Lary Holland: Official Blog, Links, and Resources (Entries tagged as title iv-d program)

Child Support Enforcement Agencies Need More Transparency and Accountability

laryholland@sbcglobal.net (Lary Holland) — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 23:35:45 -0500

Entrusting government officials to do the right thing nowadays, just doesn't seem very logical. As government growth continues to advance, citizen oversight seems to diminish in many key areas. Indystar.Com reported online that forgery charges were filed against ex-state worker (Indystar.Com; Forgery Charges Filed Against Ex-State Worker; Feb 10, 2010; Orig.) involving more theft of child support refunds.

Marion County prosecutors have filed forgery charges against a former state worker in connection with stolen child-support refunds.

James Lewis Parker, 47, was charged Monday with two counts of forgery as a Class C felony. Each charge carries a potential penalty of two to eight years in prison.

The various child support enforcement agencies need more transparency and accountability to ensure proper handling of significant portions of our nation's economy. As child support debt, orders, and associations expand exponentially, the crimes associated with these agencies increases as well.

Over the past several years we have noticed a climate ripe for embezzlement, identity theft, invasion of privacy, and more. Just this past year the Federal government removed some protections to the taxpayer to stop the continuous growth of these agencies. The reversal of the tax payer protection policy that was originally implemented under the Budget Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, paves the way for more disastrous consequences for taxpayers.

Just in June 2008, Delaware Child Support Program Employees were caught stealing from taxpayers and the children. Just over a year ago, we demonstrated how Theft was Running Rampid in State Child Support Programs. The widespread lack of accountability in these programs continues, without sufficiently limiting access to private data and ensuring digital fingerprints are placed on all data in the various systems nationwide, there will continue to be fraud on the taxpayers and the participants of Child Support Enforcement programs.

The Child Support Enforcement program continues to be plagued over the past several years of documented fraud, identity theft, embezzlement, bribery schemes, and more. Just take a
look at the snapshot below, and know that this is hardly a comprehensive look at the problems that exist throughout the nation with this "free for all welfare program."

Fort Bend Woman Guilty in Child Support Fraud Ring ~ "Fort Bend County jury has found 42-year-old Debra Hodge guilty of engaging in
organized criminal activity for her part in bilking over $40,000 in fraudulent child support from the Texas Attorney General's Office."

Child Support Worker Arrested in Bribery Scheme ~ "ORLANDO, Fla. -- A former employee of the Department of Revenue's Child Support Enforcement program was arrested Thursday on bribery charges." (Local6.Com "Child Support Worker
Arrested In Bribery Scheme" March 8, 2007)

Title IV-D Employee Embezzles Quarter of Million in Child Support Enforcement Money ~ "A Natomas woman stands accused of bilking the state Department of Child Support Services of more than $250,000, turning her procurement job into a means of buying a Lexus, hot tub and
big-screen television, among other things."

The Weekly Standard Indicts CSE Title IV-D Welfare Program ~ "There is mounting evidence that the system now encourages marital breakup and exacerbates fatherlessness by creating a winner-take-all game, where the losing parent--commonly a father wanting to save the marriage--is unfairly penalized by the loss of his children and by a federally enforced child support obligation."

Federal Child Support Enforcement Program Makes Little "Cents" to the Taxpayer ~ "So the man, named Michael Eugene Lamb, is going into prison at the age of 49, sitting there on a federal conviction, and coming out sometime when he is almost 51 years old. The federal system will charge the taxpayers for his 1.5 year confinement at a cost between $30,000.00 to $50,000.00 depending on the facility and not including any health issues of the confined."

Child Support Clerk Charged With Embezzlement: More Government Corruption ~ "Another County employee, this one in Lauderdale County, has been indicted by a grand jury on felony embezzlement charges for allegedly stealing more than $216,000.00 of program money, paid for by taxpayers, by writing unauthorized checks to herself from January 2002 through April of 2007. This employee was released on a $10,000.00 bond, which no doubt was probably a drop in the bucket considering she has already
been sitting on the $216,000.00 plus her lush salary.

Two Main Media Outlets Reprot More Thieving Title IV-D/CSE Employees ~ "Two separate reports have come out about a Maine Child Support Enforcement Worker (Title IV-D Employee) that has been stealing money orders from children the agency touts to protect. This most recent employee, who is now on administrative leave pending investigation, was reported as intercepting money orders and depositing them in her personal bank account."

Mounting Accountability Problems With Child Support Programs: Data Stolen ~ "Yuba County scrambled this week to contact 70,000 people whose names and personal information were on a laptop computer stolen from the new Child Support Services office in Linda. County officials said the stolen laptop contained Social Security numbers, birth dates, driver’s license numbers and other private information on 70,000 people+."

Identity
Theft: Opt Out of Family Court Services Before it Happens to YOU! ~ "...customers in at least three states have already experienced serious breaches in their personal information, including social security numbers being compromised and potentially handed over to hackers that might want to steal identities in the last few months
alone."

Implementing more data safeguards, limiting the size and scope of the the Federal and State Child Support Enforcement programs, tightening controls on confidential records, and more needs to be done to protect the taxpayer. We need to reign in the program and make sure it serves the purpose of real needy families rather than as a data harvesting tool for the federal and state governments on nearly every divorcing couple in the United States.

Lary Holland is Host and Producer of the popular online talk show, "Get Your Justice Live" with current content from Legislators, Decision-Makers, Professionals, and parents on government accountability, necessary judicial reforms, and more. Get Your Justice Live broadcasts live every Wednesday and Sunday Night at 8PM EST. Visit the website for more information.

Wisconsin Tribal Courts May See Boost in Federal Funding/Transfer of Cases

laryholland@sbcglobal.net (Lary Holland) — Mon, 11 May 2009 19:53:30 -0400

In Wisconsin, the State Supreme Court made minor changes that may expedite the transfer of cases from Wisconsin Courts to Tribal Courts. This opens the door for more transfers of Native American cases to be handled in their own courts. Unfortunately, the main change that seems to be driving the move for cases from State Court to Tribal Court is that Tribal Courts are now permitted to receive Federal Title IV-D for Paternity Establishment and their operation of a child support enforcement program.

Naturally, since the Tribal courts now will be receiving funding for pursuing certain types of cases, they would naturally want to retain jurisdiction or take jurisdiction over matters that they can be paid for under US Federal Grant and Incentive Programs.

According to the Wisconsin Law Journal the following changes have been made:

First, the circuit court would have to make an explicit finding that the state court and the tribal court have concurrent jurisdiction over the matter.
Second, the court would have to send a detailed notice to the parties, explaining the consequences of failure to object to transfer.
Third, it adds a provision that, absent any objection from the parties, transfer will occur unless good cause exists not to transfer the case.

Since there are always a number of cases where one party is not known in these cases, you can expect most will transfer very quickly. The key again though is that the Native/Tribal Courts are now basically getting federal kickbacks for establishing paternity, establishing child support orders, and otherwise enforcing state created obligations against parents.

Additional Information About Title IV-D Can Be Found:

The Child Support Enforcement program continues to be plagued over the past several years of documented fraud, identity theft, embezzlement, bribery schemes, and more. Just take a look at the snapshot below, and know that this is hardly a comprehensive look at the problems that exist throughout the nation with this "free for all welfare program."

Fort Bend Woman Guilty in Child Support Fraud Ring ~ "Fort Bend County jury has found 42-year-old Debra Hodge guilty of engaging in organized criminal activity for her part in bilking over $40,000 in fraudulent child support from the Texas Attorney General's Office."

Child Support Worker Arrested in Bribery Scheme ~ "ORLANDO, Fla. -- A former employee of the Department of Revenue's Child Support Enforcement program was arrested Thursday on bribery charges." (Local6.Com "Child Support Worker Arrested In Bribery Scheme" March 8, 2007)

Title IV-D Employee Embezzles Quarter of Million in Child Support Enforcement Money ~ "A Natomas woman stands accused of bilking the state Department of Child Support Services of more than $250,000, turning her procurement job into a means of buying a Lexus, hot tub and big-screen television, among other things."

The Weekly Standard Indicts CSE Title IV-D Welfare Program ~ "There is mounting evidence that the system now encourages marital breakup and exacerbates fatherlessness by creating a winner-take-all game, where the losing parent--commonly a father wanting to save the marriage--is unfairly penalized by the loss of his children and by a federally enforced child support obligation."

Federal Child Support Enforcement Program Makes Little "Cents" to the Taxpayer ~ "So the man, named Michael Eugene Lamb, is going into prison at the age of 49, sitting there on a federal conviction, and coming out sometime when he is almost 51 years old. The federal system will charge the taxpayers for his 1.5 year confinement at a cost between $30,000.00 to $50,000.00 depending on the facility and not including any health issues of the confined."

