and blogs arguing for stronger child custody protections, fighting media stereotypes, and even debunking what they consider domestic violence myths. The volume of their buzzing reached a new decibel when Lifetime TV announced their intention to air Deadbeat Dads, a reality show in which National Child Support founder Jim Durham travels about the country, lassoing fathers who refuse to pay child support. Originally called "Bad Dads," the idea was floated -- then apparently sunk -- at FOX. The only real surprise is that it was never called "POPS."....The problem -- says Fathers & Families, a dad-vocacy group -- is that a strong majority of divorced dads with shared custody pay child support regularly, so such a program paints an unrealistic and demeaning stereotype of divorced fathers." Read the entire article: http://www.nj.com/parenting/joel_schwartzberg/index.ssf/2009/06/deadbeat_dads_is_lifetime_tv_s.html
By Matt Willoughby -- North Carolina News Network - Raleigh, NC 6/4/2009 "A state Senate bill that would have allowed child support to continue through college is stalled in a House committee. The Senate approved the legislation but it ran into opposition in the House Juvenile Justice Committee. Senator John Snow, a retired judge, proposed continuing court ordered child support payments until the age of 21 if the child was in college." Read the entire article: http://www.ncnn.com/content/view/4480/26/
By Las Vegas Sun 6/4/2009 "Many creditors and banks are not following the law in going after overdue payments Because Social Security and veterans benefits are all that keep many people from becoming destitute, federal law protects those payments from being seized by creditors seeking to recover past-due debts. The law allows those benefits to be garnished only for late child support or alimony payments, or unpaid debts to federal agencies. Other than for those reasons, the entitlement money is supposed to reside securely with the recipient. Yet there is also a federal law that makes it legal for banks to freeze people’s accounts at the request of creditors who can prove the account holder owes them overdue money. The account can remain frozen until the creditors’ claims are satisfied. Because recipients of Social Security and veterans benefits, at the urging of the government, are increasingly having their checks deposited directly into their accounts, what happens next in many cases is predictable. Creditors have recipients’ accounts frozen and often all or most of the balances — which include money from the federal benefits — are seized." Read the entire article: http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/jun/04/protected-funds-being-seized/ By Susanna Dunkerly -- The Age - Australia -- 6/3/2009 "The Child Support Agency has come under fire for preventing an unemployed carer from travelling overseas to visit his sick mother because he owed a small child support fine. The case is one of many highlighted in a damning report by the Commonwealth Ombudsman into the use of Departure Prohibition Orders (DPOs) to prevent child support cheats from leaving Australia. The man, who is referred to as Mr H, was issued a DPO by the agency after they learned of his plans to travel overseas. The agency questioned why he had money to leave the country when he had a debt of around $5,000. He explained that he had no personal income because he was caring full-time for his partners' two children, and his parents had paid for the tickets. But the agency decided he was not going anywhere." Read the entire article: http://news.theage.com.au/breaking-news-national/separated-parents-grounded-in-australia-20090603-bvnc.html By Coventry Telegraph – United Kingdom 6/3/2009 "PETER NDLOVU has been told he must pay child maintenance to his estranged wife - until the results of a paternity test are known next month. The former Highfield Road fans' favourite was ordered to pay £377 a month to ex-wife Sharon Dee until the test results of her two children are revealed next month. The fleet-footed winger handed himself into the Zimbabwe authorities last week after an arrest warrant was issued for his failure to turn up at court. Nww Zimbabwe reports that the South African magistrate granted in the interim order after Ndlovu demanded a paternity test." Read the entire article: http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/coventry-city-fc/football-rumours-gossip/2009/06/03/peter-ndlovu-to-pay-child-maintenance-until-test-results-arrive-92746-23776217/ By Gerald Nissenbaum - Boston Herald - Massachusetts 5/31/2009 " Q: I divorced my husband in 2007. At that time, I wasn’t working and couldn’t care for our two kids so I let them live with my husband and I was required to pay child support. I recently got a notice from the Massachusetts Department of Revenue claiming I owe about $2,000 in unpaid child support. I went to court to look at my divorce file. There was a worksheet saying I should pay $75 monthly child support. But there was no such order in the divorce agreement. Since the divorce, my ex-husband has never let me see our kids. Can I get my children back now that I am working and have an apartment for them to live in?"
29-year-old father of 21 ordered to pay child support with minimum-wage salaryTuesday, 02 June 2009
By Amelia Robinson | Springfield News Sun - Ohio 6/2/2009 "The Volunteer State has a baby-making monster on its hands. Desmond Hatchett, a minimum-wage earner from Knoxville, Tenn., has heard “Desmond you are the father” 21 times. He appeared in a juvenile court last week for 11 cases involving 15 of his children. Eleven seems to be his lucky number. Hatchett’s children range in age from 11 years old to 11 months old. Keith Pope, Hatchett’s attorney, said there is no way Hatchett can support that many children. “The state of Tennessee has had to step in,” he told KCAL 9. Some of the Hatchett’s baby mamas only receive $1.98 a month in child support. For his part, the Hatchett said all of his baby mamas knew what they were getting into." Read the entire article: http://www.springfieldnewssun.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/seen_and_overheard/entries/2009/06/02/29yearold_father_of_21_ordered.html By Chico Harlan -- Washington Post 5/30/2009 "Hillsborough (Fla.) Circuit Court Judge Mark Wolfe on Friday ordered that Dukes, 24, must pay $39,767 in outstanding legal fees for his estranged wife's attorneys. If he doesn't make the payment by June 5 at 5 p.m., he could face 90 days in jail." Read the entire article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/29/AR2009052903095.html
- News & Observer – North Carolina 6/1/2009 "For years, Steven Injasoulian and his former wife didn't need a judge to tell them how to pay for their 4-year-old son. They had a simple verbal agreement: Injasoulian provided health insurance and paid child support. But that was before Injasoulian, a surveyor, lost his job last June, as the housing industry in North Carolina began to stagger. Since then, Injasoulian has joined a fast-growing army in North Carolina: noncustodial parents struggling to make child-support payments without a paycheck. "I want to do right by my kid," said the young father." Read the entire article: http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/1550242.html By MSN Money.com 5/28/2009 "Government health services provider Maximus Inc. said Thursday it won a five year, $49 million contract to provide child support operations in Tennessee. The deal is the largest privatization of a child support enforcement services contract in the U.S., Maximus said. Under the contract, Maximus' Human Services North America unit will provide services to the 30th Judicial District in Shelby County for the Tennessee Department of Human Services. Maximus will work to locate absent parents, establish paternity, carry out support orders and medical support orders, process interstate cases and provide customer service." Read the entire article: http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/provider/providerarticle.aspx?feed=AP&date=20090528&id=9948467 By Fatimah Ali -- Philadelphia Daily News 5/26/2009 "JUST WHEN I thought TV couldn't sink any lower with some of its toxic programming, yet another new reality show is poised to hit the lineup - "Deadbeat Dads" on Lifetime. The show targets fathers who refuse to pay child support, and features businessman Jim Durham's collection agency, called National Child Support. My first "primal thought" was darn, they got here 15 years too late to help me. But my more spiritually evolved side knows better, and I realize those evil thoughts are just wrong. Durham and the Lifetime producers who created the show are the ones who should be flogged - for using the woes of single mothers and their children to boost ratings. .....While he was still alive, the reasons I didn't want him imprisoned were simple, as well as selfish. I didn't want to have to take our children to visit him in jail because I knew it would be traumatic. But mostly I realized that having him arrested would prevent him from working and put yet another stigma on our already challenged life. Two decades later, I still feel just as strongly that throwing deadbeat parents in jail is a stupid idea. And it definitely shouldn't be televised. This only causes. more problems in a child's life. The residual effects that deadbeat parents have on kids are way deeper than the unpaid money and leave deep psychological scars." Read the entire article: http://www.philly.com/philly/phillywomen/20090526_Fatimah_Ali___Deadbeat_Dads__an_insult_to_reality.html By Examiner.com 5/25/20009 "Ginger Weatherspoon, a former Assistant Attorney General in Texas, has filed a lawsuit in Dallas County District Court claiming that she was fired for refusing to sign a false affidavit accusing Judge David Hanschen of wrongdoing. Judge Hanschen has been at odds with the Texas Attorney General's office for several years over what he claims are unfair and deceptive practices used to award and collect child support. Some staff in the Attorney General's office had been collecting affidavits accusing Judge Hanschen of threatening the AG's office or issuing prejudicial rulings against AAGs. Presumably their intent was to file a complaint of judicial misconduct against Hanschen. ....The Texas Attorney General's office prides itself on its relentless pursuit of deadbeat parents and portrays itself as an advocate for children. The office's Child Support Division has been nationally recognized for leading the country in child support collections. Critics point out that since the office receives federal funds based on the amount of child support it collects, there is a financial incentive to close as many cases as possible without regard for the rights of the parties involved. Since 2007, Judge Hanschen and other family court judges have been questioning some of the tactics employed by the AG's office. They claim that the office often railroads poor uneducated men into giving up their rights and traps them into paying child support for children that are not even theirs." Read the entire article: http://www.examiner.com/x-5845-Single-Parenting-Examiner~y2009m5d25-Whistleblower-claims-Texas-unfairly-targeted-judges-who-defend-fathers-rights By L.L. Braiser - Detroit Free Press - Michigan 5/26/2009 "Ray, a journeyman electrician, unemployed and desperate, left Macomb County two weeks ago for work in Oklahoma. It meant leaving his two daughters, the subjects of an upcoming custody battle with his soon-to-be ex-wife. "I would never, ever have left my children," he said. "But I had no work. I looked for seven months and couldn't get a callback. I couldn't sleep at night ... With no work, I wasn't doing my children any good." Ray, who asked that his last name not be used to protect his daughters' privacy, is among hundreds of divorced and divorcing parents in Michigan looking to leave the state to find work. In some cases, they also are seeking a reduction in the amount of child support they pay. The requests, once rare, are now becoming commonplace as Michigan's economy continues to crumble. For those who stay in Michigan, child support often comes out of their unemployment checks; the amount of child support withheld from unemployment payments jumped 135% in the last year." Read the entire article: http://www.freep.com/article/20090526/NEWS03/905260360/A+divorced+parent+s+dilemma++Leave+kids+to+find+work By John Holt - Meagan Kelleher -- fox4kc.com - Kansas 5/20/2009 "Tony Galvin is a married father of three who paints houses for a living. But a fun night out with some friends about seven years ago painted a messy picture for this Blue Springs man. He danced with a woman who managed to coax his phone number off one of his friends. He went home thinking nothing of it, until he started getting calls from the woman. He rebuffed her, he said, and now believes that may have set the stage for trouble. Two years later, the woman named Galvin the father of her child, something Galvin said is impossible. "It was really nothing. I met her at the bar, had a few drinks, we danced," he said. Galvin insists he never had sex with the woman. But Galvin missed a paternity hearing, didn't appeal the default judgment and ignored the child support notices that started piling up. Under the eyes of the law in Missouri, Tony Galvin is considered the "legal" dad since he didn't act to contest his status. He now owes nearly $37,000 in back child support." Read the entire article: http://www.fox4kc.com/wdaf-non-dads-law-support-052009,0,1147287.story By Keith Lynch - Stuff.co.nz - New Zealand 5/21/2009 "Child-support payments may be changed to reflect the income of a parent's new partner. The proposal is part of Revenue Minister Peter Dunne's call for a review of the child-support scheme. Dunne said yesterday that he wanted to make the scheme "as even-handed as possible". He said current payments did not take into account the financial situation of the new partner of the parent usually the mother with custody of the children. Payments were based on a percentage of the liable parent's income. "At the moment we take into account the non-custodial parent's income but we don't take into account the changed circumstances of the custodial parent, so if they've married a millionaire, for instance, we don't take that into account," Dunne said. "If on one side of the ledger everyone's standard of living has significantly improved, then that clearly impacts what the non-custodial parent should be paying by way of support." Read the entire article: http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/2428220/Fairer-child-deal-sought EDITORIAL: Anti-Dad bias: Why is the father always the villain on American TV?Thursday, 21 May 2009
