As a parent who has never been divorced or who has always supported his/her children, you might ask yourself, "Why is the history of child support in California important to me?"
Are you a taxpayer?? Then it is.
In 1975, Congress amended Title IV-D of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. Sections 651 et seq.) to require each state to establish a child support enforcement program. In California the Department of Social Services was responsible for the administration of the state's program but the day-to-day activity was contracted out to the local District Attorney's Office in each county.
Amendments to this same Act in 1988 required the states to create a single statewide automated system for collections and disbursement of child support.
California has struggled from the beginning with child support and implementing federal mandates ~ And this is why child support in California is important to you...From 1998 to 2005 California was penalized $1.59 billion dollars, yes billion, because the state did not have the state mandated automated system in place on time. The federal government gave states ten (10) years to put their systems in place. California spent $111 million of taxpayer money on the first system, that they replaced, because it was not adequately functional.
After much time and frustration, not to mention many pieces of legislation to mitigate the federal fines to the state, in 2006, the federal government began reducing and refunding penalty money back to California. Refunds amounted to $623 million. Ultimately, Californians ended up paying over a billion dollars in penalities, including the cost of a system that they didn't use.
Inefficiency is the appropriate word to use here, and I will use it a lot when discussing this topic. Inefficiency is why child support in California is costing you, the taxpayer, your hard earned money.
Yes, I believe in personal responsibility, and I think every parent is personally responsible for supporting his/her children. However, I also believe that as employees of the California Department of Child Support Services or Local Child Support Agencies, who are picking up paychecks weekly or monthly, they have a responsibility to run the departments effectively and not cost taxpayers billions through inefficiency or ineffectiveness.
More on this tomorrow ~
Monday, August 6, 2012
Sunday, August 5, 2012
There's a New Abuse in Town
Child Abuse ~ If the various organizations that focus on this issue are doing their jobs, you know what this looks like and might even know some statistics about abused children: A child abuse report is made every ten seconds; Nationally, almost five children die every day as a result of child abuse and 75% of those are under the age of 4; Children who have been sexually abused are 2.5 times more likely to abuse alcohol and 3.8 times more likely to develop drug addiction; nearly two-thirds of the people in treatment for drug abuse report having been abused as children.
Perhaps you've read or heard about children in foster care, already removed from abusive or neglectful parents, who have been killed or beaten, amid various phone calls and warnings to the authorities. Perhaps you've seen pictures or posters of children with bruises or broken bones ~ This is abuse.
Child abuse is heinous, and we all know what it looks like, and we'd NEVER do it to our own children; we'd NEVER let it happen in our family...Or would we??
There's a new child abuse in town. It's quiet and silent and you can't see it's marks upon a child's face or arms. You don't see the broken bones or bruises. State mandated reporter don't make calls when it's happening; grandparents, family members and friends even help the abuser.
How can this be? What is this abuse? You may think, "I'd NEVER abuse my child or allow it in my family!!"
What is this abuse that's quiet and secretive? FAILURE TO SUPPORT!
Parents who fail to support their children are committing abuse; Financial and emotional abuse.
In California there are over $20 billion dollars owed in back child support. Annually the state forgives approximately $3 billion of this therefore the figure never rises. Women with children are the fastest rising homeless population in the nation, as a result of failure to support. A family in California can expect only a 60% chance of receiving any amount of child support in a given month.
If you know someone who is failing to pay his/her court ordered child support, that person is committing abuse. Don't be a party to child abuse. Don't help hide income or assets. Tell that person now, "Stop it !! Send a check and support your kids".
It's the responsible thing to do ~ It's the decent thing to do.
No form of abuse is acceptable and failure to support is abuse.
Perhaps you've read or heard about children in foster care, already removed from abusive or neglectful parents, who have been killed or beaten, amid various phone calls and warnings to the authorities. Perhaps you've seen pictures or posters of children with bruises or broken bones ~ This is abuse.
Child abuse is heinous, and we all know what it looks like, and we'd NEVER do it to our own children; we'd NEVER let it happen in our family...Or would we??
