Let’s dispense, if for only a moment, the fact that debtor’s prisons were outlawed a long, long time ago in this country. Let’s forget for a just a moment that you’re not supposed to be imprisioned for failure to pay a debt.
Let’s talk about the disgrace that is a number of Judges in Berks County, Pennsylvania who believe for one moment that keeping people in prison due solely to the fact that they are indigent is a worthwhile idea for anyone… the prisoner, the children, or society as a whole.
As they could not afford legal representation and very likely due to the likelihood that they had no idea what they were up against in family court, these men were jailed for failure to pay child support that they allegedly had no ability to pay at the time of their incarceration.
From the article:
Berks County Judge Timothy J. Rowley, who presides over support cases, said state law does not require the court to provide lawyers for such cases.
It must be nice to have such power to wield over the little people of the world. 6 have been released, 5 were returned to jail, and 7 have hearings pending.
In Family Court, the hope is that a person who is in a bind regarding finances, particularly in this abysmal economy, will find a way to pay the support once the full force of the “legal process” is brought to bear on them in an effort to shake them, their families, and their friends down in order to stave off incarceration.
From the article:
Linda F. Epes, director of Berks domestic relations, said the bulk of the defendants will pay support once the legal process begins.
Of course they do. They’ll beg people to help them out to avoid being illegally imprisoned for failing to pay a debt! And if they can’t – put them in jail! That will help them find jobs, pay their child support obligation, and be productive members of society. Maybe we’ll even start turning out drug dealers and other real criminals to make room for them!
For the full article: Berks judges ask Supreme Court to keep child support inmates jailed
I live in Atlantic County n.j. and we are being incarcerated for child support at a rate of once every 2months.When you are arrested if you can not pay outrageous bails you are usually held for 30 to 45 days.Once released your expected to make a payment within 2 weeks.If this payment is not made you will be issued another bench warrant and incarcerated again.I have no problem with having to pay child support,but i do have a problem with the way this system is run.Most people who are required to pay child support here are ex-felons or people who are basically homeless and some cases both.In an economy where people who have lived a straight and narrow life cant find employment is it fair to expect those who have made mistakes in the past and are trying to correct those mistakes and change their lives,to find a job in 2weeks time.In my opinion i feel this is pushing people who want to live right back to a life of crime.When you constantly live under the threat of incarceration you start to feel very hopeless and desperate.You go out everyday to apply for work and get the same response from every employer,”we will give you a call” which never happens.So no job means you will go back to jail and have any progress you’ve think you’ve made impeded.Something has to change with the child support system as a whole.
I wish Chester County would do this! Maybe if so many custodial parents wouldn’t just ignore their financial obligations to their children the courts wouldn’t have to resort to this. This isn’t being jailed for failure to pay a debt, this is contempt of court. People are being imprisoned because they are violating a court order. What, you think the kids can just be put on a shelf for a couple of years while you get straightened out? What do you think custodial parents have to do when non-custodial parents refuse to take care of their kids? They have to borrow from friends and family, they have to rely on the kindness of strangers, they have to ask for help from the state. You want to talk about hopelessness? Try facing your kid on the morning of their birthday with no gift. Imagine how it feels for your kid when they have to sit at school while their friends go on a field trip. Try explaining to your boss that you lost your child care because your ex is indigent. See how long you have a job. Try keeping a job when YOU are the one who has to leave when your child’s sick, or you have to take a half day because your kids have an appointment. Try calling the electric company and saying “Oops, sorry, can’t afford to pay, you’ll just have to wait until I get some money.”
I have fought tooth and nail for the last 12 years to get my ex to pay his child support. $500 a month for ALL THREE, and Chester Country has done nothing. He lives with his mother, drives his father’s truck, pays no rent, no utilities, no food, nothing. He has no bills, and yet he can’t afford to pay his child support? I can assure you that it costs me MUCH more than $500 a month to take care of my kids. Maybe your problem is that you live in the wrong county, because apparently Chester County doesn’t care if the kids don’t have clothes or shoes or food. But guess what? Guess who’s the one who has to pick up the slack when you’re so indigent you can’t get a job at Burger King or a grocery store. WE do. WE are the ones who figure out where to get shoes, socks, underwear, clothes, winter coats, food, school supplies, toilet paper, shampoo and conditioner, soap, laundry detergent, quarters to do the laundry, gas money to take the kids to appointments and after-school activities, shelter, utilities, blankets and sheets, mattresses when their’s wear out, bathing suits and towels when they want to swim, medicine, hair care products, feminine care products when our daughters are old enough, razors and shaving cream when our sons start growing peach fuzz, deoderant, field trips, sports fees and equipment, dresses for the prom, school pictures, while ya’ll are out there “finding yourself”. What the hell do you think would happen to US if we neglected our children!? That’s right, we’d wind up in JAIL.
Jill – with all do respect to your single, individual situation – the broader realities and ones that you’ll need to accept are as follows:
– Jailing people who are behind on their child support doesn’t get children child support.
– Jailing people who are behind on their child support doesn’t help unemployed people get jobs.
– The overwhelming majority of people behind on child support are so because of sudden medical emergencies, unemployment. The fact is, they simply cannot pay these high child support awards.
What happens when people who are not divorced suffer such alarming circumstances? They adjust. They are not forced by “law” to spend money that they simply don’t have on their children (and this assumes that the majority of child support is actually spend on the children).
Only in divorce is one parent – usually the father – forced under such punitive (and illegal, unconstitutional) measures, up to and including incarceration for a civil debt.
So, I point out to you in the midst of your obvious rage for your own situation that jailing people who are unable to keep up with their child support orders helps NO ONE and it especially doesn’t help the children. Wake up and accept that this is our reality.
Again, these people are not being incarcerated for not paying a debt; they are going to jail for contempt of court. If anything, they are being put in jail for not taking care of their children. This is not a matter of not paying your credit card bill. This is not theft of service; this is neglect of children. If I suddently decided to not buy my children food or clothing, I too would be put in jail. It doesn’t matter if I don’t have a job or if I’m indigent; I created these children and I am expected to take care of these children. I and other custodial parents are expected to do whatever it takes to provide for those children. We don’t get to make excuses. What seems to be the frustration is that the same standards apply to non-custodial parents. Now, you could argue that if a custodial parent doesn’t take care of their child, that child will be removed and placed in foster care. Guess what? That custodial parents still must pay child support.
*IF* this were a solitary, individual case, I could see your point. It is not. Funny thing: custodial parents, particularly mothers, like to compare notes. We swap stories so we don’t feel like this is happening only to us. This happens all the time. There are even websites out there to help non-custodial parents get out of paying child support. It’s sickening and shameful.
What would you say society should do to a drug-addicted mother who lets her child starve? Uh, she’d go to jail. So why should non-custodial parents get a “get out of jail free” card? Is it the child’s fault their parent couldn’t be a law-abiding citizen and got themselves thrown in jail? When couples who aren’t divorced suffer misfortune, they are still required to care for their children. They still have to keep the lights on, food on the table, clothes on their backs, and a roof over their heads. If they don’t do what they need to do, the children are removed from the home and they still have to pay child support.
A few years ago, Chester County was much better at enforcing child support claims. Guess what? When my ex got his butt thrown in jail, he wised up, temporarily, and I got fairly regular payments. Now that they’ve changed the rules and won’t pick him up and throw him in jail, he hasn’t paid in months. The real, tangible threat of jail time IS a way to get children their child support, especially from those who can pay but don’t. If these people can’t afford to pay for the children that THEY created, perhaps some lessons on using condoms would be in order.