Most Illinois deadbeats aren’t ‘reprehensible’ — they’re broke
June 22, 2007
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Posted by ANCPR
DAILY SOUTHTOWN :: Guest Columnists :: Most Illinois deadbeats aren’t ‘reprehensible’ — they’re broke
Most Illinois deadbeats aren’t ‘reprehensible’ — they’re broke
June 20, 2007
By Jeffery M. Leving and Glenn Sacks
The Daily Southtown article “Deadbeat dads owe big” (June 18) details last week’s “Operation Father’s Pay,” in which Cook County sheriff’s police arrested 130 so-called “deadbeat dads.” Sheriff Thomas Dart calls these men “reprehensible people.” The reality of “deadbeat dads” is much more complex.
Federal Office of Child Support Enforcement data shows that two-thirds of those behind on child support nationwide earn poverty-level wages; less than four percent of the national child support debt is owed by those earning $40,000 or more a year. While Dart’s list may contain some bad actors, most “deadbeat dads” are low-income men who are unable to meet the often unrealistic demands of the child support system.
One of the “deadbeats” profiled by the Southtown is 28-year-old Richard Coleman, who authorities claim owes nearly $10,000 in child support. Coleman says he’s not a deadbeat and fell behind while between jobs. He may be telling the truth — according to the Urban Institute, less than one in 20 noncustodial parents who loses his job or suffers a drop in income is able to get the courts to reduce the support obligation. In such cases, the amounts owed mount quickly, as do interest (9 percent in Illinois) and penalties. This is largely how the $100 billion national child support debt accrued.
Coleman also asserts that he really owes “a lot less” than the $10,000 claimed. Again, he may be right — child support enforcement is notorious for its incessant errors and the snail’s pace at which they fix them.
To cite one tragic example, last April, Herbert Chalmers, of St. Louis, Mo., killed himself and three others, including two members of the family whose business was garnisheeing his wages. Chalmers’ withholding had been doubled, and he was left with only $400 a month from his paychecks. He claimed there was a mistake, and a posthumous investigation found he was correct –according to state officials, due to a clerical error, Chalmers was being garnisheed five times what he actually owed.
Sheriff Dart claims the men he’s arrested “have walked away from their families (and) responsibilities.” Yet research shows that the vast majority of divorces are initiated by women, not by men, and that most do not involve a serious transgression by men but instead occur because the women feel unappreciated or emotionally unfulfilled.
Some of the fathers on Illinois’ Department of Healthcare and Family Services’ “Wanted” list got there in the following manner — the wife or girlfriend ended the relationship, left with the kids and then went to the state to get public assistance. Illinois DHFS then went after the father for child support to repay the cost of the assistance. The father — against whom no wrongdoing has been charged — has been deprived of custody of his kids against his will, may not even have visitation rights and might not even know where his kids are.
While paying the state, the father also has to hire an attorney and fight his way through the courts just to see his children. Even if he wins visitation rights, recalcitrant mothers often flout these orders with impunity. Low and moderate income fathers frequently must choose between paying child support or paying for legal action to obtain or maintain contact with their children. These men hardly are “walking away” from their “families and responsibilities.”
Sometimes a father in this situation has been paying the mother directly, but nevertheless is saddled with arrearages and declared a “deadbeat.” When he presents his stack of canceled checks, the state says, “Sorry, that money you paid the mother is a gift — you still owe us child support to reimburse the cost of the public assistance.”
Operation Father’s Pay is a perverse and destructive way to mark Father’s Day. If Dart really is interested in helping Illinois’ children, next year he’ll use his officers to enforce fathers’ rights to visitation and shared custody of their children.
Jeffery M. Leving is a family law attorney and author. His Web site is www.dadsrights.com. Glenn Sacks’ columns on men’s and fathers’ issues have appeared in dozens of newspapers in the United States. His Web site is www.GlennSacks.com.
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What exactly is a deadbeat dad?
Is a deadbeat someone who falls behind because he cannot afford the unrealistic and unwarranted court imposed financial obligation?
Is it someone who refuses to pay what amounts to extortion in order to -visit – his children twice a month … someone who has the self-respect to reject the role as – visitor – to his children?
Is it someone who refuses to pay corrupt courts extortion money for a child born to a female he was not married to and did not want a child with?
Is it someone who refuses to pay because he is – denied the equal protection of our laws – when it comes to decisions about parenting … someone who was ordered to pay as a result of a blood test or DNA test and was given no other option?
Is it someone who refuses to pay the extortion because he is a victim of paternity fraud?
Of course not.
The – deadbeat – is the father who pays the extortion knowing that the courts are violating his constitutional rights and that his thoughtless actions put all Americans at risk for loss of liberty.