There's a new child abuse in town. It's quiet and silent and you can't see it's marks upon a child's face or arms. You don't see the broken bones or bruises. State mandated reporter don't make calls when it's happening; grandparents, family members and friends even help the abuser.
How can this be? What is this abuse? You may think, "I'd NEVER abuse my child or allow it in my family!!"
What is this abuse that's quiet and secretive? FAILURE TO SUPPORT!
Parents who fail to support their children are committing abuse; Financial and emotional abuse.
In California there are over $20 billion dollars owed in back child support. Annually the state forgives approximately $3 billion of this therefore the figure never rises. Women with children are the fastest rising homeless population in the nation, as a result of failure to support. A family in California can expect only a 60% chance of receiving any amount of child support in a given month.
If you know someone who is failing to pay his/her court ordered child support, that person is committing abuse. Don't be a party to child abuse. Don't help hide income or assets. Tell that person now, "Stop it !! Send a check and support your kids".
It's the responsible thing to do ~ It's the decent thing to do.
No form of abuse is acceptable and failure to support is abuse.
Saturday, August 4, 2012
CSAM ~ Who I Am and Why I'm Here
I'm new to the whole blog scene, so please forgive any social faux pas. However I'm not new to the child support advocacy scene. I've been a child support advocate in California for close to ten years now. My level of frustration with how child support is run in this state has reached a point that I either have to walk away from it or do something. Well, I'm not a quitter, so...on with my mission of raising awareness and serving children by educating parents and the general public about child support issues, and how they effect all of us.
It has often been said that children don't come with an owner's manual, guide book, or instructions on how to raise them. Caring for and raising children to become good citizens and responsible adults can be trying, even under the best of circumstances. Unfortunately, too many children are being raised under what may be the worst of circumstances, lacking the financial and/or emotional support of one or both parents.
Currently, there is virtually no stigma attached to parents who fail to support their children. It is estimated that there is more than $100 billion dollars owed, throughout the nation, in unpaid child support. Twenty billion of that is owed in California alone.
The societal consequences of this are far reaching. Increased crime, juvenile drug and alcohol abuse, and poor scholastic achievement have all been linked to financially un or under-supported children, raised in single parent households.
Although federal, state and local government have procedures and processes in place to enforce child support orders and collections, the results have been abysmal. California has recently improved collections; only four years ago collections of current support was at about 50%, it is currently at about 60%. This means if you have an open child support case in California, you stand about a 60% chance of having your current support collected.
The important social issue of unsupported children is certainaly national and global in scope. My objective of this blog is to raise awareness of the far reaching societal and economic implications of this problem.
Through awareness and accountability we can change and improve the child support system in California and improve the social economic standing of many of the states children.
Owners manual, guide book, instructions on how to raising kids ?? I want to get to the very basics of supporting them and making sure they have food on the table, decent clothes to wear and confidence that both parents take pride in providing for them.
It has often been said that children don't come with an owner's manual, guide book, or instructions on how to raise them. Caring for and raising children to become good citizens and responsible adults can be trying, even under the best of circumstances. Unfortunately, too many children are being raised under what may be the worst of circumstances, lacking the financial and/or emotional support of one or both parents.
Currently, there is virtually no stigma attached to parents who fail to support their children. It is estimated that there is more than $100 billion dollars owed, throughout the nation, in unpaid child support. Twenty billion of that is owed in California alone.
The societal consequences of this are far reaching. Increased crime, juvenile drug and alcohol abuse, and poor scholastic achievement have all been linked to financially un or under-supported children, raised in single parent households.
Although federal, state and local government have procedures and processes in place to enforce child support orders and collections, the results have been abysmal. California has recently improved collections; only four years ago collections of current support was at about 50%, it is currently at about 60%. This means if you have an open child support case in California, you stand about a 60% chance of having your current support collected.
The important social issue of unsupported children is certainaly national and global in scope. My objective of this blog is to raise awareness of the far reaching societal and economic implications of this problem.
Through awareness and accountability we can change and improve the child support system in California and improve the social economic standing of many of the states children.
Owners manual, guide book, instructions on how to raising kids ?? I want to get to the very basics of supporting them and making sure they have food on the table, decent clothes to wear and confidence that both parents take pride in providing for them.
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