A resolution for our nation’s child support system could quite possibly change my life. How? Well, at this time, I am owed a whopping $54,000 in back child support; that would be a monumental lump sum payment.
I am happily married now, not to the person who owes me this money, but to a wonderful young man. Before I got married, however, I was a single mother who struggled. I had to go from job to job because I could never find reliable child care. I reached out to the non-custodial “parent” many times for help, but the end result was always nothing. I’ll never forget the conversation I had with him once when I was in between jobs. He told me that I shouldn’t be crying about having to find another job, and that I needed to “get it together” because he had friends who were single mothers that held down jobs without a problem. He told me that I should have had a 401K by that time in my life. Just thinking about that conversation makes me angry enough to spit. The funny part about it is that he may become the 401K that he said I should have had. *Evil Grin*
I try not to down the system too much because I have seen it benefit some. Other times, I am baffled by what happens, and what does not happen. For example, my husband pays child support. He changed jobs a few years ago because the plant he
worked at for 15 years was closing down. The red tape involved when he was initially hired at his new job took forever to be completed, and in the midst of that, a couple child support payments were missed; they are usually taken directly from his paychecks. The child support enforcement agency sent letter, after letter; then they took a portion of our tax return. I was amazed. Then there is my brother who pays child support for two children. He works everyday, and the CSEA takes so much money out of his paycheck that he has to borrow money from us. Now the kicker. When my non-custodial “parent” called for a hearing to have the amount of child support he is supposed to pay decreased (keep in mind that he isn’t paying), I got a letter stating that if I didn’t show up to court, I could have a warrant issued for my arrest. Are you kidding me?
Overall, too many things slip through the cracks with the CSEA, and I am sure that it is not just the one in my area. I personally believe that they do such a horrible job of keeping up with non-custodial parents that owe large sums of money that they try to compensate by harassing those who are trying to live right
and pay child support the way they are supposed to.