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What is an argument surrounding the policy issue of child support?
I have to write a research paper about the policy issue of child support and i need to focus in on an argument or controversial topic. I also need some pros and cons. If you could help, that would be great! Thanks!
Public Comments
- Child support enforcement: reduces welfare independence allows single parents to work less jobs/spend more time w/ kids holds people responsible for their actions encourages absent parents to work, increasing the taxes paid
- Child support enforcement: Does not reduce reduce welfare independence, as most welfare recipients are low income and cannot earn enough to support children, even if parents were together. Also, 20% of those on Welfare are from intact families. Allows single parents to work less jobs/spend more time w/ kids, but prevents the other parent from having a relationship with the child as the courts will enforce child support, but not visitation. Holds people responsible for their actions, such as a 27 year old Michigan man who has to pay retroactive child support ($70,000) to the woman who molested him when he was 11 years old. Encourages absent parents to work, increasing the taxes paid. Yes, but their taxes are used to prevent them from seeing their children. A woman need not inform a man that she has born his child. She can wait up to 23 years to file for retroactive child support. If the state child support system loses the money paid, the father has to repay it. If the father loses his job, becomes disable, or is called up to active duty, this is not always grounds for reducing support. Reservists who paid child support based on a higher privite industry salary than gets a significant income reduction when called up, cannot get a reduction, as it takes 6-12 months to get a hearing. Only Illinois and Missouri allows for retroactive reductions. All others face prosecution when the receive their release for not paying their full child support while on active duty. Further, under federal law, they were out of the state while owing child support. If a man learns he's not the father of the children he's paying child support on, he cannot request a suspension, except in Maryland and Illinois. The mother can enter evidence of non-paternity if he files for custody, but than she forfeits child support. This can be resolved by filing on the bio dad, as happened in the Michigan case above. Unemployment offices are required to post deadbeat dad wanted posters, but not provide information on how to file for a reduction. Finally, According to Judge David Gray Ross, President Clinton's Commissionner of Child Support Enforcement, 85% of child support is paid in full, without enforcement actions. He was speaking at the 1998 Children's Rights Coincil conference at Bethesda, MD. He also said the visitation should be enforced equally. He did keep his job because of that position.