Child Support Clerk Charged With Embezzlement: More Government Corruption ~ "Another County employee, this one in Lauderdale County, has been indicted by a grand jury on felony embezzlement charges for allegedly stealing more than $216,000.00 of program money, paid for by taxpayers, by writing unauthorized checks to herself from January 2002 through April of 2007. This employee was released on a $10,000.00 bond, which no doubt was probably a drop in the bucket considering she has already been sitting on the $216,000.00 plus her lush salary."

Two Main Media Outlets Reprot More Thieving Title IV-D/CSE Employees ~ "Two separate reports have come out about a Maine Child Support Enforcement Worker (Title IV-D Employee) that has been stealing money orders from children the agency touts to protect. This most recent employee, who is now on administrative leave pending investigation, was reported as intercepting money orders and depositing them in her personal bank account."

Mounting Accountability Problems With Child Support Programs: Data Stolen ~ "Yuba
County scrambled this week to contact 70,000 people whose names and personal information were on a laptop computer stolen from the new
Child Support Services office in Linda. County officials said the stolen laptop contained Social Security numbers, birth dates, driver’s
license numbers and other private information on 70,000 people+."

Identity Theft: Opt Out of Family Court Services Before it Happens to YOU! ~ "...customers in at least three states have already experienced serious breaches in their personal information, including social security numbers being compromised and potentially handed over to hackers that might want to steal identities in the last few months alone."

Let's just hope that the Child Support programs in the Native/Tribal courts don't become nearly as damaging as they have become in US/State Family Courts. The recent rule changes in Wisconsin will likely have several issues when it comes to spousal support cases and other cases that have child support as an ancillary action, which would otherwise result in only part of the case being transferred to the Native/Tribal Courts. In the end, it is certainly all about the money and there still needs to be drastic overhauls to the family court system to better focus on the needs of children rather than on the financial performance within government controlled bureaucracies.

-------------------------------

“Tribal Child Support Programs. The circuit court may, on its own motion or the motion of any party, after notice to the parties of their right to object, transfer a post-judgment child support, custody or placement provision of an action in which the state is a real party in interest pursuant to s. 767.205(2) to a tribal court located in Wisconsin that is receiving funding from the federal government to operate a child support program under Title IV-D of the federal Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 654 et al.). The circuit court must first make a threshold determination that concurrent jurisdictions exists. If concurrent jurisdiction is found to exist, the transfer will occur unless a party objects in a timely manner or it is proven that there is good cause to prevent the transfer. Upon the filing of a timely objection to the transfer, the circuit court shall conduct a hearing on the record, considering all the relevant factors set forth in sub. (2).”

Former Child Support Services Employee Arrested! Selling Confidential Records.

laryholland@sbcglobal.net (Lary Holland) — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 12:09:48 -0400

I have to commend WZTV in Nashville Tennessee for bringing this story forward. Former Child Support Services Employee Arrested (Source: Former child support services employee arrested; www.wztv.com; April 02, 2009) That's right, another child support services employee arrested for allegedly stealing AND selling confidential child support records.

I guess the going rate for stolen names, social security numbers, and what ever else private information is located in these child support enforcement program computer systems are just under a $1.50 per name. But how much damage has really been done, especially since we are dealing with a largely unaccountable group of state, county, and private agencies that are being granted wide-spread access to extremely personal information with very little safeguards implemented?

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- A Nashville man is facing charges that he tried to sell 1,600 stolen names, Social Security numbers and bank account numbers.

Tennessee Bureau of Investigation agents arrested 27-year-old Steven K. Gilmore on Wednesday after he sold the information to an undercover TBI agent for $2,800.

This wasn't the first time this individual has allegedly sold confidential information from the Child Support Enforcement databases, and certainly not the first story of corruption on the State Child Support Enforcement programs.

Gilmore had access to the information through his former employer, a private company that contracts with the state Department of Human Services to provide child support services.

A federal criminal complaint against Gilmore says the U.S. Secret Service and TBI are investigating Gilmore and that he has sold such information before.

Over the past several years we have noticed a climate ripe for embezzlement, identity theft, invasion of privacy, and more. Just this year the Federal government removed some protections to the taxpayer to stop the continuous growth of these agencies. The reversal of the tax payer protection policy that was originally implemented under the Budget Deficity Reduction Act of 2005, paves the way for more disastrous consquences for taxpayers.

The Child Support Enforcement program continues to be plagued over the past several years of documented fraud, identity theft, embezzlement, bribery schemes, and more. Just take a look at the snapshot below, and know that this is hardly a comprehensive look at the problems that exist throughout the nation with this "free for all welfare program."

Fort Bend Woman Guilty in Child Support Fraud Ring ~ "Fort Bend County jury has found 42-year-old Debra Hodge guilty of engaging in organized criminal activity for her part in bilking over $40,000 in fraudulent child support from the Texas Attorney General's Office."

Child Support Worker Arrested in Bribery Scheme ~ "ORLANDO, Fla. -- A former employee of the Department of Revenue's Child Support Enforcement program was arrested Thursday on bribery charges." (Local6.Com "Child Support Worker Arrested In Bribery Scheme" March 8, 2007)

Title IV-D Employee Embezzles Quarter of Million in Child Support Enforcement Money ~ "A Natomas woman stands accused of bilking the state Department of Child Support Services of more than $250,000, turning her procurement job into a means of buying a Lexus, hot tub and big-screen television, among other things."

The Weekly Standard Indicts CSE Title IV-D Welfare Program ~ "There is mounting evidence that the system now encourages marital breakup and exacerbates fatherlessness by creating a winner-take-all game, where the losing parent--commonly a father wanting to save the marriage--is unfairly penalized by the loss of his children and by a federally enforced child support obligation."

Federal Child Support Enforcement Program Makes Little "Cents" to the Taxpayer ~ "So the man, named Michael Eugene Lamb, is going into prison at the age of 49, sitting there on a federal conviction, and coming out sometime when he is almost 51 years old. The federal system will charge the taxpayers for his 1.5 year confinement at a cost between $30,000.00 to $50,000.00 depending on the facility and not including any health issues of the confined."

Child Support Clerk Charged With Embezzlement: More Government Corruption ~ "Another County employee, this one in Lauderdale County, has been indicted by a grand jury on felony embezzlement charges for allegedly stealing more than $216,000.00 of program money, paid for by taxpayers, by writing unauthorized checks to herself from January 2002 through April of 2007. This employee was released on a $10,000.00 bond, which no doubt was probably a drop in the bucket considering she has already been sitting on the $216,000.00 plus her lush salary."

Two Main Media Outlets Reprot More Thieving Title IV-D/CSE Employees ~ "Two separate reports have come out about a Maine Child Support Enforcement Worker (Title IV-D Employee) that has been stealing money orders from children the agency touts to protect. This most recent employee, who is now on administrative leave pending investigation, was reported as intercepting money orders and depositing them in her personal bank account."

Mounting Accountability Problems With Child Support Programs: Data Stolen ~ "Yuba County scrambled this week to contact 70,000 people whose names and personal information were on a laptop computer stolen from the new Child Support Services office in Linda. County officials said the stolen laptop contained Social Security numbers, birth dates, driver’s license numbers and other private information on 70,000 people+."

Identity Theft: Opt Out of Family Court Services Before it Happens to YOU! ~ "...customers in at least three states have already experienced serious breaches in their personal information, including social security numbers being compromised and potentially handed over to hackers that might want to steal identities in the last few months alone."

Federal Government Reverses Child Support Enforcement Policies for States

laryholland@sbcglobal.net (Lary Holland) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 13:01:08 -0400

The federal government recently reversed a policy that required states to contribute to their own child support enforcement programs, now allowing the states to again use federal incentive money to obtain additional federal grant money. Essentially federal taxpayers from other states will now be footing a significant increase for other states' child support enforcement activities as a result of this policy reversal.

Under the Budget Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, federal taxpayers were relieved that states were no longer allowed to "double-dip" out of the federal title iv-d program coffers. It is important to note that under the Title IV-D program the programs established are not essential services for needy families, as over half of the families that receive a benefit do not even qualify for or are at risk of needing other government welfare programs.

The new Recovery Act provision is effective Oct. 1, 2008 through Sept. 30, 2010. States will receive the additional match funding based on any incentive funds used during FY 2009 and FY 2010, including incentives earned and not spent in prior years. States will access the additional funds as they currently do, through grant awards based on quarterly expenditures.

