Jump to content

Deadbeat parent: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous edit
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
→See also: rm potential defamation
Undid revision 1252308269 by 195.52.174.1 (talk)
 
(660 intermediate revisions by more than 100 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{Short description|Pejorative term}}
⚫
{{Main|Child support}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}}
'''Deadbeat dad''' is a [[pejorative]] term (primarily U.S.) that refers to men who have fathered a child but fail to pay the amount of [[child support]] calculated by the relevant [[government agency]] as due to the [[mother]] or normally the agency itself for disbursement to the mother or to compensate the government for expenses it incurs for support paid to the mother. Some of these men may have been nominated by the mother as the father of her child at the time she sought [[Welfare (financial aid)|welfare]] from a government agency. This male may have had a casual or no relationship with her prior to being nominated.
{{Globalize|article|USA|2name=the United States|date=January 2014}}
'''Deadbeat parent''' is a pejorative term<ref>{{cite web|url=http://flowtv.org/2010/09/de-racializing-deadbeat-dads/|title=De-racializing "Deadbeat Dads:" Paternal Involvement in MTV's Teen Mom Samuel Jay / University of Denver – Flow|website=flowtv.org}}</ref> referring to [[parent]]s who do not fulfill their parental responsibilities, especially when they evade court-ordered [[child support]] obligations or custody arrangements. They are also referred to as [[Single parent|absentee]] fathers and mothers. The gender-specific '''deadbeat father''' and '''deadbeat mother''' are commonly used to refer to people who have parented a child and intentionally fail to pay [[child support]] ordered by a [[family law]] court or [[Statutory body|statutory agency]] such as the [[Child Maintenance Group|Child Maintenance Service]].


⚫
==Child support arrears==
It has historically been used in reference to [[father]]s who fail to act [[responsibility|responsibly]] (as judged by wider society) as a father, that is neglecting their role to act as a [[parent]]. These men may reside with their children or be separated through [[divorce]] or otherwise, with children in the care of their mother.
According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], 42% of custodial mothers (as "[[obligee]]s") received all child support that they were owed and 70.5% received some in 2009. Additionally, 34.1% of custodial fathers (as "obligees") received all child support that they were owed and 72.9% received some.<ref>{{cite web|title=Custodial Mothers and Fathers and Their Child Support: 2009|url=https://www.census.gov/prod/2011pubs/p60-240.pdf|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=25 March 2014}}</ref>


Child support assessments are made based on a variety of formulae, and vary from state to state in the United States. According to one study 38% of Illinois "obligor" parents not paying child-support said they lacked the money to pay; 23% used non-payment to protest a lack of visitation rights; and 69% complained of no accountability over the spending of their child support money, while 13% said they did not want their child or children and 12% denied parentage, (see [[paternity fraud]]).
According to Fox News:
::''Non-payment of child support is a significant problem in the United States. According to the Federal Office of Child Support, in 2003, '''$96 billion''' in accumulated unpaid support was due to children in the United States; 68 percent of child support cases were in arrears. An overwhelming majority of children, particularly minorities, living in single-parent homes where child support is not paid live in poverty.''


According to a California study, 76% of the $14.4 billion in child support arrears in California has been attributed to "obligors" who lack the ability to pay (see Figure 1, pp.&nbsp;5-4). In California, the "deadbeat" parents had a median annual income of $6349, arrears of $9447, ongoing support of $300 per month. One reason given for this was that 71% of the orders were set by default—meaning that person who supposedly owes support was not personally served with a notice to appear before the court or administrative agency. A notice is sent to the last known address, which may have changed.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Dr. Sorensen |first1=Elaine |title=Examining Child Support Arrears in California: The Collectibility Study |url=http://www.cafcusa.org/docs/DCSS_2003_collectability_study.pdf |publisher=California Department of Child Support Services |author2=Dr. Heather Koball |author3=Kate Pomper |author4=Chava Zibman |date=March 2003 |access-date=25 March 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150604044116/http://www.cafcusa.org/docs/DCSS_2003_collectability_study.pdf |archive-date=4 June 2015}}</ref>
By comparison, the child support that does get properly paid represents one of the largest transfers of wealth within the U.S. economy.