By Washington Times 5/18/2009 ..."Lifetime TV's new reality show, "Deadbeat Dads," centers around National Child Support founder Jim Durham, who finds and confronts dads who do not pay their child support. Reuters news agency reports that Mr. Durham "functions as sort of a 'Dog the Bounty Hunter' for tracking deadbeats ... it's ambush reality TV." However, the reality show, originally developed at Fox as "Bad Dads" and later dropped, is Lifetime's attempt to take cheap shots at men while ignoring the damage the show can cause children, wives and other family members. The Lifetime TV program ignores the numbers. More than 90 percent of fathers with joint custody paid the support due, according to a Census Bureau report (Series P-23, No. 173). So deadbeats are in the minority. Also, most so-called deadbeat dads actually are dead broke. Two-thirds of men who fail to make child-support payments earn poverty-level wages, according to the Federal Office." Read the entire article: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/may/18/anti-dad-bias/ By James Walsh, Star Tribune 5/19/2009 "Christ's Household of Faith in St. Paul claimed in a suit that paying child support violates its beliefs. A federal judge dismissed the case, calling it an "end run" attempt." Read the entire article: http://www.startribune.com/local/stpaul/45449632.html?elr=KArks:DCiUHc3E7_V_nDaycUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUU
By Mary Alice Robbins -- Texas Lawyer 5/19/2009 "A former assistant attorney general alleges in a whistleblower suit filed May 18 that the Texas Office of the Attorney General fired her in 2008 for reporting that two OAG attorneys in the Dallas child support office tried "to suborn perjured testimony" from her about a Dallas judge. ....Steve Kardell, Weatherspoon's attorney and a partner in Clouse Dunn Khoshbin in Dallas, says that prior to the alleged attempt to make Weatherspoon sign the affidavit, Hanschen had been at odds with the OAG over the statute of limitations on DNA testing to determine parentage in child support cases." Read the entire article: http://www.law.com/jsp/tx/PubArticleTX.jsp?id=1202430825605&slreturn=1 By Robert Wilonsky -- Dallas Observer - Texas 5/20/2009 ..."Maybe we should have seen this one coming: Hanschen was the subject of an April 2008 Dallas Observer cover story that dealt with his ongoing battle with the Office of the Attorney General. (Pardon the incomplete link; our Web site's acting up this morning.) Hanschen, you see, lets men challenge whether the younglings to whom they pay child support are theirs using DNA testing; said the judge, "In my court, the truth does not have a statute of limitations." Greg Abbott's office disagrees, and, as Megan Feldman wrote last year, James Jones -- formerly a senior regional attorney supervising the Dallas Child Support Division who's now a staff attorney in Tarrant County -- solicited other lawyers in the local child support office for affidavits alleging Hanschen and another judge had said nasty stuff about the AG's staff. In fact, Jones and another AG's staff attorney, Harry Monck, are named in Weatherspoon's suit. ...." Read the entire article: http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/unfairpark/2009/05/fight_over_child_support_and_d.php
By Radio New Zealand - New Zealand 5/20/2009 "The Minister of Revenue, Peter Dunne, says the system does not take into account the income of a mother's new partner. Mr Dunne expects to seek public input on the issue by August. Coalition of Fathers spokesperson Jim Bagnall says child support is an inflexible system which fails to calculate how much it costs to raise a child. He says thousands of families are struggling to meet payments, and some fathers are at their wits' end, or even suicidal." Read the entire article: http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/stories/2009/05/20/1245b04feea9 By Steve Booher St. Joseph News-Press - Missouri 5/18/2009 "It may be rare in the state of Missouri, but it does happen. Every payday, some guy has a few hundred dollars deducted from his wages and that money goes to support a child that’s not his. If you’re that guy, you pay because the courts have so ordered. You keep paying because if you fall behind, you will be charged with criminal nonsupport and might do some jail time. At this point, your future is dim. And, there’s nothing you can do about your situation. The Missouri General Assembly moved to remedy these situations this past session. One of the bills it passed would allow men to challenge paternity with a DNA test. If they’re not the father, they would be excused from all past-due child support and any future support. They also would have their names removed from a birth certificate and have past criminal convictions for nonsupport expunged from their record. The bill is lying on Gov. Jay Nixon’s desk. His office says he wants to study the issue before signing it. So guys, if Mr. Nixon signs the legislation and if you believe you’re wrongly paying child support, you have until Dec. 31, 2011, to file a petition contesting your paternity." Read the entire article: http://www.stjoenews.net/news/2009/may/18/child-support-lets-make-sure-weve-got-right-guy/?opinion
By ABC12.com - Michigan 5/15/2009 "The state of Michigan has unveiled a new Web site specifically tailored to people who pay and receive child support." Read the entire article: http://abclocal.go.com/wjrt/story?section=news/local&id=6815476 By Ben Schmitt -- Free Press • 5/12/2009 "If you’re a deadbeat dad who agrees to start making child support payments to stay out of jail, you’ve got to meet one more requirement in Judge Wade McCree’s Detroit courtroom: Watch the Maury Povich show. McCree, a criminal judge in Wayne County Circuit Court, has begun sentencing dads to watch the show as part of their probation. The judge, who will appear on the show Thursday, said he got the idea after watching a few episodes. One day in February he shouted to a man with five kids from five mothers: “What the hell do you think this is, the Maury Povich show?” “Everyone fell out laughing, but it really wasn’t funny,” the judge said today. A videographer was in the courtroom for a local TV show and asked permission to send the clip to Povich’s show, McCree said. Soon, Maury had a crew filming in McCree’s courtroom and they invited him in for a show taping last month. “Some of these men in my court watch the show and see how ridiculous some of the deadbeats look, and then they realize it’s them,” McCree said. Povich’s shows often focus on paternity issues, DNA testing and child support." Read the entire article: http://www.freep.com/article/20090512/NEWS02/90512063/1038/ENT03/Behind+in+child+support?+%E2%80%98Maury++may+be+in+your+future By KKTV 11 News - Colorado Springs 5/13/2009 "28-year-old Shenequa Brown appeared in court Wednesday, to be advised of the charges she is facing. She's facing charges of identity theft and criminal impersonation among other charges. Brown was at one point employed with Policy Studies Inc. or PSI. The company contracted with El Paso County to provide the office staffing for El Paso County Child Support Enforcement. She was fired from that position. PSI has released as statement about the allegations against Brown saying: "We are disturbed to learn of the former employee’s arrest. Our primary concern is to support the investigators in determining if this former employee somehow inappropriately used information or money from the program we operate – and if so, to notify any individuals whose information may have been compromised and replace any missing payments."..." Read the entire article: http://www.kktv.com/home/headlines/44953977.html By Donna Willis - NBC4i.com - Ohio 5/8/2009 "A mother of two is wanted by Delaware County authorities for owing more than $50,000 in child support. According to Delaware County Prosecutor Dave Yost, Mary Green, 47, was indicted Friday on two county of non-support—both fifth-degree felonies. Officials said she owes $50,827.18 in child support for her son and daughter, who are both now over the age of 18. “Justice is a community effort and we need the community to help us bring this deadbeat queen to the bar of justice,“ Yost said." Read the entire article: http://www.nbc4i.com/cmh/news/local/article/prosecutor_mom_owes_50k_in_child_support/15555/ By David Brindle - The Guardian, 5/10/2009 "Lying about income, assigning assets to a new partner and changing jobs to avoid deduction-from-earnings orders are common tactics for men seeking to escape child support obligations. The Child Support Agency has until recently lacked the firepower to counter such dodges. But the tables have turned and solicitors and MPs say that most of the complaints they now get about the agency come from non-resident fathers shocked at its punitive approach. Almost 70,000 earnings deduction orders were taken out in 2008-09, at rates of up to 40% of pay; some 30 men have been imprisoned for non-payment and 500 given suspended sentences. In one case, a family received a record single arrears payment of £57,000 after the agency took a legal charge on the father's new property. There is concern among lawyers that things may be going too far." Read the entire article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2009/may/10/child-support-agency-protection-complaints By Fort Mills Times – South Carolina 5/12/2009 "In the Senate: - S143, to allow child support payments to continue until the child is 21 if the child is attending college. Approved 37-11. Next: To the Senate." Read the entire article: http://www.fortmilltimes.com/124/story/561359.html By MARK DOUGLAS | News Channel 8 Tampa Tribune - Florida 5/11/2009 "After 112 days in jail, dead beat dad David Earley is getting out as soon as jailers process his paperwork. But his freedom comes at a price. In court today, his attorney, R. Scott Andringa, promised to hand over $10,000 scraped together by Earley's brother and sister as a down payment on the $385,000 in overdue child support Earley owes his ex-wife Sharon. Earley will remain free on his own recognizance until July 6, when he is supposed to appear again before Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge Frank Quesada with a job and plan to start paying. Quesada said he doesn't care about a psychological report that blames drug addiction and depression for Earley's failure to support four children during the past 19 years. "If you're depressed you better shake that funk," Quesada told Earley." Read the entire article: http://www2.tbo.com/content/2009/may/11/deadbeat-dad-scrapes-10000-still-needs-pay-plan/news-breaking/
By Angela Couloumbis -- Philadelphia Inquirer, Pennsylvania 5/9/2009 "When State Rep. Dave Reed toured his local county assistance office a few years back, he was stunned to learn that current law does nothing to prevent welfare recipients from using taxpayer-backed benefit cards to buy alcohol. "I had no idea at the time that such a loophole existed," said Reed, a Republican from Indiana County. "I don't think most people did." Now they do. This week, Reed's bill prohibiting the use of welfare benefits, as well as child-support payments, for alcohol purchases unanimously passed the House. The measure now heads to the Republican-controlled Senate, where it could be considered as early as the end of June." Read the entire article: http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/pa/20090509_Pa__lawmaker_seeks_to_close_welfare_loophole.html