(Source: HHS Makes Estimated $1 Billion in Recovery Act Funds Available to Improve Child Support Enforcement; March 26, 2009; Press Release)

The changes under the spending bill, signed into law by President Obama, coined the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) seems to be a significant spending bill that simply increases the flow of money to government employees and not to the average American citizen, to "further stimulate the economy." Many "Title IV-D" or "Child Support Enforcement" offices were looking at shrinking the size of their offices when they found out they were unable to support paying even a mere one-third of their own expenses to justify their existence. The ARRA now encourages continued federal spending for programs that simply are not sustainable and will only continue to drain the American Taxpayer with more and more funding requests to keep their doors open. The child support enforcement program now lives up to its name of a free-for-all welfare spending program, which amounts to an uncapped spending spree coming out of the American Taxpayers pocketbook.

To see how much additional federal incentive money was provided to each state that got their expenditure reports in, you can visit the HHS Recovery Funds Distribution Website at http://www.hhs.gov/recovery/programs/cse/qtr1awards.html.

Notes

The ARRA ‘09 includes clear expectations that States and other recipients of ARRA '09 stimulus funds will be held accountable for how funds are expended and what benefits are derived from the use of these funds. ACF anticipates requests for spending and performance data that will be posted on the www.recovery.gov web site. Therefore, States should take care to anticipate accountability and transparency requirements and that information on state-reported impact of these expenditures will be available to the public.

States that have not reported expenditures made using incentive funds for the 1st quarter will not receive 1st quarter incentive grants at this time. States with applicable expenditures may revise their 1st quarter reports or include amounts in their 2nd or 3rd quarter estimates. Grants will be issued on a rolling basis promptly after reports are received.

Grant awards reflect 66% of actual expenditures reported by States for the 1st quarter of FY 2009 on Form OCSE-396A, line 1a column A.

Where is the value to society?

laryholland@sbcglobal.net (Lary Holland) — Thu, 08 May 2008 12:47:19 -0400

Society has done a wonderful job at claiming that "child support" is a special kind of "debt." Society has also done a wonderful job in convincing the public that people sentenced for owing debt to prisons nationwide is a good thing. Where is the societal value in placing a 51-year old man in PRISON for years on a debt that is likely going to cause a significant recitivism rate, especially since once this man gets out his employment is likely going to be minimum wage work? Who is really penalized by this? The taxpayers are penalized more than anyone, as well as this man's children.

The child support enforcement program was intended to pay back the federal government for welfare payments they were making to the States to operate their social welfare programs. What is odd, is that the program has morphed into a cumbersome and bloated bureucratic machine that doesn't benefit society, only those that are directly employed by the system. If anything, the programs are encouraging more out of wedlock births, more fights over money, and more dissolutions of marriage because it is now financially beneficial to separate. The government is simply glorifying the bad behaviors of society while punishing the tax payer. Read the below article and tell me where the value to society is.

Man to serve time for back child support
From Wire Reports

A 51-year-old Kosciusko man was sentenced to 10 years in prison with eight suspended and ordered to pay $68,215.87 in back child support. [This man will likely no longer be as marketable when he gets out of prison, therefore reducing his earnings potential and contribution to society dramatically.]

Dennis Kern was sentenced Wednesday, April 30, by Oktibbeha County Circuit Court Judge Lee Howard on charges of refusing to provide for the support and maintenance of his children.

The case was prosecuted by Mississippi's attorney general. [This AG should have been focusing on serious crimes.]

The court ordered Kern to start paying the owed child support payments 60 days after his release from prison. [Unlikely because most employers will not want ex-cons working for them.]

He will be on supervised probation once he's out. [More Fees for the System]

Sounds like old fashioned "debtor's prison." Ron Paul OnSecondThought.Tv

laryholland@sbcglobal.net (Lary Holland) — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 14:25:44 -0500

The Title IV-D program is just one of the many federal programs where the federal government bribes state governments to comply with their version of public policy. As stated in the video the Title IV-D program sounds like "old fashioned debtor prison" and that the Child Support Enforcement program is "little more or little less than a system of organized crime." A "quiet reign of terror" on the American Public.

Please be sure to visit http://www.onsecondthought.tv with William J Wagener.

When Stealing From Children Isn't Enough!

laryholland@sbcglobal.net (Lary Holland) — Sun, 09 Dec 2007 16:30:39 -0500

When stealing from the nation's children is not enough the often unsupervised and unaudited government employees resort to stealing directly from the coffers that are designed to help our nation's elderly and most needy.

The WFTV.COM Website covering Channel 9 in Florida reported on December 7, 2007 that 3 Women Charged With Stealing Public Assistance Money From DCF. Most importantly, the occurrences of fraud going on in both the welfare system and the child support enforcement system are not isolated issues but widespread problems of government waste and lack of accountability. "There has been a failure to proect the taxpayer from abuse, fraud, and embezzelement with most of the programs in our welfare system" states Lary Holland, author of this blog.

"TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- A state Department of Children and Families employee and two other women have been charged with stealing more than $1.5 million in state assistance money."

Just a couple of weeks ago another State worker was accused of taking child support money on this same blog. Notwithstanding the outstanding amounts of fraud occurring in just the welfare system, there have been a continual number of issues mounting with the child support enforcement program.

State Worker Accused of Taking Child Support Money
Innocent Man Sent To Jail For Missed Child Support
Child Support Clerk Charged With Embezzlement: More Government Corruption
Two Maine Media Outlets Report More Thieving Title IV-D/CSE Employees: http://www.laryholland.com/serendipity/archives/367-Two-Maine-Media-Outlets-Report-More-Thieving-Title-IV-DCSE-Employees.html
Fort Bend Woman Guilty in Child Support Ring: http://www.laryholland.com/serendipity/archives/366-Fort-Bend-Woman-Guilty-in-Child-Support-Fraud-Ring.html
Child Support Worker Arrested In Bribery Scheme: http://www.laryholland.com/serendipity/archives/329-Child-Support-Worker-Arrested-in-Bribery-Scheme.html
Title IV-D Employee Embezzles Quarter of Million in Child Support Money: http://www.laryholland.com/serendipity/archives/311-Title-IV-D-Employee-Embezzles-Quarter-of-Million-in-Child-Support-Enforcement-Money.html

For more information about the child support enforcement program, please contact Lary Holland at 800-319-4955 x3.

Equal Parenting Symposium a Success

laryholland@sbcglobal.net (Lary Holland) — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 01:33:00 -0400

What we are facing today, much like others in the past, is a simple civil rights violation. This is how you get heard... Let your legislators know that you are fed up and not going to take it anymore! Demand equal rights and equal treatment, meaning equal access to your children!

The Equal Parenting Symposium was a success and will be airing on local public access television in the coming week around the metro Detroit area. The most recent symposium was in the City of Pontiac, in Oakland County. Politicians, Professionals, and interested citizens from all over the state appeared for presentations by Jim Semerad (Dads and Moms of Michigan), Dr. Michael Ross (Family Rights Coalition), Lary Holland (Family Court Problems), Jay Fedewa (Family Rights Coalition) and Minister Ronald Smith (Children Need Both Parents, Inc.).

As video becomes available, it will be uploaded and shared here! Also an audio podcast will be available later this week of the speeches that were given and available for sharing and download. This event was a success and even more people are now educated about the funding mechanisms of our Friend of the Court systems, the steep rewards that are provided for the creation of absent parent households, and the devastating effects of family court on our economy.

Thanks for the Family Rights Coalition, and the other members of the symposium for helping make this event such a success!

California Senator's Vote Unaminously to Bring Back Indentured Servitude

laryholland@sbcglobal.net (Lary Holland) — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 23:17:19 -0400

This button just seemed appropriate... but I ask.. will the residents of California truly overcome such tyranny or just let it pass without a fight?

Has California's Senators voted unaminously to bring back indentured servitude? The California Political Desk in the California Chronicle today reported that the State Senate "today unaminmously (38-0) passed legislation to help increase the number of child support payments collected in San Mateo County," which further states "...would establish a program in San Mateo County to provide judges with the discretion to order an unemployed child support obligor to seek work at the time of the initial hearing determining such support." ("Yee's Bill To Strengthen Child Support Laws Approved." California Chronicle 6 Sept. 2007)

Basically, I call laws like the above a "Minority Report Approach" to legislation, based on the Tom Cruise movie Minority Report. The premise of the movie was that three "pre-cognitives" could see into the future and determine a crime before it was committed and arrest the individual before they engaged in the criminal activity. Only one problem, the "pre-cogs" didn't always agree so the "system" would cover up the mistakes of the pre-cogs. Also, the movie raises an interesting philosophy that since an act was not committed yet, could they be found truly guilty of the crime "before it even happened?" In Tom Cruise's case, he demonstrated that the future was not always certain. In the above California Legislation, California Senators are attempting to force someone to perform an act before there is even a crime, as required by our Constitution. But...this is family court right? Now remember that child support is merely a civil debt and no crime has been committed leading up to the order of such debt to be paid to another party.