Alternative terms for deadbeat parents who lack the ability to pay are "deadbroke"<ref>{{cite news
==Deadbeat dad legislation in the US==
| url=http://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/content?oid=587522
| title=Deadbroke dads
| work=Sacramento News & Review
| date=2007-10-11
| access-date=25 March 2014}}
</ref><ref>Sperling, Gene. ''The Pro-Growth Progressive: An Economic Strategy for Shared Prosperity'', p. 158 (Simon and Schuster, 2005), {{ISBN|978-0-7432-9241-2}}</ref> and "turnip" (as in "you can't get blood out of a turnip").<ref>{{Cite news |last=Totenberg |first=Nina |author-link=Nina Totenberg | date=2011-03-23 |url=https://www.npr.org/2011/03/23/134736601/supreme-court-weighs-rights-of-deadbeat-parents |title=Supreme Court Weighs Rights Of 'Deadbeat' Parents |work=[[Morning Edition]] |publisher=[[NPR]] |access-date=25 March 2014}}
</ref>

==Child support enforcement in the United States==
===Legislation===
{{Main|Bradley Amendment}}
{{Main|Bradley Amendment}}
The U.S. law commonly known as the [[Bradley Amendment]] was passed in [[1986]] to automatically trigger a non expiring lien whenever child support becomes past-due.
The U.S. law known as the [[Bradley Amendment]] was passed in 1986 to automatically trigger a non-expiring [[lien]] whenever child support becomes overdue.
* The law overrides any state's statute of limitations.
* The law overrides any state's [[statute of limitations]].
* The law disallows any judicial discretion, even from bankruptcy judges.
* The law disallows any judicial discretion, even from [[bankruptcy]] judges.
* The law requires that the payment amounts be maintained without regard for the physical capability of the person owing child support (the ''obligor'') to make the notification or regard for their awareness of the need to make the notification.
* The law requires that the payment amounts be maintained without regard for the physical capability of the person owing child support to promptly notify the authorities of changes in their circumstances, or their awareness of the need to make the notification.


The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) of 1996, 42 U.S.C. 653a, established in 1997 a [[New Hire Registry]] in which all employers in the United States, private or public, State and Federal, must report all newly hired employees within 20 days or less depending on how they report. The report includes name, address and Social Security number of each new employee. States are required to match reports of newly hired employees against social security numbers of persons having outstanding child support orders, and to issue an order to the employer to withhold and forward unpaid child support payments.
⚫
Many [[United States|U.S.]] states have passed "deadbeat dad laws" that allows the [[Department of Motor Vehicles]] in the state to use its information to find the "deadbeat dad" and call him to account for his actions. Of course, such laws apply to both men and women who owe child support, but the corresponding term would be "deadbeat mom".


⚫
Many [[United States|U.S.]] states have passed laws that allows the [[Department of Public Safety]] in the state to use its information to find the non-compliant parent and call them to account for their actions.
There are now many collections-oriented sites on the Internet that mention or highlight deadbeat dads, some even showing mug shots and marking the photos as "found" in the style of the [[FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives|FBI's "most wanted" list]].


