Exposing
the Myth of the Deadbeat Dad
by
Charlton Hall
Staff
Writer
In
the local Child Support office, there’s a poster.
It consists of a picture of an infant with the caption “It’s amazing
how many guys disappear when one of these shows up”. We’ve all heard the stories of the father who abandons his
children and runs off to some sunny spot with his secretary, never to be heard
from again. At every turn we seem
to hear about “Deadbeat Dads”...fathers who refuse to accept financial
responsibility for their children. Judging
from recent legislative actions such as the Child Support Enforcement Act of
1992, you might think that every divorced Dad in America is running from child
support payments. But is this
really the case? What do the
statistics reveal? According to
information provided by the United States Census Bureau (Series P-20, No. 458,
1991), 26.9% of non-custodial fathers totally default on their child support.
But what about non-custodial mothers?
Of those non-custodial mothers who have been ordered to pay child
support, 46.9% are in default. So
is it really fair to use the term ‘Deadbeat Dad’?
What
can a divorcing Dad look forward to in terms of child support?
In South Carolina, up to 50% of your gross (not net) pay can be ordered
as child support. And if you are
ordered or choose (for your protection) to pay child support through Family
Court, 3% of your child support payment goes into the general fund of your local
county as a ‘collection fee’ (It is unclear why this fee should be a
percentage rather than a flat fee...does it cost the child support office more
to mail a $1000 check than a $100 check?).
If you ever get behind in your payments due to a layoff or loss of job,
there is no upper limit on the amount a judge can seize from your paycheck or
your assets for arrearage. In
addition, you could suffer loss of your driver’s license, professional
licenses, passports, and even your freedom.
You can be sentenced to up to one year imprisonment for non-payment in
the state of South Carolina. But is
imprisoning the father really in the best interest of the children?
Not only do they receive no support for the entire time he is
incarcerated, they are also deprived of their father’s involvement in their
lives for that entire period. Granted
there are some fathers who deliberately avoid paying child support, and these
fathers should be punished, but a visit to your local Family Court will show you
just how small a minority these fathers really are.
Yet the fathers who are sincerely making an effort to support their
children financially and emotionally but who are temporarily in dire financial
straits because of employment circumstances beyond their control are painted
with the same brush as real ‘Deadbeat Dads’.
Many of these Dads receive jail sentences just because of a layoff at
their place of employment. Does it
help children for them to have to see Daddy through the bars of a prison cell on
visiting day? Or to do without any
support at all during the time he is imprisoned? What are we doing to an entire generation of children who
will learn by our actions that the only thing Daddy is good for is to provide
money, and when he can’t do that we should lock him up?
What
can be done to change current trends? Family
Court judges are elected officials. You can vote
for judges favorable to Fathers’ Rights.
You can contact your State Representatives and Senators and tell them
that you want them to sponsor legislation for joint custody, and to revoke the
Tender Years Doctrine. There are
also several Fathers’ Rights Groups. Check
your local telephone directory or search the Internet, but get involved in one
way or another. Things will not
change until fathers demand their rights too.
Next
week: Custody issues...is there a gender bias in the Family Court system?