For those of you unfamiliar with the Constitution, the document that
restricts governmental powers, there was an Amendment that completed
Ratification on December 6, 1865. Under US Const. Amendment 13 Sec. 1 "Neither
slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for a crime
whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within
the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction." Either California isn't part of the United States, or California and other states
are trying to take more authority than what they actually have. The

The U.S. Supreme Court, in United States v. Kozminski (1988), has defined involuntary servitude as "compulsory service by the use of physical restraint or injury, or by the use or threat of coercion through legal process."
Essentially the program as defined above, as well
as the many court orders forcing individuals to participate in
government welfare programs without compensation because there exists a
civil debt or other civil judgment, is nothing more than a return to
the slave trade and indentured servitude that was outlawed just a mere
142 years ago.

Virginia Child Support Agencies Complaining About Fees

laryholland@sbcglobal.net (Lary Holland) — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 20:35:00 -0400

The Anti-Family Child Support War Mongers are clamoring their hammers on their shields because they don't think that an individual who benefits from their programs should have to pay a small $25.00 fee after receiving $500.00 or more dollars through the program. Bloggers at ReadExpress.Com and a few other sites have been disagreeing with the fee that is being imposed on the beneficiaries of the voluntary program.

I took the time to write about this exact issue when Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley was complaining of the same issue. You can view my initial response at the Nationwide Blueprint for Title IV-D Reform Website. Just like in Iowa and every other state in the United States of America, the State participation is voluntary. The States knew that the application fee was going to be a requirement and chose to sign up for the program anyways. Now they seek to change the rules and continue a trend of rewarding individuals and bureaucracies for negative outcomes instead of positive outcomes.

Just like in Iowa, The Virginia program suffers tremendous over participation of families that are 150% or higher above the poverty-line. Because of the significant level of over participation from wealthier families receiving voluntary services at no cost the failure of collections for the mandatory lower-income participants are going unnoticed while the program is being touted as a success. Essentially the mandatory participation in the state child support enforcement program by families receiving other forms of government assistance are being left behind while the state focuses on adding higher-income families and focusing resources on easier targets through income-withholding orders to continue maximizing federal funding received by the state of Virginia.

Similarly, since the super majority of the participants are families that are over the 150% threshold of poverty, there should be no reason that the beneficiaries of the programs, when proven successful, receive services at no cost. We need to reduce taxpayer burden and add proper eligibility requirements to restrict program participation. Free for all spending on these programs is irresponsible use of the taxpayer money and nothing more than fuel for a growing, federally subsidized, bureaucracy. When the federal funding dries up, the burden is going to become an immediate emergency associated with funding an oversized bureaucracy that will eventually rest on the shoulders of the local taxpayers that will not be able to foot the entire bill.

Bloggers need to understand the issues at hand before repeating the propaganda of State and Federal officials by doing a little research. Afterall, if they don't do the research they will be no better than the average news release service.

The Myth of the Successful Child Support System - Jane Spies - NFJA

laryholland@sbcglobal.net (Lary Holland) — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 15:25:00 -0400

The Myth of the Successful Child Support System

By Jane Spies, M.S. Ed.

Email address: NFJAinfo@aol.com

Article updated July 31, 2007

(Original Title: CHILD SUPPORT: FREEDOM, EQUALITY, AND INCARCERATION

December 12, 2006)

The theme chosen for this paper involves the American values of Freedom and Equality.

In the land of the free where we enjoy equality and equal opportunity to pursue the American Dream, why is America incarcerating people at an alarming rate? Does everyone in America have the equal opportunity to maintain their freedom and enjoy the liberties that all Americans are supposed to have?

According to Marc Mauer of the Sentencing Project, the incarceration rate in the United States is "...702 inmates per 100,000 population...". This rate "...situates this nation as the world leader in its use of imprisonment." [1]

The charts on pages 1 and 2 from Mauer's paper, cited above, illustrate this incarceration rate.

As the reader can see, there is a sharp rise in number of prisoners incarcerated around the years 1976 to 1986. I ask: What happened in the year 1976 or so that caused the alarming increase?

According to Mauer, "Thus, despite the fact that the U.S. has a higher rate of violent crime than other industrialized nations, much of the unprecedented prison population increase of recent years is explained not by crime rates but by changes in sentencing and drug policy."[2] Another logical question would be:

Is there really more criminal behavior in the United States since the year 1986 or so, or are there just more behaviors "labeled criminal" for which people are being incarcerated?

I believe that the latter explanation is the more likely one. This is an area that deserves a heightened level of scrutiny because it involves our basic American values - freedom and equality.

The incarceration rate does not seem to be decreasing. Kasie Hunt of The Associated Press (11/30/06) reported: "A record 7 million people or one in every 32 American adults were behind bars, on probation or on parole by the end of last year, according to the Justice Department. Of those, 2.2 million were in prison or jail, an increase of 2.7 percent over the previous year, according to a report released Wednesday."[3]

I find these record statistics astounding. What could be driving this?

See "US notches world's highest incarceration rate: A report highlights extent to which many citizens have served time in prison.",[4] I will examine why this phenomenon may have "emerged" at this particular time.

Rather than look at the whole picture, I'm going to focus in on one aspect of the problem that I believe contributes to the increased incarceration rate. That is the area of child support enforcement. Based on my research into this issue, this is one area that I believe is little understood and seldom addressed fully.

This is an important question affecting millions of families nationwide. When parents are unjustly incarcerated, they suffer, their children suffer, their spouse suffers, and the grandparents and extended family suffer, also. The social and financial costs of this are tremendous.

On The Open Society Institute website, I found a very important study regarding crucial factors that affect successful community reintegration of ex-prisoners in Baltimore. One of the factors affecting success or failure post-release was finances. An excerpt from the Baltimore study follows:

"Finances: Sixty-two percent of respondents said they were in debt because of child support and other court-imposed fees, which created a significant obstacle as they tried to support themselves financially."[5]

Obviously, in this study, child support issues may have affected a very large proportion of people being released. This study supports my contention that the child support issue urgently needs to be addressed and alleviated to help families and children.

If people who are incarcerated and released cannot keep up with unrealistic demands for child support while they are in jail, this may contribute to their having to return to incarceration. How can they survive financially and support their families under these misguided policies? Chances are great that they will be returned to prison if they continue to fall behind on paying child support. Furthermore, once they have an incarceration record, finding employment will be more difficult.

Please consider the following examples of child support enforcement gone awry:

--One Albuquerque man was forced to pay child support for five years, to the tune of $20,000, for a baby who he and his current wife insisted did not exist. A judge finally declared that the child was indeed nonexistent. For 5 years the child support system would not believe this man who tried to tell them that there was no child.[6]

--Tony Jackson had to work 2 jobs to pay approximately $13,000 in child support for a child proven by DNA testing not to be his. His current family suffered as he could not afford to take his children out to dinner as his money was being sent to the county to support a child he did not father. Jackson said:

"And it's like somebody put a stake in my heart and I can't move. It affects me around my family the most."[7]

and

"I don't--I wouldn't even know what to say to the next man that's in my position. It's a dark alley. There's no light at the end of the tunnel."[8]

Fatima Araiza was one of the attorneys interviewed for the Public Eye story. She represented an undercover Los Angeles police officer who also was being forced to pay child support in the amount of $14,000 for a child who was proven by DNA testing not to be his. He had received a default judgment to pay child support. He said he never received the subpoena.

Attorney Araiza said of her client:

"He's not the father, correct. He's proven it. He's proven he's not the father, but nobody cares. This is no longer the oppression of women; this is now the oppression of men--the oppression of responsible men."[9]

Please keep in mind that these child support payers must pay the support or they can face harsh punitive measures that can be used by states to make payers pay - even when they are not the father. Punitive measures have been toughened up, especially since welfare reform of 1996. People allegedly delinquent in paying court ordered child support can be subject to punitive measures. They can go to jail and lose their freedom, lose their driver's or professional licenses, lose their passports, have bank accounts seized, have their names and faces on websites and newspaper lists of alleged, so-called "deadbeat dads", have credit reports damaged, liens, income tax refunds intercepted, hunting and fishing licenses denied, and wages garnished. This is wrong.[10]

The current system does not treat intact families and non-intact families equally. I contend that many noncustodial parents - men and women - from all walks of life do not have the equal opportunity to maintain their freedom and raise their children according to their own consciences as fit, loving parents.