There are now many collections-oriented sites on the Internet that mention or highlight deadbeat parents, some even showing mug shots and marking the photos as "found" in the style of the [[FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives|FBI's "most wanted" list]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Dodge County advises that these parents are being sought for not paying child support |url=http://www.co.dodge.wi.us/index.aspx?page=124 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130509175601/http://www.co.dodge.wi.us/index.aspx?page=124 |archive-date=9 May 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Indiana Department of Child Services|title=MOST WANTED CHILD SUPPORT EVADERS|url=http://www.in.gov/dcs/3333.htm}}</ref>
==Deadbeat parents==
Non-custodial parents who avoid their child support obligations are often termed ''dead-beat'' parents. This prejudicial characterization of parents ignores the fact that many non-custodial parents are simply unable to pay at the rates they have been assessed. The US Department of Health and Human Services estimates that 68% of child support cases had arrears owed in 2003 (a figure up from 53% in 1999). Many of these arrearage cases are due to administrative practices such as imputing income to parents where it does not exist and issuing default orders of support. Some non-custodial parents claim their payments are too high. According to [http://www.acf.dhhs.gov/programs/cse/new/csr9701.htm#9701c| one study] 38% of Illinois non-custodial parents not paying child-support said they lacked the money to pay. Twenty-three percent used non-payment to protest a lack of visitation rights. Fourteen percent complained of no accountability over the spending of their child support money, while 13% said they didn't want their child(ren) and 12% denied parentage. Additionally, some non-custodial parents who have been subject to acrimonious divorces often see these payments as unfair and excessive. Some custodial parents who have been victimized in abusive relationships view the avoidance of child support payments as another means of their spouses perpetuating the abuse.


==Action taken against defaulting parents==
===Action taken against defaulting parents===
In the United States, many states suspend an individual's licenses (i.e. driver's license, business license, contractor license) if that individual has significant arrearage in support payments or does not consistently pay support. This authority does not extend to professionals who receive licensure through non-governmental agencies. In 2000, the state of [[Tennessee]] [http://www.state.tn.us/humanserv/Child_sup_revoke.htm| revoked] the driver’s licenses of 1,372 people who collectively owed more than $13 million in child support. In [[Texas]] non-custodial parents [http://www.oag.state.tx.us/child/faq.shtml| behind more than three months]in child-support payments can have court-ordered payments deducted from their wages, can have federal income tax refund checks, lottery winnings, or other money that may be due from state or federal sources intercepted by child support enforcement agencies, can have licenses (including hunting and fishing licenses) suspended, and a judge may sentence a nonpaying parent to jail and enter a judgment for past due child support. Some have taken the view that such penalties are [[Constitutionality|unconstitutional]], even alleging that [http://www.livebeatdads.us/ "The People employed in the family courts and family court services are criminals"] However, on [[September 4]], [[1998]], the [http://www.ncsl.org/programs/cyf/briefak.htm| Supreme Court of Alaska] upheld a law allowing state agencies to revoke driver's licenses of parents seriously delinquent in child support obligations. And in the case of '''United States of America v. Sage''', U.S. Court of Appeals (2nd Cir., 1996), the court upheld the constitutionality of a law allowing federal fines and up to two years imprisonment for a person willfully failing to pay more than $5,000 in child support over a year or more when said child resides in a different state from that of the non-custodial parent. [http://kids4kids.com/crcnyc/nycases.htm| Child Support Recovery Act of 1992]
In the United States, persons in arrears for child support payments [[Child support in the United States#Imprisonment|are potentially subject to incarceration]]. Other penalties for child-support non-payment also exist. Many U.S. states suspend an individual's licenses (i.e. [[driver's license]], [[business license]], [[General contractor|contractor]] license) if that individual has significant [[Arrears|arrearage]] in support payments or does not consistently pay support. This authority does not extend to professionals who receive licensure through non-[[Government agency|governmental agencies]]. In 2000, the state of [[Tennessee]] revoked the driver's licenses of 1,372 people who collectively owed more than $13 million [[United States dollar|USD]] in child support.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.state.tn.us/humanserv/Child_sup_revoke.htm |title= Child_sup_revoke|website=www.state.tn.us |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050924201427/http://www.state.tn.us/humanserv/Child_sup_revoke.htm |archive-date=24 September 2005}}</ref> In [[Texas]] [[Child custody|non-custodial]] parents behind more than three [[month]]s in child-support payments can have [[Court order|court-ordered]] payments deducted from their wages, can have federal [[income tax]] refund checks, [[Texas Lottery|lottery]] winnings, or other money that may be due from state or federal sources intercepted by child support enforcement agencies, can have licenses (including [[Hunting license|hunting]] and fishing licenses) suspended, and a judge may sentence a nonpaying parent to jail and enter a judgment for past due child support.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oag.state.tx.us/child/faq.shtml |title= Texas Attorney General|website=www.oag.state.tx.us |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050901143430/http://www.oag.state.tx.us/child/faq.shtml |archive-date=1 September 2005}}</ref> However, on 4 September 1998, the [[Supreme Court of Alaska]] upheld a law allowing state agencies to revoke driver's licenses of parents seriously delinquent in child support obligations.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ncsl.org/programs/cyf/briefak.htm|title=404|last=National Conference of State Legislatures|website=webarchive.loc.gov|url-status=dead|archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20090810112632/http://www.ncsl.org/programs/cyf/briefak.htm|archive-date=10 August 2009}}</ref> And in the case of ''United States of America v. Rosen'', U.S. Court of Appeals (2nd Cir., 1996), the court upheld the [[constitutionality]] of a law allowing federal fines and up to two years imprisonment for a person willfully failing to pay more than $5,000 in child support over a year or more when said child resides in a different state from that of the non-custodial parent.{{Citation needed|reason=Unable to locate referenced court-case in any database (Westlaw, L/N, Google). Does this case indeed exist?|date=June 2018}}