By Beverly Majors Oak Ridger - Tennessee 5/11/2009 "Juvenile Court Judge April Meldrum was the guest speaker last week at the "Lunch with the League," a League of Women Voters bi-weekly event. Meldrum was elected judge in 2006, defeating longtime Judge Patricia Hess. "I want to tell you about Juvenile Court and how little people know about it," the judge said. Read the entire article: http://www.oakridger.com/news/x1518872240/Juvenile-Court-Child-support-truancy-murder By Tabby Phillips 7 Online.com - New York 5/9/2009 "Some people just don't get it. Last February we told you the story of a deadbeat employer, who has been garnishing money from one of his employee's paychecks. But instead of sending it off to pay for the man's child support, he has been keeping it for himself. But this time the boss was brought to family court. But before he saw the magistrate he had to answer to 7 On Your Side's Tappy Phillips. Read the entire article: http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/7_on_your_side&id=6803832 By Karen Auge -- The Denver Post 5/9/2009 "As jobs evaporate in Colorado, the amount of child-support money coming from unemployment checks — rather than workers' wages — has nearly tripled, causing concern about what will happen when those checks run out. Child-support payments collected from unemployment checks soared 174 percent in the first three months of 2009 compared with the same period last year. Through March, the state child- support system had collected $3.5 million from unemployment compensation checks. For the same period last year, the amount was $1.26 million. In Denver alone, child support paid from unemployment checks has gone from $219,970 in the first four months of 2008 to $568,014 for the same period of this year, said Elizabeth Calvert, director of Denver's child-support division. Those figures don't represent additional collections of delinquent payments or new cases. Instead they reflect the simple fact that the number of people who are unemployed and paying child support has soared." Read the entire article: http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_12330875 By MainStreet - New York 5/4/2009 "Tough economic times are increasingly forcing divorced parents to reconsider initial child support arrangements. If you can’t afford to keep up with child support payments because you’re unemployed or you’ve taken a pay cut, you may be able to reduce the amount you contribute." Read the entire article: http://www.mainstreet.com/article/family/kids/how-reduce-child-support-payments By Jennifer Golson -- Star-Ledger New Jersey 5/3/2009 "Michelle Copland is 42 and relies on her ex-husband's child support to cover the growing needs of their two daughters, one a teenager, the other a preteen. Scott Caridi is 46 and collecting unemployment as he tries to drum up business for a North Jersey construction company. "If they get work, I get work again." His own company went out of business. The former couple from Bergen County was married for almost 10 years until divorcing in 2003. For most of the time since then, Caridi paid $700 a week in alimony and $500 in child support. When the alimony ended, the child support bumped to $700 a week. Then, Copland said, the checks stopped showing up and Caridi fell $6,000 behind. With no work and another family to support, Caridi did what a growing number of divorced men and women are doing: They are filing for reductions in alimony and child support obligations. While the Administrative Office of the Courts does not maintain statistics on the issue, lawyers and judges across the state say the recession is fueling a dramatic increase in applications to change divorce settlements." Read the entire article: http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/jersey/index.ssf?/base/news-13/1241323593147150.xml&coll=1
By Jennifer Golson -- Star-Ledger New Jersey 5/3/2009 "Michelle Copland is 42 and relies on her ex-husband's child support to cover the growing needs of their two daughters, one a teenager, the other a preteen. Scott Caridi is 46 and collecting unemployment as he tries to drum up business for a North Jersey construction company. "If they get work, I get work again." His own company went out of business. The former couple from Bergen County was married for almost 10 years until divorcing in 2003. For most of the time since then, Caridi paid $700 a week in alimony and $500 in child support. When the alimony ended, the child support bumped to $700 a week. Then, Copland said, the checks stopped showing up and Caridi fell $6,000 behind. With no work and another family to support, Caridi did what a growing number of divorced men and women are doing: They are filing for reductions in alimony and child support obligations. While the Administrative Office of the Courts does not maintain statistics on the issue, lawyers and judges across the state say the recession is fueling a dramatic increase in applications to change divorce settlements." Read the entire article: http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/jersey/index.ssf?/base/news-13/1241323593147150.xml&coll=1
By Los Angeles Times "As more Californians have lost their jobs, the state has collected an increasing amount of child support directly from unemployment checks. Use this interactive map to see which counties saw the largest increases in such collections from 2007 to 2008, the most recent statewide data available." Read the entire article: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-childsupport-fl,0,5532835.htmlstory By Molly Hennessy-Fiske -- Los Angeles Times 5/3/2009 "California's rising unemployment rate is driving a steep increase in child support cases, as the newly jobless appeal for increases in monthly payments or argue that they can no longer afford the amounts ordered by the court. In Los Angeles County, about 450 new cases are filed each day, double the amount at this time last year. More than 3,000 calls come in daily -- up 25% -- increasingly from custodial parents asking child support staffers to crack down on deadbeats. The number of parents seeking help with child support modifications has tripled during the last month and a half, with some parents showing up at 5 a.m. to wait in line. "Can we handle it? No," said L.A. County Child Support Services Director Steven J. Golightly. Read the entire article: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-child-support3-2009may03,0,4622163.story By Newsday.com New York 5/5/2009 "Upstate New York prosecutors say a former county child support investigator stole more than $50,000 from a fund containing court-ordered child support payments. Authorities are charging 50-year-old Karen Faulkner of Trout Creek with second-degree grand larceny, which is punishable by up to 15 years in state prison. She's also charged with 57 felony counts of falsifying business records." Read the entire article: http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newyork/ny-bc-ny--stolenchildsuppor0505may05,0,281925.story
By Bobbi Mylnar -- Emporia Gazette - Kansas 5/5/2009 "Debit cards have been added as a third payment option for people who receive monthly child support payments from the Kansas Payment Center operated through the Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services and the Kansas Office of Judicial Administration. Parents responsible for paying child support send checks or money orders for their monthly payments to the KPC, which in turn sends out checks to the custodial parents or deposits the support monies directly into checking or savings accounts. KPC has introduced a Visa-branded “NOW” card that can be used like a traditional debit card received in conjunction with a checking or savings account. The purpose is to give easier access to the funds for recipients who don’t have bank accounts, according to Michelle Ponce, public information officer for SRS." Read the entire article: http://www.emporiagazette.com/news/2009/may/05/debit_cards_speed_payment_child_support/ By WHNT - Alabama 5/7/2009 "After an extended debate on the effects of a bill that could allow a person who is found not to be the father of a child to recoup child support payments, the House sent the bill back to the judiciary committee. Read the entire article: http://www.whnt.com/news/sns-ap-tn-xgr--childsupport,0,4962493.story By WQOW TV News 18 - Wisconsin 5/5/2009 "The higher number of layoffs could lead to a full-time job being added in Eau Claire County. The director of the county's child support agency says they're set to receive $127,000 from the federal stimulus. That money will be used to bump a part-time employee to full-time. Their job will be to help deal with the department's extra workload, which has been linked to the economy. Many people who've lost their jobs are now trying to restructure their child support payments." Read the entire article: http://www.wqow.com/Global/story.asp?S=10308264 By Politics on the Hudson – New York 5/5/2009 "U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, D-NY, said more than 200,000 single parents across the state could be forced to pay a financial penalty just for receiving child support. So Gillibrand has introduced legislation to eliminate the penalty which is a remnant of the Deficit Reduction Act, passed by the Republican Congress and signed into law by President Bush in 2005. That legislation contained a provision requiring states to enact a $25 fee on child support enforcement payments that it collects for single parents." Read the entire article: http://polhudson.lohudblogs.com/2009/05/05/penalty-for-child-support/ By Northwest Herald - Illinois 5/4/2009 " Texas officials believe a woman who owes more than $48,000 in child support payments may be in Algonquin. Michelle Falco owes $48,413 for the support of two children in Texas. She is on that state's list of "Top Ten Most Wanted Child Support Evaders," according to a statement from Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott. "Michelle Falco has turned her back on her children by refusing to pay child support," Abbott said in the statement. "Parents who ignore their responsibility to support their children must be held accountable for violating the law."..." Read the entire article: http://www.nwherald.com/articles/2009/05/04/51139446/index.xml By Journal Times - Wisconsin 4/29/2009 "If you owe child support and you’ve lost your job, you might catch a break from the county. People who have lost their jobs may be able to get a reduction in the amount of their current child support orders, Racine County Executive Bill McReynolds announced Wednesday. “Our Child Support Office is committed to ensuring that our children receive the support they deserve, but our people also understand the economic difficulties many of our citizens are experiencing,” McReynolds said in a release. “This initiative reflects their consistent determination to do what’s best for all concerned.”..." Read the entire article: http://www.journaltimes.com/articles/2009/04/29/local_news/doc49f908d45577d384674542.txt By Alta Mayhugh --Williston Herald – North Dakota 4/30/2009 "A statewide program to aid parents who pay child support and have been laid off has been in place for about a month. But phones at the Williston Regional Child Support Enforcement Unit haven’t been ringing off the hook” yet. This shocks Ranee Kringen, administrator of the regional unit. “It really surprises me. I thought we’d be swamped,” Kringen said. ....The program offers parents temporary relief from court-ordered obligations, along with job placement help, states a news release from the North Dakota Department of Human Services. Mike Schwindt, director of the state Child Support Enforcement Division, said the parent receiving the child support continues to receive it under the program. However, it may be reduced because the other parent is out of a job. “But essentially that’s what happens in an intact family. If I lose my job, there’s less money coming into my family and the kids are impacted with that. The other part of this is, as soon as they get a job back, then the income goes back up, so that’s part of the proposal,” Schwindt said. Read the entire article: http://www.willistonherald.com/articles/2009/04/30/news/doc49f9cf2a5be0b427587054.txt
By Pete Shellem The Patriot-News - PennLive.com - Pennsylvania 4/30/2009 "Dauphin County District Attorney Edward M. Marsico Jr. says his office will not be filing criminal charges in a mix-up that landed a Philadelphia man in jail four times for not paying child support for someone else's child. Marsico said his investigation, ordered by President Judge Richard A. Lewis after The Patriot-News reported on the situation, revealed that a "screw up" occurred in Montgomery County, but did not involve any criminal intent. That mistake left Walter Andre Sharpe Jr. of Philadelphia forced to pay $12,000 in support for another man's child and thrown in Dauphin County Prison four times for not keeping up with the payments. It took The Patriot-News less than a hour to find the real father, who said he had custody of the child Sharpe had been supporting. Sharpe was paying support to the child's mother and then her grandmother." Read the entire article: http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2009/04/dauphin_da_will_not_file_charg.html
By Kevin OShea -- The Detroit News - Michigan 4/27/2009 "We're familiar with the term "deadbeat dads." I've long felt it's unfair to paint any fathers who might be behind on child support (or contesting a child support order) as "deadbeats," regardless of their circumstances. Yes, there are dads who refuse to meet their obligations to help support their children, but there are also many fathers who can't make ends meet through no fault of their own. Now comes the Lifetime cable channel with a new reality show called (what creativity!) "Deadbeat Dads." The idea is to track down and ambush men who are behind on their child support payments and then get them to pay by any means necessary. At least one fathers advocacy group has organized a protest, encouraging viewers and others to call, fax and/or e-mail Lifetime Television executives in protest. The plan has a chance of succeeding: a similar effort last year convinced Fox Television, the originator of the show (then called "Bad Dads") to drop it from its schedule. Read the entire article: http://apps.detnews.com/apps/blogs/dadsblog/index.php?blogid=508 By Justin Anderson-Kanawha Bureau -- West Virginia Record – West Virginia 4/30/2009 "A couple says the state and federal government is continuing to take child support payments from them even after the female half of the couple regained custody of her child. Christian and Angela Lindroth filed a lawsuit April 15 in Kanawha Circuit Court against the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources, Tamicka Tolliver, a DHHR employee, Policy Studies, a company contracted to collect child support for the state, and Debbie McMillan, a woman who had temporary custody of Angela's daughter. Read the entire article: http://www.wvrecord.com/news/218745-couple-says-state-woman-illegally-took-child-support
