The article below is illustrative of the problems with the child support system in many ways:
1) I’ve often made the point that when we jail or threaten to jail child support debtors and they pay money to stay out of jail, this money often is not theirs but instead money they’ve borrowed from their family and friends. Yet inevitably whatever chest-thumping/publicity-seeking DA who’s behind the latest crackdown will tell you, “See? The deadbeats have the money and the threat of jail makes them pay!”
In this article, a judge is admitting that threatening to jail people means they borrow money from family members to stay out. He’s admitting that they don’t have the money to pay themselves, and that they’re being jailed for inability to pay their debts. In other words, debtor’s prison.
2) I’m not sure if we have any Father of the Year candidates in this article, but most of the “deadbeats” certainly seem to be low-income men whose ability to pay is questionable. We’re told two of their occupations–one is a roofer, the other is a construction worker–and both claim they’re having a hard time finding work. One of them says that the fact that his driver’s license was suspended for nonpayment of child support has made it more difficult to find work.
3) Most notable is the article’s assertion that Andrew Tayrien was sentenced to “20 years in prison for non-support, a class B felony.” Twenty years? Is that a misprint?
4) The article mentions the Arkansas Department of Finance & Administration’s Office of Child Support Enforcement’s new top Child Support Evaders list, which can be found here. Of the six listed, the biggest “deadbeat” is a waitress. We also have one youth camp worker, and four people who are so successful in their careers that the DFA doesn’t even know what their occupations are.
Oh, and tell me, when they catch the waitress, are they going to sentence her to 20 years in prison?
The piece is below. Tracy M. Neal, who wrote it, doesn’t seem to understand the implications of the facts in her own article–she can be reached at tracyn@nwanews.com.
Thanks to child support expert Jane Spies of the National Family Justice Association for sending me the article. Jane discusses problems with the child support system in her recent article The Myth of the Successful Child Support System.
SUNDAY FOCUS : Big child-support bills could result in jail time
By Tracy M. Neal Staff Writer / tracyn@nwanews.com
November 11, 2007
BENTONVILLE — Child support or jail.
That was the rule Circuit Judge Xollie Duncan stressed to people recently as they were called before her for failure to pay child support.
Duncan and Circuit Judge John Scott set aside a day each month to hear such cases.
“The rule is you pay child support or you go to jail,” Duncan said to Richard McKeever. “You understand that.”
McKeever was arrested for failure to pay child support. He owes more than $23,500. He claims he works part time in a construction job and received $215 several days ago.
“I’ve been trying to make enough to live,” McKeever told the judge.
McKeever claims he works with an acquaintance who drove him to job sites. McKeever is hampered from finding a better job because he lost his driver’s license — one of the punishments for his failure to pay child support.
Michael Shoane, an attorney for the local Child Support Enforcement Office, described McKeever as an able-bodied man who can work.
“Did you pay at least $10 toward support from the $215 you earned?” Duncan asked McKeever.
McKeever hadn’t.
“You are going to spend your holidays in jail,” the judge said.
She scheduled a review hearing for Jan. 9. McKeever can be released if he pays $4,500 of the child support.
Another man — Tommy Martin — claims he lives with his mother and last worked several months ago, roofing with his cousin.
Martin owes $35,000 in child support.
He is currently serving 78 days in the Benton County Jail from a sentence in Lowell City Court.
“I would like to get a steady job so they can take it out of my paycheck,” Martin said.
“You waited until you were $35,000 in arrears?” Duncan asked. “Don’t you think that’s a little long to be waiting?”
Martin will be in jail until a Jan. 9 review hearing.
McKeever’s and Martin’s cases are the result of lawsuits brought by Child Support Enforcement, but other such cases also make it to criminal court.
Circuit Judge David Clinger recently sentenced Andrew Tayrien to 20 years in prison for non-support, a class B felony. Tayrien owes more than $50,000 in child support. He must serve at least one-sixth of the sentence before he is eligible for parole.
Three men were on the docket in Duncan’s court recently, but Duncan and Scott also have cases involving women who have not paid support for their children.
Some of those women were jailed for not living up to the court’s order toward child support, the judges said.
Duncan and Scott stressed that the vast majority of parents who are supposed to pay child support do so, but others need attention from the court in order to live up to their obligations.
“The money seems to come out of the woodwork when you send people to jail,” Scott said. “I’ve had people get in touch with family members for the money before we can even transport them to jail.”