Many noncustodial parents and children are deprived of precious time with each other due to "standard visitation" orders, which can be "visits" every other weekend and one night a week. This injustice also affects the parents' families, extended families, and ultimately society. I contend that the unequal treatment is discrimination against single parents and non-intact families. It interferes with good, fit citizens' pursuit of the "American Dream" to which we are all entitled equally and in accordance with principles of social and economic justice.

My research indicates that stories of questionable practices or errors made by child support agencies are far from unusual. In my opinion, based on research, published news reports, audits, and other information, they are commonplace. What if similar stories of errors, bureaucratic bungling, or questionable practices are actually the norm?

Unfortunately, this side of the story of child support collection is not often told in the mainstream media. Misinformation, stereotypes, and partial information about the payment of child support abound. The truth is that the majority of parents love their children and support them financially and emotionally. Child support is financial and emotional.

In addition to errors and questionable practices of agencies, we have the fact that most people who fall behind on their child support payments do not do so willfully. It is not that the majority have the money, and that they simply and willfully refuse to pay. Most of those who don't pay full child support, can't pay, usually due to unemployment, layoffs, illness, or disability, i.e., circumstances or life events that can, and do, befall any one of us, and over which we have no human control. Nevertheless, most parents do the best they can. If left to cope with economic hardship, sometimes with the help of family and friends, they and their children still thrive and can prosper.

The majority of these noncustodial parents are "deadbroke," not so-called "deadbeat." Many of them are in as equally dire financial straits as the custodial parents to whom they pay child support. This is not the picture that we see portrayed, for the most part, in mainstream media.

Leslie Kaufman of The New York Times wrote an article titled "When Child Support Is Due, Even the Poor Find Little Mercy" (2/19/05). She addressed the issue of "child support arrears". An excerpt follows:

"About 70 percent of the debt is owed by men who earn $10,000 a year or less, or have no recorded wage earnings at all, according to the Federal Office of Child Support Enforcement. Less than 4 percent is owed by men with incomes of more than $40,000." [11]

Of course, there are some parents who willfully and consciously refuse to support their children. This is wrong. Research shows that they are not in the majority.

I believe that, too frequently, when the system incarcerates or uses other punitive measures against allegedly "delinquent" child support payers, it is, in effect, punishing them merely for being poor, ill, or unemployed. As my colleagues, Murray Davis and Dianna Thompson, of the National Family Justice Association wrote, and I paraphrase, society holds noncustodial parents to an unattainable standard to never become unemployed, never become ill or disabled,[12] or to never get layed off, downsized, or outsourced in a poor economy. When they inevitably fail to live up to this unattainable standard, they are criminalized, stigmatized, and, too frequently, jailed.

Based upon my extensive research into this subject, I believe we are seeing what I call the "myth of the successful child support system." Many - but not all - news reports, editorials, or media portrayals of the issue of child support and child support payers are based upon the premise that the current child support system "is working well" or that that the system helps the majority of children and families. I do not agree.

I'll let the following titles tell the story:

"Boy Mistakenly Threatened With Jail For Being Deadbeat Dad" 7/27/06; www.local6.com/news/9588058/detail.html; Local6.com Orlando [Please also see news video at this web address.]

"Schneider: Assault on support deadbeats hits a wrong target" Lansing State Journal, 5/1/03

"Man still paying support to deceased wife: Waiting until January to learn if he can stop paying" 10/28/06; Advocate Reporter by Kent Mallett

"State keeps kids' money: Unclaimed funds fail to make way to parents"; May 29, 2001; by Kim Kozlowski and Gary Heinlein; The Detroit News

I would not deem this system a success. Just the fact that most states have millions of dollars in undistributed collected child support (UDC)[13] should make citizens question the system. And, in Michigan, after 1 year child support that is not distributed, or is "unclaimed", can be deemed abandoned property and sent to the state treasury.[14] What happens to the child support payers who paid that money? What happens to the families who didn't receive it?

(See chart: http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cse/pubs/2006/reports/preliminary_report/table_9.html)

I find these kinds of stories of questionable practices of child support agencies practically every day, although some agencies describe situations such as those described above as "rare mistakes."

A news story out of Indiana reports that a custodial mother did not receive her weekly child support checks. Her first thought was that the noncustodial father was late in sending the money. It turns out that apparently he had paid, but the system is holding the checks for 20 days until they clear - a new policy affecting 4,000 people in their area. This is a problem because families depend on that money being properly distributed. (I also believe that 20 days is beyond the amount of time that checks are supposed to be held by law.)

(See "Hamilton County: Child support payments delayed", by Chris Proffitt, Dec. 8, 2006, 13 wthr.com - http://www.wthr.com/Global/story.asp?S=5790021&nav=9Tai).

So we see that the immediate reaction by the receiver of child support, in this case a custodial mother, was that the payer must not have been paying. It's understandable why someone might believe this based upon the erroneous information many people hear almost daily.

Because of what I have learned about the frequent failings of the system, my first question is always: Did the child support money get "stuck in the system" as undistributed, collected child support", also known as UDC? According to a Fox News report: "Lawmakers on Capitol Hill want to know why nearly $660 million in child support payments collected by states in 2002 never reached the people for whom it was intended."[15]

This common assumption, i.e., that the child support payer is not paying, can cause problems for families, especially where both parents are not in direct communication with each other. How many times do child support receivers think the money wasn't paid, when in reality, the money is 'stuck in the system'? What happens when harsh child support enforcement is implemented, and the data does not accurately reflect a payer's account?

What Drives This System?

If the overwhelming evidence is that most parents do support their children, what drives this system? What perpetuates this bureaucracy and its misguided policies? How did it emerge at the time in history that it did? If it's having such an adverse effect on millions of people, why aren't we hearing about it every day in the mainstream news?

Regarding the John Stossel ABC News 20/20 report of Jan. 7, 2000:

This report covered the groundbreaking work of psychologist Dr. Sanford Braver and Diane O'Connell who wrote Divorced Dads: Shattering the Myths. I believe that the news report itself was also groundbreaking since the thesis that it covered so well runs counter - even today - to the popular view of divorced dads.

According to Dr. Braver:

"...While I began this research hoping to find answers to why so many fathers abandoned their responsibilities, I discovered that not only were the characterizations of divorced fathers misleading, they were often completely opposite to the truth.
In short, virtually every aspect of what I call the 'bad divorced dad' image has turned out to be a myth, an inaccurate and damaging stereotype. Not only is this myth seriously inaccurate, it has led to harmful and dangerous social policies."[16]

Braver continues:

"...For any myth as monolithic and powerful as the bad divorced dad myth to invade the popular understanding to the extent it has, society would have to be complicit. The myth would have to fill a need. But what is that need?
The answer is that we as a society are greatly troubled by the breakup of the American family. The devastation caused by the huge uptick in divorce compels us to find a villain in the drama. Clearly it cannot be the children's fault; nor is it fashionable or acceptable to blame mothers or the women's movement. But there is one group remaining in America that it is not socially unacceptable to derogate: Males. Rarely has a group had a poorer image."[17]

I agree with Dr. Braver's conclusion cited above. I also feel that in addition to society's fears or concerns regarding divorce and family breakup, there is also many families' fear of financial ruin. This fear is fueled by the increase in unemployment, especially in certain areas of the country where layoffs, downsizing, and outsourcing are rampant. Costs of food, heating, gasoline, and prescription medications continue to rise, while for many, wages stagnate or decrease. I believe there is a tendency to scapegoat or blame noncustodial parents, most of whom are fathers, when the custodial parent finds herself in dire financial straits. The truth is, most noncustodial parents who may find themselves vilified are in equally dire financial straits. This side of the story frequently does not make it into media reports.

In The Two-Income Trap: Why Middle-Class Parents Are Going Broke, Elizabeth Warren (the Leo Gottlieb Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, see p. 255) and Amelia Warren Tyagi, write:

"Tapped Out
Divorced fathers have become a kind of mythic solution. Anyone concerned about the financial distress of single mothers simply joins in the rallying cry to 'Make dads pay more.' Once again, we offer sobering data. There is substantial evidence that millions of fathers are already struggling to make their current payments and may not be able to pay more, regardless of what the courts order. Only 46 percent of divorced fathers own their own homes, a rate that is about half that of married fathers generally. Divorced fathers are also less likely to own a car.51 Indeed, one out of three unmarried, nonresident fathers cannot even maintain their own household and live with their parents or other extended family. 52
...Indeed, nonresident fathers with child support obligations are the only group that approaches single mothers in their extraordinarily high levels of financial distress.
These men are caught in the same financial maelstrom as their ex-wives. ..."[18]

I have seen many news reports where there is a disinclination to listen to or acknowledge the plight of noncustodial parents who are experiencing adverse life events affecting their financial situations. Because of pervasive current, negative stereotypes and prejudice, it is too often assumed, as in the case of "the non-existent baby" cited above (CNN), that the payer is not telling the truth. We, as a society, need to hear the grievances of the families of separation and divorce. Many of them have legitimate grievances and are suffering unjustly. They are not yet being adequately heard.