By Clive McFarlane -- Columnists Telegram.com 4/29/2009 "Joseph Becker is no pin-up dad, and he doesn’t claim to be one. In 1988, after someone took a baseball bat to his head, he came out of a 3-1/2 month coma to learn that he was the father of a baby girl. Read the entire article: http://www.telegram.com/article/20090429/COLUMN44/904290384/1008/NEWS02 By Terry Shelton -- Reunite Fatherhood Families - USA 4/29/2009 "..."Promoting responsible fatherhood…is one of the most important things we can do to reduce child poverty” Former Vice President Al Gore at the National Fatherhood Initiative’s National Summit on Fatherhood in June, 2000. Father absence and poverty are strongly related. Data shows that it’s more difficult to get fathers to provide financial support when they are not married to the mother and when they lack an emotional connection to their children. Children in father-absent homes are five times more likely to be poor. In 2002, 7.8 percent of children in married-couple families were living in poverty, compared to 38.4 percent of children in female-houseolder familes. 1 Fourty-five percent of unmarried mothers in large U.S. cities are poor and another 28% are “near poor”, with incomes 200% below the poverty line. 2..." Read the entire article: http://rffdads.org/index.php?s=Father+Absence+and+Poverty By Marion Star – Ohio 4/25/2009 "It probably comes as no surprise that in child support cases that involve delinquent payments there can be quite a bit of animosity and some less-than-reasonable behavior on the part of the parents. But a case that we recently reviewed here - at the Supreme Court of Ohio - was something of an exception to that general trend. The case involved a woman named Christina Byrd Reeder and a man named Brian K. Knuckles who are the biological parents of a child whose name we don't need to mention. In an earlier court ruling Knuckles was ordered to pay child support; he ultimately ended up owing a child-support arrearage of $7,420.16. But here's where the case takes a bit of a twist. Reeder and Knuckles reached an agreement: Christina would renounce half the arrearage, and Knuckles would consent to the adoption of their child by Brad Reeder, Christina Reeder's husband. After the adoption, the child-support order was terminated, and Knuckles filed a motion to abate half the arrearage, in accordance with the agreement that he had reached with Christina and Brad. But the juvenile court denied the motion. Why did it reach that conclusion? The juvenile court relied on an Ohio law which states: "A court or child support enforcement agency may not retroactively modify an obligor's duty to pay a delinquent support payment." The "obligor" - the person obligated to pay - was, in this instance, Knuckles." Read the entire article: http://www.marionstar.com/article/20090425/OPINION/904260301/-1/newsfront2 By NewsLeader.com 4/29/2009 "Missouri lawmakers sent the governor a pair of bills Tuesday giving men a longer grace period to catch up on child support payments or prove they are not the father. Read the entire article: http://www.news-leader.com/article/20090429/BREAKING01/90429006/-1/RSS By BBC News – United Kingdom 4/23/2009 "Plans to allow civil servants and private firms to seize passports without a court order violate the constitution, peers have warned. The government wants to take passports and driving licences away from parents who refuse to pay child support." Read the entire article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8014872.stm
By Russ Zimmer -- The Newark Advocate/Ohio 4/26/2009 "Financial stress can tear apart a family, but it doesn't always end there, said the judges of the Licking County Domestic Relations Court. Judges Craig Baldwin and Richard Wright said the court's docket is bursting with reactivated and stalled cases that likely are the results of the economic troubles of today. More cases means more time in court dealing with issues -- such as home, asset and debt division and child support that were hashed out between attorneys in years past -- and less time for the cases that involve young lives. "In the cases with the kids, I worry with more cases that the court can't spend the appropriate and meaningful time," Baldwin said. ....More disturbing are the cases in which one parent can't make the payments, but not out of laziness or poor financial prioritizing, he said. "What do you do? Put them in jail?" Baldwin asked. "They're not what jail was intended for."..." Read the entire article: http://www.newarkadvocate.com/article/20090426/NEWS01/904260305/1002/NEWS01
By Yahoo News 4/23/2009 "A pair of Nassau County Supreme Court rulings rejecting bids by parents to reduce child support obligations are indicative of judicial reluctance to disturb support agreements even in light of the faltering economy, attorneys said." Read the entire article: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Judges-Resist-Bids-to-Upset-law-15006933.html?.v=1 By Mary Shanklin | Orlando Sentinel 4/20/2009 "At a time when Florida families increasingly struggle to pay bills, the state is sitting on $28 million in child-support payments that it has not distributed — largely because it can't find the parents who are owed the money. Florida's stockpile of undistributed child-support payments has more than doubled since 2007, partly because federal tax rebates paid to parents who are delinquent on child support have been intercepted by the state. The state's fund of undistributed child-support money is now so large that it could provide an extra $80 for each of the 347,000 families awaiting back support payments. More than $5 million has been undistributed for five or more years." Read the entire article: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/orl-asecundistributed20042009apr20,0,4215153.story By The State – South Carolina 4/21/2009 "Authorities Monday arrested a Camden-area woman who assumed a fake identity for more than seven years to avoid paying about $30,000 in child support in Lexington County, Sheriff James Metts said. Lexington County sheriff’s fugitive investigators learned that Daphne Deanna Wennersten, 38, was living under an assumed name at a home on Cassidy Road near Camden, Metts said. Kershaw County sheriff’s deputies took Wennersten into custody on a Lexington County Family Court bench warrant, he said." Read the entire article: http://www.thestate.com/crime/story/757266.html By The Hindu 4/19/2009 "The Supreme Court has ruled that custody of a minor can be given even to a maternal grandmother if the father, who is a natural guardian, is incapable of taking adequate care of the child. The apex court said though the law mandates that the father is the natural guardian of a child, the right at the same time is not absolute. "Ordinarily, under the Guardian and Wards Act, the natural guardians of the child have the right to the custody of the child, but that right is not absolute and the courts are expected to give paramount consideration to the welfare of the minor child," a bench of Justices Tarun Chatterjee and H L Dattu said. The apex court passed the ruling while granting custody of a minor girl Angha to her maternal grandmother Anjali Kapoor." Read the entire article: http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/001200904191022.htm “...With the punishing economic downturn, police officers in many American cities are confronting what they describe as a surge in property crime. At the same time, many are being forced to improvise and make do with less: The recession is shrinking the finances of local governments, limiting the resources of police departments. ....It’s going to get worse,” Ms. Myers said. “You’ve got guys who have kids, who are on the hook for child support. If selling drugs is the only way they can get the money, they’re going to do it. It’s quick money. Even the ones that had jobs and got laid off and can’t find other jobs, if they got to sell drugs or rob somebody, they got to do what they got to do.” Read the entire article: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/20/us/20cops.html?_r=1&ref=global-home By Moni Basu -- The Atlanta Journal-Constitution -- 4/12/2009 "Norval Rhodes wants to do right by his 8-month-old son. He wants reliable day care, adequate health care and proper nutrition. When he separated from his wife last year, Rhodes agreed to pay $797 a month in child support. But in these lean times, that amount is no longer tenable for the personal trainer from Dunwoody, after clients dropped precipitously. Many of those clients are struggling small-business owners forced to cut back on services that suddenly seem like luxuries. “It’s been extremely difficult,” said Rhodes, 26, who would like to cut his child- support obligation almost in half. Economically challenged, thousands of Americans are facing the same predicament. Taking home a lesser salary or out of work altogether, parents can no longer afford to pay child support settled upon in more prosperous times." Read the entire article: http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/stories/2009/04/12/child_support_economy.html
By Bizjournals.com – North Carolina 4/15/2009 "The state of Tennessee has intercepted more than $33 million in tax refunds of parents who owe child support but haven’t paid. It’s part of the federal Income Tax Refund Offset program, which affects any parent who owes more than $500 in child support. The state Department of Human Services has intercepted more than 24,000 tax refunds so far this year." Read the entire article: http://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/stories/2009/04/13/daily26.html By WKMG - Florida "State Acknowledges Man Is Not Father, Still Demands Payments - A local man is fighting against having to make back child support payments for a child that is not his. Brian Stancheski, of Sanford, proved that a 3-year-old boy is not his in order to be able to stop paying child support several months ago, but the state still wants him to pay $9,000 in back payments." Read the entire article: http://www.clickorlando.com/news/19186388/detail.html By Reno Gazette Journal - Nevada 4/15/2009 "Having consistently low rankings nationally in the State's child support enforcement efforts, the Nevada Division of Welfare & Supportive Services has created a task force of the primary program and systems participants to create an action plan by early July that will demonstrate significant improvement in the key indicators, the Division announced last week. "A recent audit of the State's Child Support Enforcement network showed many deficiencies that need to be addressed, but it also gave us a roadmap of how we can improve," said DWSS Administrator Romaine Gilliland. "I believe all of the key players in the system are anxious to work together to make these improvements to provide critical support for the children."..." Read the entire article: http://www.rgj.com/article/20090415/FERNLEY01/904150367/1306/FERNLEY By Rusty Surette, NEWSOn6.com - Oklahoma 4/9/2009 "A well-known minister is facing a day in court for neglecting three children he's never met. Authorities said he owes nearly $75,000 in back child support, but this supposed deadbeat dad is actually the victim of a multi-state mix-up. Keith Burkhart has devoted his life to God, his family and his work as a Baptist minister. "I'm the father of 10 children. I married my high school sweetheart," Keith Burkhart said. The 50-year-old has worked as a family minister for more than a decade. His goal is to help other men find faith when it comes to family matters." Read the entire article: http://www.newson6.com/Global/story.asp?S=10155005 By Editorial -- New York Times 4-5-2009 "Here is a tale that sounds like it comes right from the pages of “Little Dorrit,” Charles Dickens’s scathing indictment of Victorian England’s debtors’ prisons. Unfortunately, it is happening in 21st-century America. Edwina Nowlin, a poor Michigan resident, was ordered to reimburse a juvenile detention center $104 a month for holding her 16-year-old son. When she explained to the court that she could not afford to pay, Ms. Nowlin was sent to prison. The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan, which helped get her out last week after she spent 28 days behind bars, says it is seeing more people being sent to jail because they cannot make various court-ordered payments. That is both barbaric and unconstitutional." Read the entire article: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/06/opinion/06mon4.html?_r=2&th&emc=th By National Post - Canada 4/8/2009 "Forget deadbeat dads. Deadbeat moms may be the flavour of the day in family law. An Ontario Superior Court judge has held in contempt a mother who flouted five separate access orders and ordered her to pay the father a penalty of $20,000 plus $15,000 in costs." Read the entire article: http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/legalpost/archive/2009/04/08/deadbeat-mom-must-pay-35-000-to-dad.aspx By Maria Giordano • THE TENNESSEAN • 4/9/2009 "A former child support services employee is accused of selling personal information, including Social Security and bank account numbers, of more than a thousand people to an undercover agent. Steven K. Gilmore, 28, of Nashville was indicted Wednesday on six counts of identity theft, two counts of aggravated identity theft and two counts of access device fraud. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Nashville says Gilmore trafficked the sensitive information in three separate transactions that were recorded by law enforcement officials. Gilmore worked for Colorado-based Policy Studies Inc., a private company that contracts with the Tennessee Department of Human Services to provide child support services for Davidson County. Assigned to help with child support collections, Gilmore had access to databases filled with personal identification information." Read the entire article: http://www.tennessean.com/article/20090409/NEWS03/90409113/1017 By Baltimore Sun - United States 4/10/2009 "A 44-year-old Finksburg man pleaded guilty Thursday to felony theft after stealing child-support checks in Baltimore County for about seven years, according to the Maryland attorney general's office. Keith Hibbs was sentenced to 10 years in prison by Circuit Court Judge Robert Cahill and ordered to pay more than $49,000 in restitution. Prosecutors said Hibbs worked as a specialist with the Baltimore County Child Support Enforcement Administration. From October 1998 to February 2005, Hibbs used department computers to change the names on 112 child-support checks so that the money would be made payable to his wife, according to the plea. Hibbs then signed his wife's name and deposited the checks in his account, prosecutors said." Read the entire article: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-md.briefs104apr10,0,4435761.story By USAToday 4/10/2009 "Former NBA player and University of Florida standout Vernon Maxwell has been jailed in north Florida. Alachua County authorities jailed Maxwell on Wednesday for violation of probation charges related to failing to pay child support, according to online jail records. A message left with a sheriff's office spokesman was not immediately returned. During his 13-year NBA career, Maxwell helped the Houston Rockets win NBA titles in 1994 and 1995. Maxwell, a three-time all-Southeastern Conference selection, played at Florida from 1985-88. Maxwell's attorney, Robert Rush, said child support payments were set when Maxwell was still a professional athlete and he can no longer meet the financial demands." Read the entire article: http://www.usatoday.com/sports/basketball/nba/2009-04-09-2060331591_x.htm By TMC Net - Connecticut 4/12/2009 "The new state child maintenance scheme that will replace the two schemes currently provided by the Child Support Agency has taken an important step forward, according to a release from the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission. ....."The collection and payment of child maintenance is not dissimilar from transactions performed millions of times a day for financial organisations around the world. We want to draw on that technical expertise and provide to future child maintenance clients the kind of service they should expect. "That means giving people much better access to information about their case; most importantly how much they owe or are due to receive. If they wish they should be able to access their account on the web and receive update notifications by email and text message. ...."Many of the justified complaints against the old CSA were the result of the limitations of its IT systems. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2009/04/13/4126721.htm By New Richmond News - Wisconsin 4/13/2009 "Divorced Wisconsinites are not exempt from the recession and more of them are using unemployment benefits to pay their child support. State officials said almost $18 million in child support came through jobless pay in the first three months of this year. That’s more than twice the amount from a year ago. And it’s almost as much as the $22 million collected for all of 2008. The total amount of child support collected statewide was $951 million last year. That’s $22 million more than the previous year, which indicates that divorced kids generally didn’t suffer from the ravages of the economy." Read the entire article: http://www.newrichmond-news.com/articles/index.cfm?id=33810§ion=Wisconsin%20News&property_id=9 By ED PALATTELLA GoErie.com - Pennsylvania 4/12/2009 "A single paragraph in the 407-page federal stimulus bill has provided a big financial boost to Erie County government's efforts to collect more child-support payments. Because of changes the legislation enacts, Erie County's Domestic Relations Section will get about $330,000 more from the federal government each year over a two-year period, or through Sept. 30, 2010, the end of the 2010 federal fiscal year, said Mark Causgrove, the county's director of domestic relations. The additional money will allow the county to use $330,000 less in local tax dollars in each of the years to fund the 74-employee Domestic Relations Section, which collected $42.5 million in child-support payments in 2008." Read the entire article: http://www.goerie.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090412/NEWS02/304129915/-1/news02 By Boston Globe 4/3/2009 "The Massachusetts family court system is being flooded during the sputtering economy with divorced parents either requesting changes to child support agreements, or demanding enforcement. The system does not keep statistics on modification petitions, but judges and lawyers say filings have increased as more people lose their jobs. Paula Carey, chief justice of Probate and Family Court, tells The Boston Globe that contempt citations have risen sharply as more people have fallen behind on payments. Divorce lawyers say most cases are being brought by parents seeking lower payments because they've lost their job or face foreclosure." Read the entire article: http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/04/13/more_child_support_disputes_head_to_court_in_ma/ By KCCI.com - Iowa 3/31/2009 "Iowans who pay child support and then are laid off from their jobs are finding a double struggle during the recession. After 21 years on the job, Bryan Ayersman was got laid off in January. He paid nearly $900 a month in child support and said that right now he can barely afford it. Ayersman spends most weeknights coaching soccer for his kids Seth and Alyssa. He always wanted to be a hands-on dad, especially after moving out during the divorce in 2005, but by moving out a mediator demanded that he pay child support. "Right now, I pay almost 900 a month for two kids," said Ayersman. He has always kept up on payments and said he's happy to do it. That's why as soon as he was laid off from his job he alerted Iowa's Child Support Recovery Unit. Ayersman said getting his payments reduced wasn't as easy as he thought it would be." Read the entire article: http://www.kcci.com/news/19057778/detail.html By David Walsh The Star – United Kingdom 4/6/2009 "JOHN Wilson's business has gone from a 20-strong operation to a one-man band teetering on the edge of bankruptcy. His children have long since grown up and he claims to have been told in 2003 that he owed nothing. But the Child Support Agency has declared war. The agency now claims he owes £42,000 to his ex-wife and has twice gone to court to obtain charging orders, one for £30,000 on his Eckington home and another for the same amount on his bodyshop business in Darnall." Read the entire article: http://www.thestar.co.uk/action/Dad-facing-bankruptcy-after-Child.5138564.jp By Don Reid - The Daily Reporter/MichiganV 4/2/2009 "Last February, Christopher Raymond promised to pay $7,500 to catch up on his child support. Raymond, 31, paid only $2,929, as well as kept current with income deduction orders in two counties. “That’s a lot of money for me,” he explained to Branch County Circuit Court Judge Bill O’Grady. Special Assistant Attorney General Kirk Kashian told the judge “it’s unfortunate he isn’t able to work” but the court had no alternative but to jail him under the plea agreement." Read the entire article: http://www.thedailyreporter.com/news/x180623607/Despite-efforts-to-pay-back-child-support-Raymond-jailed-for-nine-months-fees-waived By Peter H. Milliken Youngstown Vindicator - Ohio 4/3/2009 "Three Mahoning County Child Support Enforcement Agency supervisors belonging to Teamsters Local 377 will be laid off, effective Monday. Judee L. Genetin, director of the county’s Department of Job and Family Services, of which CSEA is a part, said those being laid off were notified last month, and that one of them has worked for the county for 30 years. “They’re temporary until the budget gets better,” Genetin said of the furloughs." Read the entire article: http://www.vindy.com/news/2009/apr/03/child-support-workers-face-layoff/?newswatch By Julie Bosman -- New York Times -- 3/28/2009 "The same story echoed a dozen times through Room E8 of Manhattan Family Court in a single day: fathers, pinched by the recession, pleading for a reduction in child support. .....A man who had been laid off from a factory said he managed to find work at Mets games, but for less pay, $9 an hour. Another man, on the verge of eviction, begged for a break from his $315 monthly payments. “Last week was my child’s birthday, and I couldn’t get him a present,” he said, burying his head in his hands. “This is killing me.” Since January, Family Court in New York has been filled with urgent requests like these, alarming judges and overwhelming calendars with what are known as modification cases." Read the entire article: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/29/nyregion/29support.html?_r=1&ref=us
By Carol Bronson -- The Pratt Tribune -- 3/30/2009 "Kansas parents who are not paying court-ordered child support can have their driving privileges restricted beginning April 1. Individuals owing $500 or more in past due child support, who are making no effort to pay can be restricted to driving to and from work or school and during the course of their work. “It’s a tool to get parents back on a payment schedule,” Michelle Ponce, director of communications for the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services." Read the entire article: http://www.pratttribune.com/news/x549584825/How-to-lose-your-driver-s-license By Dave Feschuk -- Toronto Star - Ontario, Canada -- 3/27/2009 "Chris Bosh remained tight-lipped yesterday about his ongoing child custody and support dispute with the mother of his 4-month-old daughter. But two days after explosive allegations made against Bosh in U.S. court documents came to light, legal representatives from both sides acknowledged that the case amounts to a dispute over the amount of money that should be paid in child support. Bosh offered a statement through a spokesman that indicated he is already supporting his child. "I love my daughter," said Bosh in the statement. "Of course I am financially supporting her." Read the entire article: http://www.thestar.com/Sports/article/609087 By WMTW.com - Maine 3/27/2009 "Parents who fall behind on child support payments are in the cross hairs of a legislative committee, which is looking at new ways to get money from so-called deadbeat dads. A bill endorsed Friday by the Judiciary Committee calls for a study on a policy that would require slot machine operations and race tracks to set aside a portion of the money won by child support debtors. Another bill under review targets independent contractors. It would require businesses to tell the state when they hire contractors for $2,500 or more so the state can see if they owe support." Read the entire article: http://www.wmtw.com/news/19028602/detail.html By Marion Star - Ohio 3/31/2009 "The Marion County Board of Commissioners approved a contract between county agencies and rolled over notes in a brief regular meeting Tuesday. Commissioners voted to approve a contract between Marion County Job and Family Services Child Support Enforcement and the Marion County Clerk of Courts for IV-D Services for they year 2009. The total contract is $97,844.20 with 66 percent of the funds being federal dollars with a local match of 34 percent." Read the entire article: http://www.marionstar.com/article/20090331/UPDATES01/90331011 By Tanya Thompson -- Scotsman - United Kingdom -- 4/1/2009 "SCOTS parents are being threatened with prison by a body set up to replace the Child Support Agency, despite not owing a penny in arrears, lawyers have claimed. Family solicitors say the new body CMEC – the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission – is using "bullying tactics" to enforce its powers when many parents are blameless. Read the entire article: http://news.scotsman.com/latestnews/New-CSA-is-threatening-blameless.5127584.jp By Joe O'Connor - National Post 3/27/2009 "...Mathis's court filings painted Bosh as just another deadbeat millionaire athlete father. He had planned to marry her, Mathis alleged, before attempting to have her removed from their shared residence in Texas, cutting off her access to a vehicle, and cutting off the money supply when she and Bosh's unborn child needed it most. Broke and abandoned, physically ill and emotionally distraught, Mathis moved home to her mother in Maryland where the baby was delivered by emergency Caesarean section on Nov. 2. ...In the affidavit - which appears to give more details of their breakup than were contained in the original lawsuit - Bosh contends that he did not "take any actions to have [Mathis] removed" from the property the couple shared in Frisco, Tex. He claims he "encouraged" Mathis to remain in Texas and was "hopeful that she would." He paid for a Jeep Grand Cherokee "rental vehicle" in the final weeks of the pregnancy, provided money for "expenses" and made "arrangements to include my daughter on my health insurance coverage. "In fact, the majority of my daughter's pre-natal and post-natal expenses have been paid by my insurance carrier or by me," Bosh said in the document. Bosh also states that he has sent Mathis monthly cheques to support Trinity, but says that Mathis has not cashed them. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.nationalpost.com/sports/story.html?id=1436829 By Alex Doniach -- Memphis Commercial Appeal -- 4/2/2009 "Shelby County Juvenile Court plans to hear fewer cases now that the court has lost a longstanding state contract to collect and enforce child support payments. Yet court officials are still asking Shelby County government for an additional $1.7 million next fiscal year to help fill a funding gap created when the state terminated a $14.8 million child support contract. .....Larry Scroggs, the court's chief administrative officer, told members of the county commission budget committee Wednesday that the loss of state dollars will leave a "gaping hole in our budget." As a result, the court is asking county government for $16 million for the fiscal year that starts July 1 -- an increase of $1.7 million over last year -- to make up dollars previously provided by the state. Some commissioners, however, were unclear why the court would request more when its workload is decreasing. "It makes no sense whatsoever," said Commissioner Mike Ritz. "I don't think the county is going to make the taxpayers suffer because of the loss of the contract or keep in place other things out there we don't need." Read the entire article: http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2009/apr/02/county-dubious-of-17m-request/ By Mireya Villarreal WOAI.com Texas 3/27/2009 "A San Antonio man has been hounded by the Texas Attorney General's Office for more than five years. They want him to pay more than $20,000 dollars in child support. Problem is, he says they've got the wrong guy. News 4 WOAI Trouble Shooter Mireya Villarreal is investigating how this humiliating mix-up could have happened and if the state is doing anything to fix it. Have you ever gone through the phone book and looked for Maria Garza or John Smith? There are hundreds of people living in San Antonio with these common names. But for Jesus Rodriguez and his family, having a common name has cost them a home, their credit and a piece of their life" Read the entire article: http://www.woai.com/content/troubleshooters/story/State-mix-up-causes-years-of-trouble-for-local/EaAY6Gb_hU2RIkjU-o1BHA.cspx By William Welsh -- Washington Technology -- 3/27/ 2009 "The Health and Human Services Department plans to provide $1 billion worth of additional grants to states over a two-year period to support programs that enforce federal child-support mandates. Many tier-one contractors in the state and local market provide such services to states. The funds will come from the America Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, HHS officials said March 26. States are to use the funds specifically to support programs and technologies that enforce, collect and distribute child support, the officials said." Read the entire article: http://washingtontechnology.com/articles/2009/03/27/hhs-to-boost-grants-for-child-support-enforcement.aspx By Mary Garrigan, Journal staff | Monday, January 05, 2009 " Child support obligations for non-custodial parents will start at $216 per month for even the lowest-income South Dakotans if new guidelines proposed by the Governor's Commission on Child Support are adopted by the 2009 Legislature. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/articles/2009/01/05/news/local/doc495fd671065e3721565430.txt By Alex Doniach, Memphis Commercial Appeal "A day after the state Department of Human Services announced it would put Shelby County Juvenile Court's child support collection operation up for competitive bid, court officials said they will fight to keep the longstanding contract." Read the entire article: http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2009/jan/30/court-to-fight-to-keep-contract/ By Kyle Cheney -- Wicked -- 3/19/2009 "A fathers’ rights group says it is suing the Massachusetts Trial Court for what it says are unconstitutional child support guidelines that are decimating household budgets.“There are people who are literally being driven out of their homes and apartments because of their inability to pay,” said Ned Holstein, founder of the nonprofit Fathers & Families. “We believe in guidelines that will well take care of all the children and also be fair between the adults. These guidelines do not do that.”..." Read the entire article: http://www.wickedlocal.com/maynard/news/x1683630747/Advocates-for-fathers-sue-trial-court-over-child-support-rules By DailyRecorder.com 3/19/2009 "Days after breaking the NHL record for wins by a goalie, the Devils' Martin Brodeur has been dealt an alimony setback by a New Jersey appeals court. The court ruled that Brodeur (broh-DYOOR') must pay his ex-wife $500,000 a year until 2020. A lower court originally awarded Brodeur's ex-wife, Melanie DuBois (doo-BWAH'), limited alimony." Read the entire article: http://www.dailyrecord.com/article/20090319/UPDATES01/90319010 By WQOW TV News 18 - Wisconsin 3/17/2009 "Child support payments end up in the wrong hands and now a woman faces charges. Julia Hanish has been charged with identity theft in Clark County. Investigators say a young woman had been living with Hanish, but moved out before a debit card with child support payments on it for her and her son came in the mail. Hanish is accused of activating the card and draining the account which had $300 in it. Investigators say Hanish told them she did it because she felt the young woman owed her for rent." Read the entire article: http://www.wqow.com/Global/story.asp?S=10022584&nav=menu1364_2 By the Canadian Press -- Edmonton Sun Canada 3/16/2009 "A Toronto millionaire has been ordered to pay $31,015 in monthly support to his five-year-old daughter -- the largest temporary child support award by a Canadian court. In making the order, Judge Susan Greer noted that as the 38-year-old man's income "escalated skyward," he stubbornly condemned his former wife's attempt to secure a generous child-support payment as being "nothing more than a means of wealth transfer from him to her." Read the entire article: http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/Canada/2009/03/16/8762501-sun.html By Monica Brady-Myerov WBUR - Massachusetts 3/16/2009 "Are the new child support guidelines fair? A lawsuit filed Monday says they need more public scrutiny. ...Holstein is filling a civil lawsuit against Robert Mulligan, Chief Justice of Administration and Management who is in charge of the guidelines. The suit says the process was secretive, that the judge did not use data on the real cost of raising children and ignored public comments." Read the entire article: http://www.wbur.org/news/2009/83651_20090316.asp By WJZ - Maryland 3/16/2009 "State police say a deadbeat dad crashed his SUV after trying to flee when he was pulled over for speeding. ....A computer check showed Darling was wanted by Kent County Family Court for being in arrears on child support." Read the entire article: http://wjz.com/marylandwire/22.0.html?type=local&state=MD&category=n&filename=DE--DeadbeatDad-Chase.xml By Associated Press WATERVILLE, Maine 3/15/2009 "The state's top monitor says he has not seen a significant increase in the number of child-support cases in Maine. But Stephen Hussey, director of the division of support, enforcement and recovery within Maine's Department of Health and Human Services, says the number of child-support payments having to be taken out of unemployment checks is increasing." Read the entire article: http://www.seacoastonline.com/articles/20090315-NEWS-90315008 By GLORIA CARR The Courier News - Illinois 3/15/2009 "The argument spilled out into the hallway of Courtroom 101, where an anxious dad paced back and forth. He stopped, then leaned against a wall and touched his jaw as the mother of his child and her new partner berated him over missed child support payments. The air became so tense; a guard was quickly called." Read the entire article: http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/couriernews/news/1477441,3_1_EL15_01DIVORCE_S1.article By Jim Kouri NewsWithViews.com - Oregon 3/15/2009 "A record $2.85 billion in alleged delinquent child support was collected from federal income tax refund offsets in 2008 under the Federal Offset Program. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families (ACF) announced during a teleconference with bloggers and Internet journalists that the 2008 collection record broke the previous one, set in 2007, by more than $1.15 billion." Read the entire article: http://www.newswithviews.com/NWV-News/news132.htm By Harve Jacobs --Live5News.com Charleston,SC 3/11/2009 "Family law attorney Natalie Bluestein has dealt with many parents who cannot afford to pay their child support. "It's one I hear all the time that I don't have enough money to pay, but unfortunately if you have children you have an obligation to support them and the court will not have any pity on anybody who says that." But Bluestein says not being able to pay doesn't necessarily mean the parent will go to jail, especially if he or she recently lost their job. They can ask the family court judge to lower the child support payment." Read the entire article: http://www.live5news.com/global/story.asp?s=9987719 By GWEN BRISTOL, Minot Daily News – North Dakota 3/12/2009 "House Bill 1329, which would keep atypical overtime or bonuses from being included in calculations for child support payments, might have initiated a secondary benefit for people who pay child support. Rep. Robin Weisz, R-Hurdsfield, who sponsored the bill, testified for it before the Senate Human Services committee this past week. He said the constituent that asked him to present the bill also temporarily lost his employment. Although not covered in the bill, the issue creates real concern in the current economic climate. Weisz said with higher child support payments and a lower income, many child support payers have to decide whether to not pay child support and go into arrears or to not pay mortgage or car payments and risk foreclosure." Read the entire article: http://www.minotdailynews.com/page/content.detail/id/525461.html?nav=5010 By MIKE TIERNEY New York Times - 3/11/2009 "Randy Kessler’s family-law practice in Atlanta draws male celebrities as well as women in disputes with stars, which offers him a rounded perspective. One of his clients is the former N.F.L. player Travis Henry, who has nine children, each by a different mother. Kessler also represents the mother of one of several out-of-wedlock children fathered by the boxer Evander Holyfield, who has been married three times and has 11 children." Read the entire article: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/12/sports/football/12juicebox.html?_r=2 BY KATHLEEN KERR | Newsday.com 3/10/2009 "Along with lost luxuries and dwindling 401(k)s, the recession also threatens to take a toll on child support payments used to feed, dress and house children when their parents split. Across the country and on Long Island, some parents are asking courts to lower their child support payments to former spouses. Vanishing jobs, severe salary cuts and lost bonuses are the culprits, matrimonial lawyers say. The problem is so worrisome that the Chicago-based American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers will soon release results of a nationwide survey on requests to reduce child support. Nassau and Suffolk social services agencies both saw almost 15 percent decreases in child support collections this February over the same month in 2008" Read the entire article: http://www.newsday.com/news/local/nassau/ny-lichil1012531433mar10,0,697931.story By Ellen Gabler of the Journal Sentinel 3/9/2009 "The law has finally caught up with Joshua Fritz, the owner of a private security company who former employees say has pocketed child support payments he deducted from their paychecks. Fritz appeared in Milwaukee County court last week to begin settling his debts with at least a half-dozen former employees, said Lisa Marks, director of the Department of Child Support Enforcement for Milwaukee County." Read the entire article: http://www.jsonline.com/watchdog/pi/41003447.html By Associated Press -- Los Angeles 3/9/2009 "Anne Heche has finalized her divorce from cinematographer husband Coleman "Coley" Laffoon. ...The "Six Days Seven Nights" actress will pay $3,700 in monthly child support, as well as 75 percent of her son's private school tuition." Read the entire article: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ifPpLeI9_97UBRz10ixJm6GO6O2AD96QVHVO0 By Oxford Press - Ohio 3/10/2009 "Butler County officials are using new Internet tools to help get children the money courts have determined they deserve. The Butler County Child Support Enforcement Agency's Web site now allows residents to anonymously provide tips about the address or employment of someone wanted for nonpayment of child support." Read the entire article: http://www.oxfordpress.com/hp/content/oh/story/news/local/2009/03/10/hjn031109csea.html By Phil Kemp -- BBC News UK -- 3/8/2009 "Parents of grown-up children are being chased by the Child Support Agency for thousands of pounds of debt they never knew existed. Some are facing debts accrued in the 1990s after having had no contact with officials for years. ...Unlike debts owed to banks and other private companies, there is no time limit on when the Agency can pursue outstanding arrears outside of the courts." Read the entire article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7931122.stm By Mal Leary -- BangorDailyNews.com Maine 3/11/2009 "Members of Maine’s gambling industry said Tuesday that a bill proposing they collect child support from gambling winners goes too far, but Hollywood Slots suggested what it believes is a more practical way to improve collections." Read the entire article: http://www.bangordailynews.com/detail/101265.html The Plain Dealer - cleveland.com - Ohio 3/11/2009 "More than 14,000 parents behind on their child support payments have a chance to get their driver's licenses reinstated before April 18, when it will become more difficult to do so. The Cuyahoga Child Support Enforcement Agency is offering amnesty to parents who pay at least one month of their support obligation and at least $50 toward back support." Read the entire article: http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2009/03/parents_who_lost_drivers_licen.html By Ben Szobody • Greenville News – South Carolina 3/10/2009 "A Greenville County man could end up in jail after his trial tomorrow on two months, or $320, in overdue child support, said County Councilman Joe Dill, who said he knows the man. "It costs us more to house and feed him (than) he owes," Dill said. The county has estimated the daily taxpayer cost of housing an inmate at more than $50." Read the entire article: http://www.greenvilleonline.com/article/20090310/NEWS01/90310032/1068/YOURUPSTATE01