Besides jail, Scott said, he has ordered some to perform community services. He sent some men to help clean brush and tree limbs after a large freeze.
As in McKeever’s case, the state can authorize that an individual’s commercial or regular driver’s license can be suspended for failure to pay child support. Recreational licenses, permanent license plates, professional and business licenses can also be suspended, according to the state Office of Child Support Enforcement’s Web site.
OSCE also has a Web site with photographs of its top child-support evaders. The Web address is http://www.arkansas.gov/dfa/child_support/ocse_evaders.php.
Individuals on the Web site have not made a child-support payment in at least six months, owe at least $5,000 and are wanted by the state’s OCSE for nonpayment of child support, according to the Web site.
www.GlennSacks.com, Glenn Sacks
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5 users commented in " 20 Years in Prison for Failing to Pay Child Support? "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackI agree with the argument. It is ery similar to what happene to me an my siblings.
I meant,i agree with the argument. It is very similar to what happened to me and my siblings.
FYI The judge who gave a man 20 years and the one who sentenced a man to “spend the holidays in jail” are a married couple.
My family and friends have bonded me out of Benton County Jail for this very problem. I have returned to Texas on Father’s Day, June 15th, 2008. I have now lost my job as a result of this incarseration. I have returned home to pick up the pieces of the broken life of my mother and family.
I was in jail for 6 weeks for a felony non-support case which my exwife filed against me. I have had to borrowed over 1100.00 to get bonded out of jail. I have retained an attorney which will easily cost me over 3,000.00 (if I am lucky). I am facing extradtion fees of around 2000.00, county cost of 1000.00, DNA fees of 250.00, court costs, and probation or parole fees, which can be astronomical. Not to mention that I will most likely leave with a felony, which will prevent me from getting a decent job in the future, once my mother passes away. Moreover, my child support has continued to accrue while I was incarserated. I have to return to Arkansas for the civil part of my child support modification request. OCSE’s, Michael Shone has stated in a reponse to a motion to modify my child support, that I chose to care for my elderly mother, knowing that I had an obligation to pay 779.00 a month. In early 2005, I requested a modification to be done by OCSE. At that time my case worker did not explain to me that just filing the 8 page form and returning it to their office was not enough to change the obligatory amount. I returned this form to OCSE and I have requested open files about my child support case 2 times from both Arknasas’ and Texas’Attorney Generals Child Support Divisions, respectively. Neither one has given this enformation requested. The only thing they give me is a copy of my payment history. The open file will contain communicaiton that I have had with their office and myself. One will find that I have been in contact with the Child Support offices on a regular basis.
I have an interstate child support case between Arkansas, Benton County, and Texas, Tarrant County. I have 4 daughter’s from one marriage of 12 years. My x-wife, Patricia C. Todd, has told me that she contacted the child support office in Arkansas to help her collect the arrears amount I have on file. This amount was over 38,000.00 in November 2007. I am now in arrears of over 42,000.00 as of June 2008. They told her that they can not do much to help her because I live in Texas. They recommended that she go to the Prosecuting Attorney’s office in Benton County, 479-271-1028 (?).
I wish for my case to remain in Texas, and I had agreed to pay 65% of my income. It is my understanding that Texas law is to withhold only 50% up to the amount. Again, I am now unemployed and very frustrated with the system.
My child support is set through Benton County at 179.00 per week. The child support is collected through the Texas Office out of Fort Worth. My case worker there has taken over my case this past month. Her name is Arlette Hampton. She can be reached at 817-926-7197 or 1-800-778-9982.
I was working for The Coffee House Gallery, 609 S. Jennings, Fort Worth, TX 76104, 817-335-4646. Again, I had requested that my employer take out 65% of my income to pay extra monies. She had done this and had written a letter for me to provide to the appropriate persons involved in helping me fix my problem. Of course it is too late for this to do any good.
My situation is very desperate. I have been my mother’s primary care take since 1999. She and one of my sisters, Sylvia Garcia, lived with my x-wife and I the last 2 years of my marriage. Sylvia is a special needs person. She is 51 and is mentally disabled. She now lives in a nursing home, Community Care Center on Lueda St, 817-332-7003, in Fort Worth, TX. My mother suffers from dementia, diabetes, COPD, and several other debilitating health problems. I have had to become my mother’s primary care-taker because another of my sisters, Sandra Garcia, breached her fiduciary duty and spent everything my mother had. Sandra then sold my mother’s home for $15,000.00 to her boyfriend in October, 2004. I went through Probate Court 1, Tarrant County, to file for Guardianship in January 2005, to try to help save her home. My mother lost her home and was evicted on August 13th, 2007. I have records from the Courts of Tarrant County, doctor’s statements showing that I am the in this situation. These documents are all on record with Tarrant County as well.
