Dead beat parents make life hard on everyone

The Albany Times Union had an interesting article which they published on January 25,2009,entitled, "Each day is a struggle without child support."

Here is a snippet from the article:

Debts pile up for a variety of reasons, including classic deadbeats who refuse to pay their share, non-custodial parents who are poor or underemployed themselves, or parents who are in prison. But families not receiving the support due them is a major contributor to poverty and other social problems, advocates for children and families said.

In the 10 counties of the Capital Region, there were 34,269 records of parents being four or more months behind as of Feb. 28 of last year. It's not known from state data how many individual children or families this represents, because one parent can appear on the database numerous times for each instance of falling four months behind or more.

The median amount owed on the seriously past-due accounts is $2,583 per case and the average is $4,697.

The amounts range from $500, the minimum for being referred to the Department of Taxation and Finance for a tax lien, all the way up to the low six-figures. Several dozen Capital Region parents owe more than $100,000 to their children and former partners, the records show.

About 91 percent of all non-custodial parents who owe child support in the state are men, the state Office of Disability and Temporary Assistance said.

When the money isn't there, no matter how much is owed, it can be a huge burden, said parents whose ex-partners are behind on their child support obligations.

Lack of support payments can drive single-parent families into poverty. Sometimes, government bureaucracy and a lack of interstate cooperation or communication is to blame more than the parent who owes money. In any case, single-parent families often depend heavily on child support in order to meet their monthly obligations.

"One-third of poor families headed by single mothers derive 30 percent of their income from child support," said Vicki Turetsky, family policy director for the Washington, D.C., based Center for Law and Social Policy, an advocacy group that promotes policies to help struggling families. "When that money isn't there, it leads to these families needing other services, like food stamps and Medicaid," she said.

It is tough enough being a single parent and when the child is abandoned by the noncustodial parent it is very hard on the child psychologically and the othe parent financially. It would seem in this day and age a better system could be devised to help parenting parents obtain the money that is due them for the support of their children.