Fighting for kids
November 8th 03, 01:50 AM
Face it: Deadbeats are here to stay
By Kim Franke-Folstad
July 19, 1999
Rocky Mountain News
Maybe it's better to know the truth.
Maybe it's time we all uncrossed our fingers and unfolded our
hands and faced the reality that wishful thinking isn't going to get all
those irresponsible parents out there to pay their past-due child support.
And neither is the state of Colorado.
If there ever was any doubt about that, it faded last week, when
the results of a new audit showed that the state's child support enforcement
system is in disarray, and that Colorado parents owe more than $1 billion in
back payments.
Pity the poor custodial parent who's been depending on the
government to deal with a deadbeat ex. Despite optimism about advances in
technology and reforms designed to enhance the collection of unpaid support,
time remains on the noncustodial parent's side.
"It's not like it's gone from good news to bad news. It's just
worse news," said Richard "Casey" Hoffman, founder and CEO of Child Support
Enforcement, a private, Texas-based agency that tracks down parents who
don't pay.
Hoffman gave me the heads-up awhile back about new problems for
parents who rely on the government to collect their back child support.
Because of recent changes in welfare laws, he said, state
caseworkers have had to change their focus from families with the best
chance of recovery to those who will rely on public assistance if they don't
get their support money. Those cases almost always take longer to work,
leaving little time for others, he said.
As a former special assistant to the attorney general of Texas,
Hoffman once directed that state's child support enforcement efforts, and he
says he's a "cheerleader for one of the toughest jobs in government." But,
he added, the system is overloaded nationwide, and government workers "have
to choose very day which children they can help."
Naturally, Hoffman suggests those parents who find themselves
falling through the cracks get in touched with a private firm such as his.
Child Support Enforcement keeps a sizable cut of the dollars it collects,
but its success rate is high. The company says it has collected for more
than 65 percent of its clients, 95 percent of whom said they tried the
government first.
But Hoffman also has some advice for parents who are just
getting into the game: Try to get things figured out quickly and to
everyoneıs satisfaction before the situation gets out of control.
The No. 1 reason given for nonpayment of child support, he said,
is animosity between exes. If the support amount seems unreasonable, for
example, the noncustodial parent may decide not to pay anything at all.
There's also a tendency to hold back on the check if the custodial parent
doesn't hold up his or her end of the deal and denies visitation. "Parents
who visit pay more than those who don't visit," he said.
Finally, the sooner you can track down a deadbeat, the better.
There are a lot of "nervous Nellies" out there who will start
paying as soon as someone reaches out and puts the squeeze on them for the
money they owe, Hoffman said. Unfortunately, most deadbeats know the odds
are pretty good that theyıll never be touched.
Not if everyone keeps waiting around with their fingers crossed
and their hands folded, anyway.
By Kim Franke-Folstad
July 19, 1999
Rocky Mountain News
Maybe it's better to know the truth.
Maybe it's time we all uncrossed our fingers and unfolded our
hands and faced the reality that wishful thinking isn't going to get all
those irresponsible parents out there to pay their past-due child support.
And neither is the state of Colorado.
If there ever was any doubt about that, it faded last week, when
the results of a new audit showed that the state's child support enforcement
system is in disarray, and that Colorado parents owe more than $1 billion in
back payments.
Pity the poor custodial parent who's been depending on the
government to deal with a deadbeat ex. Despite optimism about advances in
technology and reforms designed to enhance the collection of unpaid support,
time remains on the noncustodial parent's side.
"It's not like it's gone from good news to bad news. It's just
worse news," said Richard "Casey" Hoffman, founder and CEO of Child Support
Enforcement, a private, Texas-based agency that tracks down parents who
don't pay.
Hoffman gave me the heads-up awhile back about new problems for
parents who rely on the government to collect their back child support.
Because of recent changes in welfare laws, he said, state
caseworkers have had to change their focus from families with the best
chance of recovery to those who will rely on public assistance if they don't
get their support money. Those cases almost always take longer to work,
leaving little time for others, he said.
As a former special assistant to the attorney general of Texas,
Hoffman once directed that state's child support enforcement efforts, and he
says he's a "cheerleader for one of the toughest jobs in government." But,
he added, the system is overloaded nationwide, and government workers "have
to choose very day which children they can help."
Naturally, Hoffman suggests those parents who find themselves
falling through the cracks get in touched with a private firm such as his.
Child Support Enforcement keeps a sizable cut of the dollars it collects,
but its success rate is high. The company says it has collected for more
than 65 percent of its clients, 95 percent of whom said they tried the
government first.
But Hoffman also has some advice for parents who are just
getting into the game: Try to get things figured out quickly and to
everyoneıs satisfaction before the situation gets out of control.
The No. 1 reason given for nonpayment of child support, he said,
is animosity between exes. If the support amount seems unreasonable, for
example, the noncustodial parent may decide not to pay anything at all.
There's also a tendency to hold back on the check if the custodial parent
doesn't hold up his or her end of the deal and denies visitation. "Parents
who visit pay more than those who don't visit," he said.
Finally, the sooner you can track down a deadbeat, the better.
There are a lot of "nervous Nellies" out there who will start
paying as soon as someone reaches out and puts the squeeze on them for the
money they owe, Hoffman said. Unfortunately, most deadbeats know the odds
are pretty good that theyıll never be touched.
Not if everyone keeps waiting around with their fingers crossed
and their hands folded, anyway.