Does anyone else feel the State Child Support services are lax because they get no income from cases?

Question

I feel there must be a reason why Child Support does so little to inforce the order, and are almost unwilling to persue medical coverage or reivaluate the order if it's needed. The only thing I can think is the court makes nothing for dealing with these cases so they have no incentive to help the custodial parent after the order has been set up. Help me to see things differently Please..

Answer 1

I agree with you. In Kansas unless you are receiving state aid, you pay them 4 % of all child support collected for them to handle your case for you. The incentive is that the state will try to collect child support to help get people off of welfare and put the burden on the parent who is not paying. If someone can afford to live without welfare, they take a fee for handling the case. It is worked out very well. I gladly pay the 4% to get my support and the county attorney is not lax in working my case. They have had a great success rate.

Answer 2

There is no doubt that these services are understaffed. However, in some states the enforcement is very good. In Nebraska, for example, child support payments are done by a withholding from the payor's employment. This is good for both sides, since the payments can not be avoided by playing games, and both parties have a record of the payments in case of a dispute.

From the other side of the issue... when I fell on hard times and was unable to pay for almost a year, the state refused to re-evaluate the order. I would have had to sue, and since I wasn't working, I couldn't afford that. It was a real Catch-22.

The system is very biased in favor of the custodial parents, but the service is mediocre in all cases. The only people who get treated fairly in these situations are the ones who have tons of money for lawyers. If you are having a problem, you will need a lawyer... nobody else can help you.

Answer 3

I think they have cushy government jobs and they spend lots of time on break. However, I think also think they are overburdened, cuz I work with a gal whose husband is an attorney with CSE and she can't even get CS from HER ex. My ex was about to have his driver's license taken, so he made ONE payment, 1/2 of one month's order, the only payment he'd made in 2 1/2 years, so they didn't take his license and now will start all over again as if it's a new case. What a crock. Makes me mad but, just gotta accept it and do the best I can for my daughter. I did get his vists stopped (though he seldom showed up anyway) cuz he is a junkie. Not like he's gonna quit driving just cuz they take his license, anyway.

Answer 4

Well, I am sorry to disagree with you but as a State worker that works for Child Support in NJ i can tell you that we do everything possible in our power to enforce child support orders. However, we are not miracle workers!! You have to understand that if the absent parent has NO income, does NOT work, has NO assets, does NOT file taxes, has NO bank account, works OFF the books or is on public assistance then the custodial parent will NOT get much.... Surprising? There is just so much that we, child support can do, if the absent parent is literally a dead beat, lazy father that does not work or saves money then you are pretty much screwed!!!
Like preciosa said above, her husband gets "screwed" everytime because child support will always find a way to collect the support for the child -That's her point of view, but i dont think he is being screwed i just think child support is collecting what is owed to the child---- BUT the bigger picture is that her husband is a responsible adult with a job that does his taxes and probably has a bank account, so even if he does not want to pay child support then we will garnish his wages, if he quits his job and collects unemployment then we will garnish his unemployment, disability or social security, if he stops making payments and he is supposed to get a refund from the IRS then we will intercept his taxes, if he has a bank account and 35 days go by without sending in a payment then we will levy his account, if he owes over $5000 then we will suspend his passport privileges, if he is about to receive a settlement then we will levy that too because child support arrears are judgments........
Well, my point is that child support does work on cases, and as long as we have a verified address then we will set for court enforcement, of course sometimes you do have to follow up with your case worker to make sure she/he is on top of the cases, make sure that periodically if no payments come in they check the system to see if through his social security # he is working or collecting unemployment.. There are times when cases cannot be set 4 enforcement for whatever reason, maybe we cannot locate the absent parent if no address is listed and we have to check with the dept of motor vehicles, lexis-nexis, parent locator, or request the assistance of another state if its believed that the person has moved.....
Please dont ever believe child support workers dont do anything, its just impossible to enforce court orders if the non-custodial parent does not work and has no money or contsantly moves from one place to another possibly using other social securiy numbers.... If you ever get a chance to take case to court request for lump sum payments or for warrants for non-payment because once warrant is issued then their liscence gets suspended. Good Luck- I am sorry for your frustration but believe me working everyday with hundreds of cases on a daily basis where the payor is a dead-beat its also frustrating, we try everything possible to set cases for court and search different systems for addresses, possible employers and ways to collect support and then we have to deal with the excuses that these people have as to why they are not supporting their kids and then we get the calls from the custodial parent yelling and screaming at us telling us that WE are lazy and do nothing to enforce their case!!!!!! I know its hard for the single mothers or fathers to go without support but there is just so much that an agency can do... Some people should NEVER have kids!!
and others should be more selective when chosing their partner, if they are with someone that does not have a good job and is not responsible then PLEASE do not have kids with them, what are the chances that this person will be responsible enough to keep a job and pay their support?!?

Answer 5

Ummmmmmm i dont know what state ur living in but here in Florida they go after u in a heartbeat.. my husband got laid off from his job the end of January.. he pays almost 700 a month in child support for 2 children, he was never late on a payment up untill that point, he filed for his income tax refund , called his x let her know what was going on, and that as soon as he got his refund he would get her caught up ASAP.. (he has to pay the state the child support and then they send it to her) which because he filed it so early he was expecting it back by the end of March at the latest.. when April 1st came around he called IRS to see what the hang up was, Child support enforcement had already frozen his income tax ..and not just the sum he owes her they froze the whole entire thing ..and then turned around and although they know their getting their money he had to come up with 486 within a weeks time or they were going to suspend his license and his automobile registration.. Again they've been divorced for 6 years , he's never been behind before ever, till he got laid off.. he would of paid her in full as soon as he got the refund.. but now that the state has stepped in No one has gotten the money because now IRS has to go through all their stuff to send it to Child support enforcement which could take up to 6 months or so to do.. his kids arent getting the money because of it.. he's being pentalized left and right for it..and because they havent actually gotten their hands on it physically yet they want him to pay over the amount till they do.. and then say they will take out what he owes left after paying over when they recieve it and send him the rest .. MEANWHILE.. they are 1400.00 over the amount that he actually owes , we can prove that they are wrong with cancelled checks but in order to do so he'd have to pay for a lawyer 1500.00 retainer.. and take them to court to prove his case that they are over paying her.. And he isnt a dead beat father, he see's his kids more then most non-custodial dads.. he takes his kids anytime his x wife needs someone to watch the kids for work or school.. he goes to doctors appts and dentist appoints, goes to school functions and parent/teacher confernces.. and because he got laid off for a couple months He's being treated like he's the scum of the earth when all would of been taken care of if the state had just stayed out of it...hes a man that believes in taking care of his kids financially and doesnt have a problem with paying childsupport has even paid over the amounts in the past when she's had financial crisis.. he buys them school clothes, pays for field trips, school supplys, and anything else they may need..Stuff most men think should be a part of child support and dont want to give anything extra.. my husband does.. but he gets screwed by the system every time..

Answer 6

In my state they make 2% every month.
Chances are they are lax because they are overburdened with not enough skilled help.

Answer 7

wish i could, sweetie... it "T" totally sux.. i'm in the same boat! and, i thought there was some law stating once the payer is so far behind, they lost visitation privileges and also their drivers license... but, nothing happens. at all.

Answer 8

http://www.acf.dhhs.gov/programs/cse/fct/fct2.htm