Once again, as I mentioned earlier, I requested that my child support be modified in 2005. The Child Support Office in Arkansas and Texas both have this on file. My case worker in Arkansas was a lady named Dana. While I was in jail, my case worker has changed 2 times, and now I am being told that my case has been moved to OCSE’s Legal office, where I getting less assistance from. I am told that I had to request in writing for proof of the request for modification. I have done this and sent a request in writing. The child support office seems to not want to relinquish this information and has only returned my payment history to me. I believe that I will need this proof when I go to court for the criminal part of my legal problems regarding my child support issues.
In September 2007, I sent 50.00. In November 2007, I sent 50.00. In December 2007, I sent 400.00 directly to my children so that they would get the money before Christmas. In January, I sent 100.00. I have receipts for these monies and have requested that they be put in my file. I have also sent 80.11, 240.00, 240.00, and 220.00 through my employer, prior to being arrested. I know that this was not much, but it is all I was able to send. Again, I had made arrangements to have money sent every pay period to the Child Support Office.
I have been in contact with my children almost every day. I know that I have taken for granted that my x-wife makes over 90,000.00 a year. She will be completing her DR. degree very soon and will jump in the Rogers Public Schools pay scale a substancial amount very soon. She is an administrator in Rogers Public Schools, in Arkansas. She directs the ESL and Migrant Program. She is remarried and it is my understanding that her new husband, Bruce Todd, is having legal problems with his child support. I know that they were separated in November and that they are trying to work things out.
My three oldest daughters each have their own cell phones. They have 4 computers in the home. My ex-wife has just purchased them new guitars. In December, they purchased a 56″ television. I am confused as to how my oldest daughter, Megan is driving on a spare tire, while these large purchases are being made.
Patricia went to the Prosecuting Attorney to attempt to have the courts monitor my child support case the way Bruce’s is done. She told me today that it was not her intention to have me put in jail. However, that appears is what will now happen. Patricia has filed a felony non-support case against me.
In the mean time, I am living on Food Stamp to survive and be able to care for my mother.
Again, if I am convicted of a felony, I will not be able to get the assistance I need to survive from the Department of Human Services, to vote, or many other things. I am honestly scared and do not know what to do to fix this. I need advise and help. I do not have money for an attorney, but Joanne McCrackin, of Garfield, AR has agreed to let me make payments and will represent me.
I had been contacting Deputy G. Leddy, 817-884-1320, every day. Deputy Leddy had the warrant for my arrest. He came to arrest me on Tuesday, the night of the caucuses. I just happened to be participating in the caucus that night when he came by. My mother answered the door and is panicking. Her dementia and fear of not having me here to care for her is too much for her. I had made arrangements for my mother to go to Colorado. She was brought back to Fort Worth the end of April because my sister Rita McCullough was unable to give her the care she needed. Rita lives in Bailey, Colorado, in the mountains. My mother returned to my home and my friends have been helping to care for her while I was in jail for about 4 weeks of my 6.5 weeks of incarseration. My friends have all loaned me money to bond out, so that they can get on with their lives.
Please let me know of any organizations, government help, or anything that I can do.
I can be reached at 817-995-3539 any time.
Again, please help me or refer me to someone who can.
Sincerely,
Alberto Garcia
Alberto- i wish i could help. i am the wife of someone currently in the same situation as yourself. (he has an x-wife & child from 16 yrs ago) the system is so devilish.
i will pray for you and your mother. i will also pray for your children. please pray for my children too. if my husband goes to jail, i will be stuck, and become yet another welfare mother, all because my husband is unable to afford his payments. i would give you money if i had it because i know how hard and heartbreaking it is to go thru life always looking over your shoulder. But, all i can offer is my prayers, and i know Father hears all. Don’t lose your faith even when it seems like there is no point in retaining any. We never know, we very well could recieve what we need when we least expect it. Maybe not, but Maybe! In Christ, from C.P.
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