By Robert Kittle News Channel 7 – South Carolina 3/4/2009 "The economy and South Carolina’s high unemployment rate appear to be affecting child support payments in the state. Larry McKeown, child support enforcement director for the state Department of Social Services, says, “I can’t specifically attribute it to the economy, but we have seen a decrease of about a little over two percent in collections, when comparing January of ‘09 to January of ‘08.“ ...The amount of child support is set by a Family Court judge, based on a parent’s gross monthly income. If that income changes, the parent can ask for the payment amount to be changed. “I know anecdotally from the clerks of court they are getting requests for the review and the modification of orders,“ McKeown says." Read the entire article: http://www.wspa.com/spa/news/consumer/economy/article/economy_affects_child_support_payments/15248/ By Mandy Locke CharlotteObserver.com – North Carolina 2/28/2009 "SMITHFIELD Locked in a filing cabinet in the Johnston County courthouse is a judge's order that would have spared Rebecca Jones about $19,000 in child support she has paid for children she couldn't rear. Without her knowledge, a judge in 2001 took her parental rights. His ruling should've ended her duty to pay. The rule – no rights, no responsibility – has been state law since about 1969. Instead, $300 of Jones' monthly income was garnished for more than six years. Now Jones, 36, wants it back. She also wants the state to fix a system she thinks is defrauding parents like her. " Read the entire article: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/local/story/567041.html By KC Kotyk -- The Rolla Daily News -- Rolla, MO 2/27/2009 "The Phelps County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office reported a record number of child-support collections were obtained in the month of January. Collections reported by the State of Missouri in child-support enforcement cases that were referred to Phelps County totaled $116,224 and involved 214 cases." Read the entire article: http://www.therolladailynews.com/news/x617069695/Increased-child-support-collections By Sara Hacking Wadena Pioneer Journal - Minnesota 3/4/2009 "According to the report, 399 households used food support in January 2006 compared to 554 households in January 2009. The number of children on food support increased from 261 in January 2006 to 418 in January 2009. There were 493 adults on food support in January 2006 and 708 in January 2009. ...Another interesting statistic involves the number of non-custodial parents in child support cases who are receiving unemployment benefits, Sailer said. ....“This means ... these obligors who’ve been making child support payments are going to have a more difficult time making their payments because they are now unemployed,” Sailer said." Read the entire article: http://www.wadenapj.com/articles/index.cfm?id=13246§ion=news By Al's Morning Meeting -- Poynter.org - Florida "Franklin County Attorney Rick Sparks said the poor economy has meant that child support payments are down 1 percent. "Simply put, people just aren't working," he told The State Journal. "We have seen a lot of requests to modify, reduce or hold child support payments in abeyance." Read the entire article: http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=2&aid=159434
By WPEC - Florida 3/3/2009 "The bad economy is not only making it difficult for people to make ends meet and pay their bills, it is also creating difficulties for folks who have monthly alimony and child support payments. And just like there are loan modifications for people struggling with a mortgage, there are also modification actions available for those looking to lessen the financial burden of those child support and alimony obligations. It's the latest tend in family law." Read the entire article: http://www.cbs12.com/news/support_4715270___article.html/modification_child.html By Employment Spectator - Tennessee 3/3/2009 "Shelby County, the host county in Tennessee to the city of Memphis, is facing layoffs at its juvenile court. The cuts, which could exceed 200 or 250 employees, became more of possibility after the Department of Human Services in Nashville awarded a contract to Maximus Human Services, a private company in Virginia. ....They have held the contract for 45 years. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.employmentspectator.com/2009/03/shelby-county-tennessee-to-lay-off-200-workers-at-juvenile-court/ By Jeff Mcshan / 11 News -- Houston, Texas 3/4/2009 "Glenn Brock hasn’t missed a child support payment in 6 years and he's got documentation to prove it. But every year, he and his wife Tanya say they are harassed by the A.G.'s office. ...“The number one reason this happens is because there is a mathematical glitch in the computer system,” said Tanya Brock." Read the entire article: http://www.khou.com/news/local/crime/stories/khou090303_mp_dead-beat-dad-mix-up.227ec191.html By JILL SCHRAMM, Staff Writer Minot Daily News – North Dakota 3/3/2009 "...Opperude and other area employees who have received atypical overtime payments in the past could see their child support lowered under the bill, which passed the House 94-0. Currently, a court can include overtime pay in child support calculations even if overtime hours are irregular and aren't under the wage earner's control." Read the entire article: http://www.minotdailynews.com/page/content.detail/id/525079.html?nav=5010
By GEOFF DORNAN Capitol Bureau -- Lahontan Valley News 3/3/2009 "Willden said the biggest change he and Gilliland believe necessary is a change in approach away from taking everything through a courtroom. ....“To improve collections, the state needs a more administrative process,” he said. “Instead of everything going through the courts, many states are moving to masters and non-judges.” He said the result is not only improved collections but faster action to get the parent what she is owed...." Read the entire article: http://www.lahontanvalleynews.com/article/20090303/NEWS/903039982/1045&title=Nevada%20still%20at%20bottom%20in%20child%20support%20enforcement By Navideh Forghani joined NBC Augusta News 2/26/9 "Pay up or get locked up! The Richmond County Sheriff's office is cracking down on parents who are falling behind on their child support. Deputies went door to door to hold these parents accountable. House after house, the search continues for deadbeat parents, who owe thousands of dollars in child support. Donald Harris and Vernon Jessie say they can't make the payments on their child support. ..."$22,000, how am I going to pay that? There's no way I can pay that back," said Donald Harris, a frustrated father. “I was paying it, but then I lost my job,” said parent Vernon Jessie. ...With unemployment at an all time high, these parents say the fragile economy isn't making it any easier to pay up." Read the entire article: http://www.nbcaugusta.com/news/local/40381917.html With unemployment at an all time high, these parents say the fragile economy isn't making it any easier to pay up. "$22,000, how am I going to pay that? There's no way I can pay that back," said Donald Harris, a frustrated father.
By Yahoo News -- Associated Press 2/27/9 "Russell Simmons says he's happy to fork over $40,000 a month in child support for his two daughters. ...Los Angeles Superior Court judge Marjorie Steinberg signed off on an agreement giving sole custody to Kimora Lee Simmons, as well as child support. Simmons is to pay $40,000 a month until the girls are 19 and a half years old, but he says he wasn't forced to pay anything." Read the entire article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090227/ap_en_ot/people_russell_simmons By Ken Lee -- People Magazine.com 2/26/9 "Simmons has agreed to pay child support for daughters, Ming, 9, and Aoki, 6, of $20,000 each per month until the girls turn 19, according to court papers filed Thursday in Los Angeles. ....Lee Simmons also won sole legal and physical custody of the girls, with monitored visitation for Simmons. "When the children are in [Simmons's] custody, they shall be accompanied at all times by a nanny and security person," the filing reads." Read the entire article: http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20261932,00.html?xid=rss-topheadlines
By Southern Maryland Online - Maryland 2/23/2009 "With a little tenacity and help from Florida law enforcement officials, Maryland’s Child Support Enforcement Administration has successfully collected $5,000 in back child support payments from the Florida man who recently gained national notoriety for finding the remains of a Florida toddler who had been missing for months. ...Child support staff in the Charles County Department of Social Services began investigating the matter after learning that the man had recently been given reward monies." Read the entire article: http://somd.com/news/headlines/2009/9441.shtml By Jake Morphonios Nolan Chart - Virginia 2/24/2009 "Under the welfare reforms of the 1990's, state governments were drafted into the child support collection racket. The federal government began providing millions of dollars to state governments that met child support collection quotas. Because states are largely free to use this money to fund their budgets as they wish, child support collection became a very lucrative business. ...Have you ever wondered why fathers lose custody of their children in more than 85% of all family court custody cases?..." Read the entire article: http://www.nolanchart.com/article6043.html Mo. Senate approves bill creating special courts for child support casesWednesday, 25 February 2009
By Associated Press 2/24/9 "Mo. Senate approves bill creating special courts for child support cases Tuesday's vote sent the measure to the House. Under the so-called "fathering courts" bill, people convicted of failing to pay child support could have their sentences reduced if they complete court-ordered treatment or resume payments." Read the entire article: http://www.fox4kc.com/news/sns-ap-mo-xgr--childsupport,0,6581330.story By First Coast News - Florida 2/24/9 "Before the five-year-old disappeared from her Satsuma home February 10th, there was tension building between her parents. Court documents show Haleigh's mother, Crystal Sheffield, is behind in child support by about $4,100. ...Sheffield's mother, Marie Griffis, said her daughter did not want to discuss the issue. Griffis said her daughter recently stopped working when she was pregnant with her third child. She said a few months after the baby was born, Sheffield started looking for work, and has not found a job." "With this economy, people cannot find a job. She's looked, even at Burger King and McDonald's and at other restaurants," Griffis explained..." Read the entire article: http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/local/news-article.aspx?storyid=132134&catid=3 Robert Boyer / Times-News North Carolina 2/14/9 "The program will eventually offer parents jobs ranging from landscaping and general labor to painting and cattle ranching. ...."We're going to start slowly and get people in the habit of paying their child support, and in the habit of going to work, and in the habit of keeping a job," he said. "That takes the pressure off the taxpayers, who no longer have to support this person. ...Local judges "who are anxious to see something happen" are also supportive, he said. "It's better for everyone to have that man out there working. At the end of the day, he leaves with some dignity and self-respect that he didn't have before." Read the entire article: http://www.thetimesnews.com/articles/program_22601___article.html/alamance_support.html By Jared Strong -- DesMoinesRegister.com "A 22-year-old Des Moines woman told police that she crashed her truck head-on into a van driven by the father of her child because there was another woman in the van with him, according to a police report. “I knew he was with another woman!” Maria Alonso repeatedly told police after the crash at about 1:30 a.m. today. ....Police said that Alonso was pushing and striking Melo Santiago after the crash. ...Alonso was charged with domestic assault with a dangerous weapon, an aggravated misdemeanor punishable by up to two years in prison." Matt McCutcheon -- WANE - Indiana "FORT WAYNE, IND. (WANE) - No job, no excuse: that's what local Prosecutors say when it comes to paying child support. In fact, they call 2008 a "banner year" for collections. ...."Allowing people to say they don't have a job and are not employed has never for me been sufficient," Richards said." Read the entire article: http://www.wane.com/dpp/news/local_wane_fort_wayne_child_support_collections_set_record_200902101622 by Warren Reporter -- New Jersey "Project Self-Sufficiency offers a variety of legal education services to income eligible residents, including one-on-one consultations, a pro se divorce workshop, child support motion clinics, and a court accompaniment program." Read the Entire Article: http://www.nj.com/warrenreporter/index.ssf/2009/02/free_legal_education_services.html by Brett Singer AOL Parent Dish - USA "When Mark Webb found out that his daughter wasn't actually his -- biologically, that is -- he didn't just get mad. He decided to get even and sue for paternity fraud." Read the entire article: http://www.parentdish.com/2009/02/02/paternity-suit-sparks-debate-about-rights-of-fathers/ Associated Press -- Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - Wisconsin "MADISON — An heir to the Dow Jones fortune today blasted a court ruling that accused him of shirking his child support obligations to his 13-year-old daughter. "It’s absolutely laughable," said Jeffery Stevenson, 39, of Winneconne. "It’s ludicrous. It’s the twilight zone."