Our Broken Child Support System

My morning coffee discussion with a friend went from scoffing about an upcoming wedding of a friend's nephew that was going to eat up $100k to the fact that at least 50% of marriages end in divorce to the hot topic of the child support system. My take is that it's broken. Many, on both sides of the system, will agree, with differing opinions on who's to blame.

This week in rain-soaked Atlanta is a premiere of a documentary, "Support? System Down," focusing on

the fundamental flaws in America's Family Courts regarding the Divorce and Child Support System. The film explores the problems through over 38 interviews with both custodial and non-custodial parents and the attorneys, judges and county employees on both sides of the paradigm.

The system's failures can spill out in violence, as in a recent fatal shooting in a trailer court in GA allegedly over child support. Hopefully the film will generate attention on a hot, neglected, issue--one that causes poverty and homelessness, often for moms and kids, but sometimes dads too.

I've been working on the documentary, "On the Edge" (working title) with my colleague Dr. Laura Vazquez, professor in Northern Illinois University's communication department.  The homeless and formerly homeless mothers we interviewed all point to a lack of child support payments as a major economic factor in not being able to provide for their families. Poverty and homelessness shouldn't be the consequence of a broken marriage, but too often it is.

This heartbreaking topic, which arises in all economic and social circles, including my Facebook page, illustrates a dysfunctional system. One mom I know and her two kids lived with little food and no money for essentials while dad pulled in a 6-figure income. Another mom talks about how Florida's support enforcement can't seem to find the father, yet she knew how to locate him and his employer. I've known dads made homeless because they couldn't afford to live on their wages after support payments were deducted.

Plenty of blame can be spread around. Local, state and federal government often fail to enforce court-ordered payments. Non-custodial parents need to shoulder their responsibilities better. And the devastated economy will continue to ravage both the payers and payees. The bottom line: the kids suffer the most.

Seems to me that the system would have been fixed a long time ago if men were primarily the custodial parents, or if we had more women legislators. Is it a gender issue? I dunno. But the historical nature of the failure to make the system work under male-dominated government might be a clue.

photos by the author