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In the new Child Support Report, the official newsletter of the federal Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE), it was announced that a new program is underway, which some humanitarian groups in Washington have dubbed, "Starving Dads for Dollars," which will keep poor fathers from receiving food stamps. In addition to extorting money from relatives of fathers who cannot afford to pay child support, OCSE expects to save $25 million in costs to the food-stamp program by kicking poor fathers off of the program if they cannot afford to pay child support.
Currently, all 50 states are required by OCSE to confiscate hunting and fishing licenses from fathers who cannot afford to pay child support to make sure that they cannot legally hunt or catch food to eat. This proposal will close some of the loopholes that allow these deadbeat dads to continue to eat.
In conjunction with this effort, OCSE is pushing to lower the $5000 child support arrears threshold for passport revocation to $2500. Officials are optimistic that lowering the threshold will halt the flood of poor fathers trying to escape to countries that might allow them to eat.
The new programs have been announced in conjunction with President Clinton's initiative to allow poor mothers to drive expensive cars and still receive food stamps. Officials denied that the President's new initiative would in any way dampen the agency's efforts to publicly humiliate poor fathers by putting pink and blue boots on their cars, with big stickers on the windshield labeling them as deadbeat dads. "It's just like putting these deadbeat dads in stocks in the public square," said one commentator.
Under the Clinton administration, OCSE s budget has more than doubled, going from $2 billion to over $4 billion per year. Yet, when asked why OCSE keeps adding more penalties to a program that has failed to increase child support collections in welfare cases by more than 1% since 1975, it was quickly pointed out that all the benefits of its programs have not been fully appreciated. For instance, in Los Angeles County alone, OCSE is getting child support orders in place against 350 men per month for children that are not theirs.
Stuart Miller is a federal lobbyist and Senior Legislative Analyst for the American Fathers Coalition in Washington, DC
Documentation
Kicking dads off Food Stamps is in the February "Child Support Report" Newsletter and also mentioned in the following:
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) published in the Federal Register on December 17, 1999 (64 FR 70919). "The rule also allows States to disqualify individuals who are in arrears in court-ordered child support payments."
From the President's message from February 23, 2000: Families need transportation to go to work:
"Low-income families cannot participate fully in our strong economy and support their children unless they can get to work. Two-thirds of all new jobs are now created in suburbs, but three-quarters of welfare recipients live in rural areas or central cities. While many states and communities are working to develop innovative transportation strategies, existing public transit often fails to link to suburban job opportunities, cover evening and weekend hours, or serve rural communities. Even in metropolitan areas with extensive transit systems, studies have shown that less than half the entry level jobs are accessible by transit.
Having a car can make a tremendous difference. Data from the Urban Institute s National Survey of American Families show that twice as many welfare recipients with cars were working than those without cars, and 25 percent more low-income families with cars were working than those without cars. Studies of welfare recipients in Michigan and Los Angeles also underscore that access to a car is a critical factor in getting a job. The fact is, however, that many welfare recipients and low-income workers do not have a car."
Car Booting deadbeat dads has received national attention. Excerpt from Nick Young's (Dir., VA DCSE) testimony before Congress on 9/23/99:
"Our third round up in November 1997 introduced a new tool to encourage delinquent NCPs to pay up--boots. Boots are steel mechanisms that attach to a car wheel, making it impossible to drive until the driver complies with authorities' direction. In Virginia, this direction took the form of settling the child support debt or making a payment agreement. Using pink (for daughters) and blue (for sons) boots--along with a bright fluorescent windshield sticker that explains the reason the boot has been used, has proven to be an additional way to get the attention of child support evaders."
Hunting and Fishing License Revocation:
"Section 369 of P.L. 104-193, the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act of 1996 (PRWORA) added a new section 466(a)(16) to the Act which requires that States have authority to withhold or suspend or restrict the use of certain licenses, including "recreational" licenses, such as hunting or fishing licenses. Section 466(a) requires, in order to satisfy the State plan requirements in section 454(20)(A), that States have in effect laws requiring the use of certain specified procedures to increase the effectiveness of the State IV-D program.
Passport Issuance Restrictions For Persons Owing Child Support: Sections 370, 652(k) and 654(31) of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA) (Pub. L. 104-193), which amends 42 U.S.C. 452, the Secretary of State must deny a passport to a person who is in arrears of child support of more than $5,000 upon certification to that effect by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). The certification of the Secretary of HHS is based upon the certification by a state agency in accordance with Section 454(31) of the PRWORA. The effective date of Section 370 is October 1, 1997. For further information regarding HHS certification for purposes of passport denial, please contact your local child support enforcement agency or the Department of Health and Human Services, OCSE/DPO, 370 L'Enfant Plaza, 4th Floor East, Washington, D.C. 20447, tel: 202-401-5367; Internet Home Page: http://www.acf.dhhs.gov. U.S. passports cannot be denied to based on requests from private individuals. There are, however, passport regulations (22 CFR Section 51.70, et seq.) under which a person's passport will be denied or revoked when the U.S. Secretary of State is notified by a competent authority that the person is subject to a criminal court order forbidding his or her departure from the United States. Such a request must be made by an appropriate law enforcement agency to the Department of State, Office of Citizenship Appeals and Legal Assistance (PPT/PAS), Suite 260, 1111 19th Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20622, tel: 202-955-0231."
350 Men per month are being ordered to pay for children who are not theirs!, Front Page L.A. Times:
"Roughly 70% of parents billed for child support are not in court when paternity is established and their monthly obligations set. Certainly, many of these noncustodial parents simply choose not to appear. But many others say that the first time they learned they had missed a court date was when their wages were garnished. No one knows how many men are wrongfully pursued for child support, though the district attorney's own records show that on average more than 350 a month are incorrectly named as fathers. Some men who fail to appear in court--whether purposefully or not--find themselves caught in a painful trap: They are not the fathers of children they have been ordered to support. But because they were not present to contest paternity, they are held liable for the payments."
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