Dr. Braver discussed the famous statistic of Dr. Lenore Weitzman who reported in her book, The Divorce Revolution, "...that women's households suffered a 73 percent drop in their standard of living in the first year after divorce, while men's households enjoyed a 42 percent rise." [19]

We now know that this famous statistic was wrong, but unfortunately, this statistic was widely cited, according to the Associated Press:

"A search of the Nexis database found more than 175 newspaper and magazine stories citing Weitzman's numbers. Peterson says he also found citations in 348 social science articles, 250 law review articles and 24 appeals and Supreme Court cases. The statistic even appeared in President Clinton's 1996 budget."[20]

The 1996 budget citation of the erroneous Weitzman statistic is a particular problem, in my opinion, since this is the year that welfare reform was enacted. A large part of welfare reform was implementing stricter child support enforcement and the implementation of harsh punitive measures against allegedly delinquent child support payers. According to the Associated Press, "It was a jaw-dropping statistic, widely influential in the movement to change America's divorce and child support laws."[21]

Welfare reform is frequently touted as a major success. I disagree. This side of the issue is not being discussed or even acknowledged adequately. Again we see what I call "the myth of the successful child support system."

Braver's research showed that men and women "come out almost exactly equally" after divorce when fathers' visitation expenses and tax breaks for custodial mothers are factored in.[22] (Later research shows that there may be financial advantages for custodial parent households.[23]) Stossel's report also states it took Dr. Weitzman more than 10 years to admit her mistake.[24] I believe that many people still do not realize that this statistic and the attitude partially created as a result of it being so widely cited is wrong. Many social policies are based upon this false premise, which is why we need continual mainstream media attention to bring out the truth and to counter the partial information and erroneous information that is currently bandied about. Families are suffering.

If it is wrong, what drives this? What perpetuates the misguided and damaging system? I believe that a lot of the misinformation results from pure inertia and conformity. Some people simply haven't heard the full story, yet, because the information is not yet conspicuously "out there" in the mainstream. It's become so commonplace now to think this way that some people fear to go out on a limb and tell the truth or change their misguided policy or "standard practice." The lack of equal parenting has become standard practice, even though it is wrong and causes profound suffering for children and families.

It is unfair and hurtful for children for one parent to deprive them of the other loving and fit parent. Children suffer when they can't see the other parent or they can only see him on a "standard visitation schedule," which too frequently is not enforced. We, as a society, should not condone nor encourage this kind of behavior that unjustly separates loving parents from their beloved children. Some noncustodial parents try for years - sometimes to no avail - just to be able to see their own children. This is wrong for children; it's wrong for parents; it's wrong for families. No one benefits and society suffers as a result.

It's blatantly clear. Children need and love both parents. Children need and love their fathers equally as much as they need and love their mothers. Children shouldn't have to miss the other parent because they can't see them as much as they want and need. Tragically, some of the children may be told, or they may think, that the other parent has abandoned them or doesn't care about them, when this is not the truth. Too many parents are prevented from seeing their children, even though they are valiantly trying through the court system to be there for their child. Too many loving, fit parents have not been able to see their children in years. This is tragic and can be prevented.

Our social policies and mass national attitudes must reflect this truth - especially for the children's sake. Too many children of divorce, separation, or family breakup suffer with the broken system as it now stands. Let's change this now. A lot of children will be much happier. Don't make the children wait any longer for positive change. Many of them have already been forced to wait much too long. Let's make sure they can be with both parents now. The first step is awareness of the problem on a national scale.

Some Factors Perpetuating the Myth of the Successful Child Support System

There are some factors that I believe contribute to the perpetuation of the myth of the successful child support system. I'll briefly mention a few here:

--Financial factors in the perpetuation of the system:

The title tells the story: "Deadbeat parents liven company coffers" (9/25/97)

[Excerpt:] "Tracking down deadbeat parents is good business for high-tech companies, including BDM International Inc., McLean, Va., Policy Studies Inc., Denver, and Lockheed Martin Corp., Bethesda, Md."[25]

Corporate America has discovered that they can make a lucrative business based upon state contracts to pursue alleged, so-called "deadbeat parents." Some private collection agencies can take 30 percent of the child support money collected.[26]

States make federal money off the collection of child support through incentive funding and matching funds while U.S. taxpayers lose money overall at the federal level.

(See government chart, 2004 Green Book, Table 8-5, page 8-66 at: http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=108_green_book&docid=f:wm006_08.pdf.

The House Ways and Means Committee 2004 Green Book can also be accessed via:http://www.gpoaccess.gov/wmprints. See Browse 2004 Green Book - Section 8. http://www.gpoaccess.gov/wmprints/green/2004.html)

The House Ways and Means "Green Book" discusses "social ostracism" of so-called "deadbeat parents." But, if the majority of payers have no control over the conditions, such as layoffs, illness, disability, and unemployment that contribute to their difficulty in complying with an unattainable standard, for what are we really ostracizing them - for being poor, ill, or unemployed?

An excerpt from page 8-68 of the 2004 Green Book follows:

"Even more to the point, a strong child support program may change the way society thinks about child support. As in the cases of civil rights and smoking, a persistent effort over a period of years may convince millions of Americans, both those who owe child support and those concerned with the condition of single-parent families, that making payments is a moral and civic duty. Those who avoid it would then be subject to something even more potent than legal prosecution--social ostracism."[27]

This policy of creating an unfair, oppressive climate of social ostracism, which adversely affects innocent families, is wrong. As explained above, the majority of child support payers are not willfully avoiding making payments, yet they and their families are unjustly subjected to damaging stereotypes and misguided social policies.

It is an acknowledged fact that the majority of parents love their children and support them financially and emotionally. This is as it should be. If left to cope with economic setbacks, most parents and their families will do so, sometimes with the help of extended family, friends, or their local community. On the other hand, if they are subjected to harsh and unfair punitive measures that interfere with their ability to cope, many will fail - unnecessarily. This situation can be prevented.

The rationale behind many arguments for initiatives intended to increase child support payment compliance is wrong. Initiatives to build a "credible threat," (as one state official put it) against alleged nonpayers, to create a climate of "social ostracism" or to create a "culture of compliance" are misguided, to say the least. These initiatives are anti-working family. Here's why:

They are based upon the false premise that most of the pursued parents have the money to pay the ordered amount of child support, they simply willfully and knowingly refuse to pay. This is not true. Most parents who don't pay, can't pay, as explained above. Noncustodial parents, and their families and extended families, are being held to an "unattainable standard," also described above. If people are held to an unattainable standard, they will inevitably fail.

Few people can meet the rigid, unreasonable standard expected of these parents. Who in their lifetime does not experience a financial setback such as unemployment, layoffs, outsourcing, lack of ability to find available decent-paying work in a timely fashion, illness, disability, or simply a car breaking down or an unexpected household repair needing money to fix?

There is nothing "credible" about these relentless initiatives. They are actually quite cruel, unfair, and unreasonable. They scare countless innocent families. This system was not originally intended to become as huge and unwieldy as it now is, or as unnecessarily expensive as it now is for the U.S. taxpayers. The social and economic costs to society are enormous.

Furthermore, this policy is flat-out anti-family. It's time that we, as a society, face this fact and its ramifications and costs to our families and society as a whole. We can correct this if we first acknowledge and correctly "diagnose" the problems with the current system.

The current misguided and ill-informed initiative that seeks to create a climate of "social ostracism" instead, creates an unjust cloud of oppression that hangs over innocent working families, - men, women, and their children - who are simply struggling, like many others, to make ends meet in a poor economy. It is a policy that is cruel, whether the resulting cruelty is unintentional or intentional. Working families and deadbroke parents are being hurt, not helped, by this misguided effort and unfair stigmatization.

Some may think, or even say, that they are doing a community service by participating in aggressive campaigns to stigmatize parents allegedly behind in paying child support, but this is wrong. This misguided social policy is not a community service. It is mean-spirited and a disservice to our communities and families - and to the U.S. taxpayers.

What's being done in the name of "helping families" is truly shameful. It is not helping the majority of struggling working families - it is hurting them. It is anti-family.