The – deadbeat – is the father who pays the extortion … which enables the courts to continue kidnapping millions of children from their fathers … in order to extort money from them and the duped taxpayer.
The – deadbeat – is the father who does not have the courage to … do the right thing … for fear of incarceration.
The – deadbeat – is the father who would rather pay the extortion than accept a … equal role … in raising his children.
The – deadbeat – is the father who by paying the extortion insures that his children will be the next victims of this injustice.
I think any – reasonable person – would agree with these facts.
Kevin Merck
The following information may be of MAJOR interest to anyone who is being abused by the Los Angeles County Child Support Services Department. The Los Angeles County Fraud Unit has just uncovered a MASSIVE scandal as a direct result of a complaint I filed against the Los Angeles County Child Support Services Department. The following is a press release that I’ve sent to as many newspapers, radio stations, and television studios that I can find in the Los Angeles/Orange County area. While the LA County Fraud Unit is not over, I strongly urge ALL of you to contact them and file a report on their web site ( http://www.lacountyfraud.com ) Click on the “Report Fraud” button to file your report! It’s time to bombard LA County with complaints from everyone who has been harmed. Don’t wait – file today! Also, don’t forget to spread the word!
Fraud Unit Uncovers Scandal:
Los Angeles County Child Support Computer System has Major Deficiencies
. . .harming millions of innocent men
As part of an investigation into the ongoing corruption at the Los Angeles County Child Support Services Department, in which they have been illegally seizing the wages, as well as fraudulently reporting arrearages on the credit report of a father who has always paid his child support on time and in full, the Los Angeles County Fraud Unit (Department of Auditor-Controller, Office of County Investigations, located on the Internet at: http://www.lacountyfraud.com ). That complaint resulted in an investigation being opened against them. As a result, the Fraud Unit has just uncovered another huge scandal in which it appears that millions of innocent fathers are literally being abused by LACCSSD. According to a voice-mail message, the Los Angeles County Fraud Unit informed the father that:
“. . .the Child Support Department has a major deficiency in their computer reconciling system it looks they have a large lag time of about two or three months which is why they are not showing any of your payments for the last two or three months”
The Los Angeles County Fraud Unit has also stated that they are
“going to sit down with them [LACCSSD] in the next week or so and we’re going to recommend some major overhauls to their computer systems.”
In other words it is taking three months (or longer) for child support payments to be recorded by the county, while, at the same time, the County is viciously seizing the wages of innocent men who have; indeed, paid their child support. As noted, this scam has potentially impacted millions of innocent men who are having their wages garnished, tax refunds stolen, credit reports destroyed, professional licenses revoked, etc., etc. due to the ongoing incompetence at the Los Angeles County Child Support Services Department.
In the case of the father who made the initial report to the Los Angeles County Fraud Unit, LACCSSD has severely harassed him for the past year and a half by not only literally defying court orders (available upon request) that they cease and desist their fraudulent collection actions against him as well as determined, a year ago, that the father had overpaid his child support, but they also:
* Illegally garnished his wages
* Tried to have his teaching credentials revoked
* Stole unemployment checks when he was laid off (he only works part-time because he is on disability)
* Fraudulently reported him as being 90 days in arrears to the credit bureaus and have refused to correct them. (Just yesterday, another one of LACCSSD’s unethical attorney’s, Chris Stark, tried to blackmail and extort more money from that father by stating that LACCSSD would remove the negative credit ratings if he paid an additional $1400 which he did not owe (in fact, LACCSSD has stolen so much from the father that they owe him money). A complaint of blackmail and extortion has just been filed against Stark with the California Bar Association.
* Stole two years worth of tax refunds
* Six of LACCSSD’s shysters (Lori A. Cruz, Dennis Coe, Deborah Echeverria, Alex Huynh, Lisa Garrett, Chris Stark) have literally refused (some for more than a year) to respond to demands for a full accounting made by both the father and his attorney.
All of these were done in light of the fact that the father had significantly overpaid his support (much of which was stolen from him as a direct result of LACCSSD’s vicious and unfounded collection activities). The father will provide members of the news media with full documentation (canceled checks, pay stubs, tax documents, credit reports, etc.) regarding payments made (or stolen) by LACCSSD along with the extortion letter just sent by LACCSSD’s attorney, Chris Stark.
This latest scam is just one of many resulting from the unethical and illegal conduct of LACCSSD against innocent men. In a related matter, the United States District Court (Frank Mayer v. California Health and Human Services Agency et. al. – Case Number 2:05-cv-07195-JFW-SS) that LACCSSD had fraudulently damaged Mr. Mayer’s credit report and subsequently refused to correct it. Based upon this latest news, it is conceivable that millions of men are being subjected to the same treatment.
How the family legal system manufactures deadbeat dads is detailed and documented in Deadbeat Dad
http://www.lulu.com/content/315711
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