FREE ESSAY ON DEADBEAT PARENTS

DEADBEAT PARENTS

Parents who do not pay their child support are deadbeat parents. This creates a hardship
for the case managers in the child support office, the legal staff in preparing documents
and court appearances, but most importantly, the children who are the recipients of the
child support. Child support enforcement exists to help ensure that every child receives
the support that is required by law. This process begins through court ordered divorce,
paternity genetic testing, or application made directly to the child support office.
Through a court ordered divorce proceeding, the absent parent (the individual who is not
awarded custody) is required to pay child support. Guidelines are established for
determining the amount to be paid and an order is established. If an individual is in
disagreement with an order a paternity genetic test can be given. A custodial parent can
complete an application to submit to the local child support enforcement office. Once
this is received, the application goes through several processes.
First, an establishment case manager reviews the paperwork and has appointments with both
parties involved. Once the order is established, through the case manager or child 
support court, the case goes to an enforcement case manager. This person is responsible
for enforcing the child support order by maintaining contact with the absent parent,
securing employment information, address, etc. If an individual fails to comply with the
order, another process begins. The case is referred to the legal department for
enforcement. Paperwork issued from the court is mailed to the individual requiring them
to appear in court on a specific date and time. If they do appear, they are given an
opportunity to explain why they are not meeting their order. If this is acceptable by the
judge, they are given another opportunity to comply. In most cases, the absent parents do
not show up for court and a contempt warrant is issued. These deadbeats are not easily
found. The child support enforcement office has to depend on information received from
concerned citizens. However, most citizens do not want to get involved due to a fear of
retaliation. Many steps are taken to attempt to enforce the order. 
The number of deadbeat parents is growing every day. Stricter laws need to be enacted to
enforce these cases. Once the absent parent is jailed for non-compliance, there needs to
be a minimum amount of time (ex: 60 days) that the individual has to serve regardless if
the compliance is met or not.