The good news is that this can be corrected with the correct information and accurate diagnosis of the real problem. Increased media attention to the plight of millions of noncustodial parents and their families and children will play a large part in correcting this injustice. Again, as in history, America always wakes up. It's time for true understanding and compassion for all families.

I believe that our society is now gripped by a kind of "deadbeat McCarthyism."

What Is The Solution?

I look to non-violent movements in the past that sought social and economic justice for all. There have been times in our history where we, as a society, embarked upon ill-advised, discriminatory, even cruel policies against innocent citizens based upon negative stereotypes, prejudice, or misguided information. The same human dynamic is now operating. It's just a different time in history.

In the past, our legal system even jailed innocent people who simply were demanding their fundamental rights. The list of those arrested or incarcerated includes: Susan B. Anthony, Alice Paul, Lucy Burns - all suffragists - Mrs. Rosa Parks, and Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

When I examine the dynamics of what is going on today, I see many parallels with the suffragist movement, the Salem witch trials, 1950s McCarthyism, and the 1960s Civil Rights movement.

For example, please consider this passage regarding Women's Suffrage:

"The new Constitution's promised rights were fully enjoyed only by certain white males. Women were treated according to social tradition and English common law and were denied most legal rights. In general they could not vote, own property, keep their own wages, or even have custody of their children."[28]

The last sentence could apply today to some noncustodial parents.

The good news is that there is hope for the new parental civil rights movement. As in the past, America always wakes up as it did at the time of the events of Salem around 1692, the Suffragist movement, the McCarthy era, and the 1960s Civil Rights movement. When the mainstream media "discovers" this issue that affects millions of parents, families, and children, the societal norms, attitudes, and enforcement of unjust laws will change for the better. When the suffering of innocent citizens is "demonstrated" and understood, there will be positive change and social justice.

For example, the people in Salem woke up to the horror of what they were doing after hanging obviously innocent people such as 71-year-old Rebecca Nurse. McCarthyism was eventually exposed for the damage that it did to countless innocent people, and America woke up after suffragists were jailed simply because they wanted their fundamental right to vote.

As in the past, I believe publicity will play a large part in helping America find the solution. According to the book The Race Beat: The Press, The Civil Rights Struggle, and the Awakening of a Nation by Gene Roberts and Hank Klibanoff, it apparently took quite a while before the mainstream press consistently covered the movement.

According to David J. Garrow of The New York Times, in a review (11/22/06) of The Race Beat: The Press, The Civil Rights Struggle, and the Awakening of a Nation (Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 2006):

"... In the South, Mr. Roberts and Mr. Klibanoff explain, 'one of the secrets of the success of segregation had been the way newspapers had neglected it.' Even the most heralded Southern editor, Ralph McGill of The Atlanta Constitution, 'consistently opposed federal laws against lynching and the poll tax' and had written that separation of the races was 'the best and only workable system.' Nationally, too, most white journalists of that era 'simply didn't recognize racism in America as a story.' ..." [29]

I believe that the mainstream media has not yet "discovered" the story of the plight of millions of fit, loving parents and the violations of their fundamental civil rights to parent their own children, as they see fit and without unjust state intrusion into the private realm of family. Although a thorough and excellent news story occasionally appears nationally, such as the John Stossel ABC News report of 2000 and the Bernard Goldberg CBS News report of 1998, I believe it will take much more, continual, accurate mainstream media coverage in order to counter the negative stereotypes, misinformation, and misguided portrayals that are prevalent in some mainstream media currently.

I am convinced that when historians look back upon this current time period, some of the court decisions of today will look as unconscionable as the Plessy v Ferguson (1896) decision does now.

A study of non-violent social movements of the past gives clues about how America will eventually wake up to the injustice of this time of irrational policies toward fit, loving parents and their families. America will wake up.

I would like to end on a note of hope with this excerpt from a speech by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.:

"... We must come to see that the end we seek is a society at peace with itself, a society that can live with its conscience. That will be a day not of the white man, not of the black man. That will be the day of man as man.
    I know you are asking today, 'How long will it take?' I come to say to you this afternoon however difficult the moment, however frustrating the hour, it will not be long, because truth pressed to earth will rise again.
    How long? Not long, because no lie can live forever.
    How long? Not long, because you still reap what you sow.
    How long? Not long. Because the arm of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice. ..."[30]

For further reading, scroll down, or click here.

Footnotes

[1] Marc Mauer, The Sentencing Project: "Comparative International Rates of Incarceration; An Examination of Causes and Trends; Presented to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights", 6/20/03, page 2. http://www.sentencingproject.org/Admin/Documents/publications/inc_comparative_intl.pdf

[2] Ibid., page 7

[3] Kasie Hunt; Associated Press; November 30, 2006; ABC News website; "1 in 32 Americans in Jails, on Parole" http://abcnews.go.com/US/LegalCenter/wireStory?id=2689183&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312

[4] The Christian Science Monitor, August 18, 2003, "US notches world's highest incarceration rate: A report highlights extent to which many citizens have served time in prison.", by Gail Russell Chaddock. http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0818/p02s01-usju.html

[5] Open Society Institute, OSI- Baltimore news release, 3/15/04, "Groundbreaking Study Identifies Crucial Factors for Successful Community Reintegration of Ex-Prisoners in Baltimore", http://www.soros.org/initiatives/baltimore/news/groundbreaking_20040315

[6] CNN transcript, 3/29/05, http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0503/29/ltm.05.html (At the CNN page, scroll down for cited segment.)

[7] CBS News transcript, 6/17/98, CBS Public Eye, "Men wrongly accused of being deadbeat dads being forced to pay child support even though they've proved they are not the father", Bernard Goldberg reports

[8] Ibid

[9] Ibid.

[10] Cornell University Law School, U. S. Code collection, http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode42/usc_sec_42_00000666----000-.html

[11] Leslie Kaufman, The New York Times, 2/19/05, "When Child Support Is Due, Even the Poor Find Little Mercy"

[12] Dianna Thompson and Murray Davis, 10/26/03, Lansing State Journal op-ed, "Child support system doesn't give parents a chance: rather than shame for pressed parents how about help?" http://www.nfja.org/newsrelease/2003-10-26.shtml

[13] National Family Justice Association position paper, Nov. 17, 2005, http://www.nfja.org./positionstatement/childsupportbudgetcuts.shtml

[14]Kim Kozlowski and Gary Heinlein; The Detroit News "State keeps kids' money: Unclaimed funds fail to make way to parents"; May 29, 2001. http://www.detnews.com/specialreports/2001/friend/tues0529a/tues0529a.htm

[15] Kelley Beaucar Vlahos, "State-Collected Child Support Not Reaching Beneficiaries, Fox News, 10/3/03 http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,98973,00.html

[16] Sanford L. Braver, Ph.D., and Diane O'Connell, Divorced Dads: Shattering the Myths (New York: Jeremy P. Tarcher/ Putnam, 1998), page 6

[17] Ibid., page 14

[18] Elizabeth Warren & Amelia Warren Tyagi, The Two-Income Trap: Why Middle-Class Parents Are Going Broke (New York: Basic Books, 2003), page 119-120

[19] Katharine Webster, The Associated Press, 5/17/96, "Study: Huge Gap Reported in Post-Divorce Standard of Living a Mistake"

[20] Ibid.

[21] Ibid.

[22] John Stossel, ABC News 20/20, Jan. 7, 2000, "BAD DADS?; MYTHS ABOUT DEADBEAT DADS MOSTLY UNTRUE", transcript

[23] Sanford Braver Ph.D. David Stockburger, Ph.D., "Child support guidelines and the equalization of living standards", http://www.public.asu.edu/~devra1/stock.pdf (2004). In W. S. Comanor (Ed.). The Law and Economics of Child Support Payments (pp. 91-127). Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing.

[24] John Stossel, ABC News 20/20, Jan. 7, 2000, "BAD DADS?; MYTHS ABOUT DEADBEAT DADS MOSTLY UNTRUE", transcript

[25] Neil Munro, Washington Technology, "Deadbeat Parents Liven Company Coffers", 9/25/97. http://www.washingtontechnology.com/print/12_12/12435-1.html

[26] Catherine Crier show, Court TV, broadcast, August 8, 2000

[27] House Ways and Means Committee "Green Book". 2004, Page 8-68. http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=108_green_book&docid=f:wm006_08.pdf

[28] Roberta W. Francis, The History Behind the Equal Rights Amendment, http://www.equalrightsamendment.org/era.htm

[29] David J. Garrow, The New York Times, 11/22/06, "Books of the times: How the Press Reported on Racism, and How It Didn't"

[30] Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., speech 3/25/65 about the march from the Edmund Pettus Bridge, Selma to Montgomery, A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings of Martin Luther King, Jr., edited by James Melvin Washington (San Franscisco, Harper & Row: 1986) page 230

More Confidential Data Has Been Stolen: Child Support Program in Crisis

laryholland@sbcglobal.net (Lary Holland) — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 00:57:08 -0400

If a government agency cannot even protect your data...why would you think they could protect or decide in matters that are best for your children. Children need both parents to look over their children, not incompetent government bodies that benefit from tearing apart homes.

