Explanation & Justification
The Child Support system is in disrepair. These 9 submissions all offer suggestions of multiple different levels and angles for the same program. The merge will offer one place to discuss all ideas for total reform to the Child Support system in its entirety rather than individual points making each vote count more.
There is a pervasive wrong assumption that dads are all deadbeats who don’t pay support and hide income. The reality is that in many cases support orders are based on imputed income and orders are often impossible to be changed despite a documented loss of a job. Child support should be reformed at the federal level. Gone should be support orders based on complicated income calculations which infringe on personal liberties and drive up costs for both parties who have to hire attorneys and forensic accountants to prove what they make or find income for the other party. Money would be best left in both parents pockets. The current system is wasteful, encourages litigation, leads to unnnecessary use of court and DCSS resources. The classic case is a party who needs to take care of the children on their own and is not employed and/or doesn’t earn enough. The problem is easy to solve. If a parent is not disabled and they have young children, free childcare can be made available so that they can work to feed and provide housing for the kids. Resources used today towards court costs and enforcement should go towards free childcare. A parent who has less than 50% custody could be required to contribute towards a child’s trust account that could make withdrawals for designated expenses (e.g. school tuition, extracurricular, clothing, food etc.). The account could be tied to a card similar to an FSA so that certain stores automatically allow usage within certain limits. This will immediately eliminate conflict between the parties and restore a more harmonious co-parenting relationship as both parties can see that the money is actually spent on the kids.