Are You a Taxpayer? Then It's Important to You

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 ~