I have written quite a few pieces on Identity Theft and issues relating to data-mining/harvesting conducted by government and commercial agencies for the Child Support Enforcement Program. The Child Support Program is clearly in crisis. Participants of family court services and friend of the court services are at risk of their identities being stolen by voluntarily participating with these wasteful programs.

FOIA REQUEST to State of Michigan Department of Human Services: HERE

UPDATE ON FOIA REQUEST: HERE

ACTUAL FOIA REQUEST: HERE

The above requests are directed to the Michigan Department of Human Services the Financial Data Match program required for the states to receive voluntary grant and incentive monies from the federal government.

Here are some great examples of what can happen with citizens' information that is in the hands of incompetent state agencies:

Child Support Paperwork Glitch Exposes Private Information of over 10,000 Citizens: HERE
Mounting Accountability Problems With Child Support Programs: HERE
Identity Theft:: Opt Out of Family Court Services Before it Happens to YOU!: HERE
Privatization, Identity Theft, and Crony Capitalism" http://www.unbossed.com/index.php?itemid=1186
Hacker Breaks Into Nebraska Child-Support Database" FoxNews.Com, June 29, 2006
Vermont Computer Hacked: 70,000 users at risk" Lock Down Your Identity January 30, 2007
California Faxes 1170 Citizen's Private Information to Wrong Place: Press Release: California DCSS January 30, 2007

One blatantly apparent problem with Michigan's Financial Data Match program is that banks could potentially share citizen's information without their knowledge and without them having any open family court cases. This give the opportunity to the requesting agency to sift through the information of anyone's accounts that is greater than $500.00 as a potential match to an open family court case. The problem also is when a wrong match is made and money is taken from an individual that there is no recourse because the state has granted immunity from liability in these actions.

Do you want your personal information shared with government agencies that don't have adequate safeguards, violate federal privacy regulations, and laptops containing confidential information about you floating loosely around all over the place? Do you want to have to rebuild your credit from scratch because of mistakes made by incompetent government agencies that are sharing information back and forth?

You should opt-out of Family Court Services and/or Friend of the Court services as soon as possible and BEFORE identity theft happens to you! Here's how!

Additional Criminal Activities that may already be occuring with your private information:

Child Support Clerk Charged With Embezzlement: More Government Corruption: http://www.laryholland.com/serendipity/archives/402-Child-Support-Clerk-Charged-With-Embezzlement-More-Government-Corruption.html

Two Maine Media Outlets Report More Thieving Title IV-D/CSE Employees: http://www.laryholland.com/serendipity/archives/367-Two-Maine-Media-Outlets-Report-More-Thieving-Title-IV-DCSE-Employees.html

Fort Bend Woman Guilty in Child Support Ring: http://www.laryholland.com/serendipity/archives/366-Fort-Bend-Woman-Guilty-in-Child-Support-Fraud-Ring.html

Child Support Worker Arrested In Bribery Scheme: http://www.laryholland.com/serendipity/archives/329-Child-Support-Worker-Arrested-in-Bribery-Scheme.html

Title IV-D Employee Embezzles Quarter of Million in Child Support Money: http://www.laryholland.com/serendipity/archives/311-Title-IV-D-Employee-Embezzles-Quarter-of-Million-in-Child-Support-Enforcement-Money.html

It's
definitely time to reign in free for all welfare spending programs like Title IV-D (Child Support Enforcement Programs) to slim down an over sized government bureaucracy and restore some safety controls to
prevent it from stealing from parents, children, and the nation's
taxpayers. It's time to shrink this agency back to only providing
services to actual needy families, instead of forcing collections from
middle and upper-income families at taxpayer expense and exposing millions to potential identity theft.

Child Support Clerk Charged With Embezzlement: More Government Corruption

laryholland@sbcglobal.net (Lary Holland) — Sun, 29 Jul 2007 11:50:06 -0400

The place is Meridian, Mississippi and the alleged crime is EMBEZZLEMENT. I have been covering stories surrounding the leeches that have been involved in the free for all welfare program, created under the guise of "child support enforcement," known as the Title IV-D Program. The program is already stealing from taxpayers by forcing the inclusion of the middle-class and upper-class families in to the program but now there is definitely an upward trend associated with theft from the program itself by the County cooperative contract employees demonstrating a need for citizen oversight. We cannot entrust these employees to manage money, let alone make recommendations to what is best for our children.

Another County employee, this one in Lauderdale County, has been indicted by a grand jury on felony embezzlement charges for allegedly stealing more than $216,000.00 of program money, paid for by taxpayers, by writing unauthorized checks to herself from January 2002 through April of 2007. This employee was released on a $10,000.00 bond, which no doubt was probably a drop in the bucket considering she has already been sitting on the $216,000.00 plus her lush salary.

Just last month we shared with you several other thefts, forgeries, and frauds that are overshadowing the agency that focuses on services to the greedy instead of services to the needy. Agencies across the nation are focusing collection efforts on middle and upper-class families and drowning out the voice of the needy, while apparently stealing some for themselves too. (http://www.nationwideblueprint.com)

Two Maine Media Outlets Report More Thieving Title IV-D/CSE Employees: http://www.laryholland.com/serendipity/archives/367-Two-Maine-Media-Outlets-Report-More-Thieving-Title-IV-DCSE-Employees.html

Fort Bend Woman Guilty in Child Support Ring: http://www.laryholland.com/serendipity/archives/366-Fort-Bend-Woman-Guilty-in-Child-Support-Fraud-Ring.html

Child Support Worker Arrested In Bribery Scheme: http://www.laryholland.com/serendipity/archives/329-Child-Support-Worker-Arrested-in-Bribery-Scheme.html

It's definitely time to cut down this oversized government child support collection service bureaucracy and restore some safety controls to prevent it from stealing from parents, children, and the nation's taxpayers. It's time to shrink this agency back to only providing services to actual needy families, instead of forcing collections from middle and upper-income families at taxpayer expense.

CHEATED: A DOCUMENTED ACCOUNT OF PARENTAL ALIENATION SYNDROME (PAS)

laryholland@sbcglobal.net (Lary Holland) — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 21:28:18 -0400

Click the image to order Cheated, for only $16.95, by Minister and Father Ronald Smith of Grand Rapids, MI.
Click to Order Cheated today by clicking the link below or the image of the book and show your support for individuals that are leading the way to expose the Family Court Money Game for what it truly is.
Parental Alienation Syndrome (PAS) is the teaching of children of divorce or separation to harbor negative feelings and emotions toward the parent who generally does not have custody and does not reside in the same domicile. This is usually done in an effort for one parent to gain the respect and love of the children, while destroying the image and relationship of the absent parent. This phenomenon will generate feelings of hatred, ambivalence, and distance between children and the non-custodial parent. Our family court system does little to eliminate these occurrences, and although the parent affected is cheated of a normal relationship with the children, the real damage will manifest itself within the children.

Check out these other books Related to Parental Alienation Syndrome and the effects of divorce and custody disputes on children:

Lary Holland on Equal Parenting: Studio 1714 Helps Bring Attention to Critical Issues

laryholland@sbcglobal.net (Lary Holland) — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 12:03:55 -0400

Lary Holland discusses the Critical Issues with Studio 1714, located in the heart of Flint's beautiful East Side.

Lary Holland discusses critical issues surrounding Equal Parenting, House Bill 4564 (HB4564), and Why Equal Custody hasn't happened yet with Studio 1714's Flint Talk / Flint Video Crew. Representative Brenda Clack is currently holding House Bill 4564 hostage, which will be discussed in upcoming shows. View the first of several discussions that are going to be released over the next several weeks regarding the Critical Issues surrounding the State of Michigan's policies over the family.

"The more you learn about it the more you hate your State," Steve Brewer, co-host of Studio 1714's Show from the heart of Flint's beautiful East Side.

"What people don't understand is the Government doesn't create anything, doesn't create finances, it just takes them from someone else... to continue what they are doing is going to have much more of a human tragedy behind it." John Wilson, co-host.

It's the silence and indifference of the good people, led only by the vitriolic actions of our governments, that are harming our children. Join with me to help change what is happening to our nation's children. Let's reign in free for all welfare programs like Title IV-D and help re-establish that all people are created equally.