I propose a restructuring of child support system to reduce poverty for children, reduce child support arrearages and lift families out of poverty. The new system will increase transparency of expenses and costs to raise a child, will greatly reduce back support, and will provide assistance to non paying parents to help them resume payments before penalties are enacted. The new system will also help identify parents who consistently fail to use support to meet their child’s needs either voluntarily or involuntarily and provide an opportunity for help in the way of training, mental health, or other resources that enhance their ability to manage basic need when needed or allow non custodial parents to request a review of expenditures when they believe it’s warranted but only judiciously and without ill intent.
Currently the child support system is broken. Child support orders are inconsistently and sporadically enforced. Child support is used in many cases as a pawn by one or both parents to “get back” or attempt to control the other parent to the detriment of the children. The child support recipient can choose to repeatedly take the payor to court for increases, withholding visitation, etc, and/or the payor can withhold support by working under the table, changing jobs frequently or delaying reporting of job stays, pay changes, etc. As a result, parents are able to use payment of non payment as a pawn against the other parent. This ultimately results in children being put in the middle, going without necessities, and/ or missing visits with non custodial parents without verified cause. In some cases custodial parents are unwilling or unable to properly manage expenses which results in child neglect or in some cases abuse. (Addiction, untreated mental health, etc) It can also result in loving parents going without contact or going it alone, simply to avoid drama or conflict.
I propose restructuring the child support system to eliminate or at least reduce the ability for either parent to use financial support as a pawn. This restructuring will separate payment or non payment from visitation and will ensure more consistent financial support of children, and reduce the need for a parent not receiving support to turn to "welfare’ for help. Often when child support is ordered but not paid for whatever reason, the custodial parent may turn to "welfare and social programs for assistance in providing necessities like food, school clothes, school activity fees, daycare, etc. The list of expenses to raise a child is long and varies according to age of child, lifestyle, etc.
I propose overhauling the system in a way that factors in the age of the children, the historical contributions of both parents so the focus is not just on finances but also on other contributions including time spent, emotional attachment, consistency, etc.
When a child support order is initially created, all factors and history of emotional, physical (visitation and direct care) as well as financial should be considered. Parents who have historically been involved, contributing parents should be acknowledged. Parents who have been historically uninvolved, inconsistent, or even totally disconnected, by choice, should be penalized with a higher financial obligation. Documented evidence of actively withholding contact with the child should be penalized with supervised monitoring, documented failure to provide basic needs of child should be penalized with stricter monitoring or transparency of expenditures. In the new child support system, court ordered support begins immediately upon the filing of the support order. It continues monthly until the child reaches 18 or is no longer a full time student. A child support order will not be negated by either parent remarrying. It could be impacted by the child being " adopted" or when a parent relinquishes parental rights voluntarily or involuntarily.
Child support under the new system will be paid in the amount by the State Child Support agency to the custodial parent. It will be paid monthly. The non custodial parent then pays support directly to the child support agency to reimburse the State for support paid to the custodial parent. The State will use their resources to collect said child support when needed. This can include various methods at their disposal including garnishment, but suspension of license and jail time which hinder future employment should be reserved for willful non payment of support and not involuntary non payment due to job layoff, illness, etc.
Parents who cannot pay child support to the State due to job loss or other involuntary reasons should be provided with assistance from the State in obtaining skills and other resources for employment and/or assistance in applying for benefits such as workers comp, disability, etc. and support payments can then resume to the State but will not stop for the custodial paren in the interim. This "back support would be owed to the State and not to the custodial parent. This incentivizes the State to collect back support rather than just ignore it.
This new system allows the child to be consistently and reliably financially supported by both parents regardless of either parents circumstances in life at any given time. It also encouraged and recognizes the non financial contributions and consistency of involvement from both parents.
A non custodial parent being laid off, losing a job, being unable to work due to injury, illness, addiction, etc. will not mean the child is financially impacted. A parent unable to pay can get help to restore their ability to pay rather than being jailed or having license suspended, etc. Parents who don’t pay the State and who refuse assistance in the form of resources could then be subject to license suspension, jail time, etc. if they get far enough behind in payments.
Quarterly or annual reports of participation, contact, and emotional and other parental contributions or expenses of both parents can be provided when a review is requested. Failure to emotionally support a child or failure to provide basic physical needs, school needs, daycare, etc can be submitted by either parent for review that may alter financial obligation, either increase or decrease but should be done judiciously, fairly, and without malice or ill intent. Parents who submit review requests without documentation or with ill intent will lose that privilege in future.
Obviously there will be some kinks to work out. But the basic concept is to identify, acknowledge, and encourage not only financial but emotional and other contributions of both parents in raising healthy children.
What say you?