......But Stevenson said the three-judge panel got it all wrong and he planned to appeal." Read the entire article: http://www.jsonline.com/news/wisconsin/39123337.html By Sandy Hodson| Staff Writer Chronicle - Georgia "Judge David Roper said he felt bad for Kenneth Samuels when he learned the child he had fathered for 11 years wasn't his. Justice was also shortchanged, the judge said, because Mr. Samuels had been paying child support all of those years." Read the entire article: http://chronicle.augusta.com/stories/030208/met_189488.shtml Sandra Chapman/Eyewitness News WTHR - Indiana "Indianapolis - Arrest warrants have vanished for thousands of deadbeat parents as a result of a new court policy." Read the entire article: http://www.wthr.com/Global/story.asp?S=9774373&nav=menu188_2 BBC News – United Kingdom "Mark Webb, 47, lost a bid to sue Lydia Chapman and her daughter Elspeth's biological father for £100,000 for 17 years of "deception"." Read the entire article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7867053.stm - Staff Writer /News & Observer – North Carolina "RALEIGH — The committee of the N.C. State Bar voted Wednesday to join forces with the State Attorney General's office in its efforts to combat a private company they believe to be scheming parents out of child-support payments." Read the entire article: http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/1376684.html By MAURY THOMPSON "" Gillibrand said she expects the first measure she will champion in the Senate will be a bill to prevent states from charging a $25 service fee to recipients of child-support payments. " Read the entire article: http://www.poststar.com/articles/2009/01/27/news/local/doc497f5baecb8c8978130415.txt By Richard Locker, Memphis Commercial Appeal "NASHVILLE -- The state Department of Human Services notified Shelby County officials late Thursday that it will not renew its $14.8 million contract with Shelby County Juvenile Court for child-support collection and enforcement services." Read the entire article: http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2009/jan/28/state-wont-renew-contract-juvenile-court-child-sup/ Associated Press "Atlanta (AP) — An Atlanta judge has ordered the arrest of former NBA player Jason Caffey, who's accused of failing to pay thousands in child support. In October, a judge in Alabama rejected a bankruptcy case filed by Caffey, clearing the way for him to be sued for child support." Read the entire article: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5giqP4Nyyf0Xw73ERQSTWuIhbLsCQD95VU8QG0 John Henrehan, MyFoxDC "Willie Ellis and Reginald Watson are the first graduates of the Fathering Court program at D.C. Superior Court. Both men were behind in child support payments, and both were hauled before judges at the courthouse on Indiana Avenue." Read the entire article: http://www.myfoxdc.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=8305382&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.3.1 WJLA - District of Columbia "WASHINGTON - A new program in the District helping ex-convicts reconnect with their children graduated its first two fathers on Friday. Reginald Watson and Willie Ellis say the experience has been life-changing. Watson says he hasn't missed a child support payment since last November, when he enrolled in the city's fathering court program. Watson couldn't afford his child support payments while in jail for six years, so they piled up." Read the entire article: http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/0109/588454.html Deidre Mussen -- Sydney Morning Herald - Australia "The Australian Government is demanding a New Zealand surrogate mother pay child support for the baby she had for two gay Queensland men, amid accusations she abandoned it." Read the entire article: http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/surrogates-told-to-pay-support/2009/01/24/1232471656508.html Ben Stein -- New York Times "NOT long ago, a woman in California called me for advice. She is divorced, with two children, and has a series of interlocking financial problems." Read the entire article: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/25/business/25every.html?_r=2&ref=business MSNBC "A proposal at the Statehouse would put Iowa's tax collectors in charge of rounding up child support payments. House file 36 would move the Child Support Recovery Unit from the Department of Human Services to the Department of Revenue." Read the entire article: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28812706/ By DAN HIGGINS, Staff writer "Laurel McAdoo, a state employee who lives in Albany, hasn't received a child support payment in two years. Child support enforcement records say her ex-husband is $53,000 behind on payments." Read the entire article: http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=763358&category=REGION WhoTv.com "A proposal at the Statehouse would put Iowa's tax collectors in charge of rounding up child support payments. House file 36 would move the Child Support Recovery Unit from the Department of Human Services to the Department of Revenue." Read the entire article: http://www.whotv.com/Global/story.asp?S=9721707 By Patrick George -- Austin American-Statesman - Texas "Troy Neel, a former professional baseball player arrested in December for owing more than $725,000 in unpaid child support to his ex-wife in Austin, waived arraignment today in San Antonio..." Read the entire article: http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/blotter/entries/2009/01/21/former_oakland_as_player_arres.html -- Chicago Tribune "Robert Frazin has been happily married for 35 years. He has never been divorced. So it was a bit of a shock, not to mention embarrassing, when the state started garnishing his pay for child support in November..." Read the entire article: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/columnists/chi-thu-problem-frazin-0122-jan22,0,6668788.column Associated Press - January 20, 2009 7:54 PM ET "BOISE, Idaho (AP) - Idaho's rising jobless rate is apparently helping the state collect child support, as Department of Health and Welfare collectors garnish unemployment benefits. Director Richard Armstrong told the Joint Finance-Appropriations budget writing committee Tuesday that rising collections from deadbeat dads have been an "unexpected" silver lining to Idaho's economic malaise." Read the entire article: http://www.localnews8.com/Global/story.asp?S=9704534&nav=menu554_2 By MARK DOUGLAS | WFLA NEW PORT RICHEY - "Fathers who fail to pay child support would do a week-long work detail wearing a shirt, overalls or vest that reads "Deadbeat Dad" in bold letters under a bill being introduced by state Sen. Mike Fasano. " Read the entire article: http://www2.tbo.com/content/2009/jan/16/fasano-bill-would-require-deadbeat-dad-shirts/ By Radley Balko | January 12, 2009, 12:28pm | Reason "When Walter Sharpe received the certified letter on Feb. 6, 2001, he knew the complaint for child support was a mistake." Read the entire article: http://www.reason.com/blog/show/131006.html#comments Associated Press - January 13, 2009 4:05 PM ET LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - "Eighteen-year-olds would no longer be minors in Nebraska for certain purposes, under a bill proposed by Sen. Kent Rogert of Tekamah." Read the entire article at: http://www.kcautv.com/Global/story.asp?S=9666891&nav=1kgl By Todd D. Wolfrum Attorney-at-law "Child support is the State's attempt to protect children from poverty or to make it (expletive) impossible for someone to live, point-of-view depending entirely on whether you are a payer or receiver." Read the entire article: http://timesbulletin.com/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=4&ArticleID=148739&TM=36365.02 Reported by: Jeni DiPrizio " MEMPHIS, TN -- If you are paying child support in Tennessee, you may want to make sure it is going to the proper location. If not, you might not get credit for the payment and you could end up in jail. ... " Read the entire article: http://www.myeyewitnessnews.com/mostpopular/story/Beware-of-Child-Support-Collection-Companies/qzBzQ9FZUUmYvtY2vFQyKg.cspx By GUNNAR OLSON " State officials blame a paperwork glitch for $3,350 in child-support payments being mistakenly put in another person's bank account, instead of an Ankeny woman, who was supposed to receive the money. The situation went undetected for four years. ... " Read the entire article: http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20081223/NEWS/812230351/-1/ENT05 By Nancy Cambria ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH " State workers are drowning in paperwork and an estimated seven-year backlog in pending child support hearings, adding months of uncertainty for parents awaiting checks or changes in their financial obligations, a state audit says. "It's a clear problem here. We don't know all the right answers to fixing it, but we know that we have to make some changes," said Missouri Auditor Susan Montee, who commissioned the review of the legal services division of the state Department of Social Services. ... " Read the entire article: http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/stlouiscitycounty/story/9BD770C9DD0D974286257529000CD2DE?OpenDocument By BOB WHITE "ELIZABETHTOWN – The governor's request for Kentucky's 120 county and 57 commonwealth's attorneys to shrink annual budgets 4 percent by Jan. 1 will cause financial woes, but the impact will vary on each offices' dependence on state funding. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.thenewsenterprise.com/cgi-bin/c2.cgi?053+article+News.Local+20081210145940053003 By Matt Birkbeck | Of The Morning Call " Every two weeks, Elizabeth Chiklo hears familiar tales of woe from parents who insist they cannot pay child support. ''It's usually the same people, over and over, saying the same thing,'' said Chiklo, who has served for the past decade as director of enforcement for Monroe County's domestic relations department, ''that they can't find a job and don't have any money....'' " Read the entire article: http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-b1_5childsupport.6728277jan03,0,4232406.story Eau Claire (WQOW) "Recent layoffs have been making it more difficult for many people to pay child support." Read the entire article: http://www.wqow.com/Global/story.asp?S=9634321&nav=menu1364_2 By LISA CORNWELL | Associated Press Writer "An Ohio agency director resigned Wednesday in the wake of a finding that she improperly used state computers to access personal information on the man who became known as "Joe the Plumber" during the presidential campaign." Read the Entire Article: http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-director-resigns,0,6745047.story Associated Press " MADISON, Wis. - Wisconsin Medicaid officials have never enforced a 1998 law requiring them to kick out health care providers behind on their child support payments, a recent report found." Read the Entire Article: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-wi-medicaid-childsup,0,6112316.story Posted by Peter Krouse/Plain Dealer Reporter " The Cuyahoga County Jail has no formal policy for determining which inmates get their prescription medications shortly after arriving and which inmates must wait up to two weeks before they get their Read the Entire Article: http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2008/12/cuyahoga_jail_lacks_rules_on_p.html Associated Press "Chris Rock has asked a judge to keep a Georgia woman from writing a book about her claim that the comedian fathered her teenage son, an allegation debunked last year by a court-ordered paternity test."
Read the entire article: http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2008/10/17/ap5571193.html
Posted by Donna J. Miller/Plain Dealer Reporter "R&B singer Sean Levert entered the Cuyahoga County Jail on March 24 clutching the prescribed medication he took regularly for anxiety." Read the entire article: http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2008/11/post_15.html Times of Trenton News Stories "Under legislation just signed into law by Gov. Jon Corzine, a $25 annual fee on late child support payments can now be billed directly to non-custodial parents by the state's Department of Human Services." Read the entire article: http://www.nj.com/timesoftrenton/stories/index.ssf?/base/news-15/1227083162128060.xml&coll=5 By JARREL WADE World Staff Writer "'The last four years have been the worst in my life,' Samuels said about life since leaving prison in 2004. 'I went into so much debt.' Samuels said under other circumstances he would take full responsibility for the child as a father should."
Read the entire article: http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleID=20081013_11_A1_Brande636682
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