Deadbeat Fathers are a growing problem throughout the region

DEADBEAT FATHERS ARE A GROWING PROBLEM THROUGHOUT REGION

BY CALEB HALE
THE SOUTHERN
[Sat Jun 14 2003]

SOUTHERN ILLINOIS -- Not every dad is a "super-dad." Some aren't even
attentive dads. Some are just plain deadbeats.

It is a sad story in modern American family lifestyles and one that is
repeated far too often in Illinois. According to figures from the Illinois
Department of Public Aid, the state collected $300 million in child support
payments during the 2002 fiscal year. However, $467 million went unpaid.

The Southern Illinois region shares a portion of the problem as well. John
Bigler, Union County state's attorney, said neither his office nor any other
local state's attorney's office pursues child support cases. But it is not
uncommon for him to receive a couple calls per week from mothers wanting
help, he said.

Bigler said he usually hears of fathers who are months behind on payments
and owe thousands of dollars.

"It is a very serious problem in this area," said Camille Dorris, director
of the Women's Center in Carbondale.

Dorris said many of her clients are single mothers, suffering financially
because of fathers not paying their share of child support. She said it is
difficult for many mothers to pay for simple bills and rent.

Child support can help, but Dorris said some women don't bother to collect.
"When the mother is pursuing child support, that process can be cumbersome
itself," she said.

Dorris said mothers come into the center burdened with the struggle of being
a single parent, and lengthy court proceedings are something they would
rather avoid.


Vicki Duncan, director of the Union County Child Advocacy Center in Anna,
said the effects of a deadbeat father can easily transfer to a child.

She said she sees many children without natural fathers in the home. Duncan
said the impact on a child is obvious, as the lack of stability in the
family leads them into greater risk for negative behavior.

The stress a deadbeat dad puts on the mother sometimes leads the women to
speak negatively about the father. Duncan said those words create a lasting
impression on kids as they grow into young adults.

"They feel that there is someone out there who should be caring for them,"
she said. "They continue to look for the reason why."

In some cases children begin taking out aggression about neglectful fathers
on the mother, Duncan said. She said disobedience often results from anger
over a family situation, especially when there is any strife between the
mother and father.

Duncan said, however, things have changed over the past five years and the
state is getting involved to crack down on fathers who owe large payments of
child support.

"More of those fathers are being identified and being held to their
payments," she said.

Mike Claffey, a spokesperson for the Illinois Department of Public Aid,
which refers child support cases to the attorney general's office, said it's
not so easy for deadbeat dads to shirk their financial responsibilities
anymore.

Patrice Ball-Reed, Illinois deputy attorney general for child support
enforcement, said her department can make life difficult for men not paying
up. If the child support payments become too high, he said the department
can intercept payments from returns or lottery winnings -- even garnish
wages from the paycheck. Restrictions to passports and negative credit
reports can also rear up, she added.

"In extreme cases we can press federal and state charges to prosecution,"
Claffey said.

He said in August, the department will be setting up a Web site listing "the
worst offenders" in the area of child support. This rogue list will include
pictures and the amounts the men owe in back pay to their families.

Claffey said offenders who are posted on the site must owe more than $5,000
in unpaid child support, and the case must be non-violent in nature.

The purpose for running such a public chastising is twofold, Claffey said.
One is to help locate the offenders, and the other follows a more basic
premise:

"We want to shame them into paying up," he said.