Socially, deadbeat parents risk motivating their children to violate [[filial responsibility laws]] when they are grown.{{cn|date=December 2022}}
<div class="floatright">
[[Image:Typical_Support_Order_0001.jpg|none|thumb|270px|U.S. court order issued by family division of county court garnishing typically the father's income]]</div>


== See also ==
But, like any other past-due debt, the obligee, typically a mother, may forgive what is owed to her.
* [[California Child Support Guideline Review]]
⚫
* [[Child custody]]
* [[Child neglect]]
* [[Child Support Agency Australia]]
* [[Child support in the United States]]
⚫
* [[Divorce]]
⚫
* [[Family law]]
⚫
* [[Paternity (law)|Paternity]]
* [[Paternity fraud]]
* [[Tax refund interception]]


==References==
When past-due child support is owed to a state as a result of welfare paid out, the state is free to forgive some or all of it under what's known as an offer in compromise.
{{Reflist|40em}}


==Terminology==
==Further reading==
* Shackelford, T. K., Weekes-Shackelford, V. A., & Schmitt, D. P. (2005). "An evolutionary perspective on why men refuse or reduce their child support payments". ''[[Basic and Applied Social Psychology]]'', 27, 297–306. [http://www.toddkshackelford.com/downloads/Shackelford-Weekes-Shackelford-Schmitt-BASP-2005.pdf Full text]
A note about the term “Dead-beat parent” this a descriptive term used more by Child Support advocacy groups than by Child Support Agencies. Child Support Agencies described clients either as ''in compliance'', ''not in compliance'' or ''criminally non compliant''. Compliance is judged by the paying party's performance in meeting the terms of the Child Support court order.
* Warsak, Richard A. (1992). ''Custody Revolution: Father Custody and the Motherhood Mystique''. Simon & Schuster.
* Bender, William N. and Renet L. Bender, ''The Deadbeat Dad Myth: Strategies and Research in Defense of Men in Divorce''. [[The University of Georgia, Institute of Government]].
* Braver, Sanford L., and O'Connell (1998). ''Divorced Dads: Shattering the Myths''. Penguin Putnam Inc., New York.
* [[Baskerville, Stephen]] (2007). ''Taken into Custody, The War against Fathers, Marriage, and the Family''. Cumberland House, Tennessee.
* Census bureau statistics and imprisonment for debt information is provided by the [[Children's Rights Council]], Lanham, MD 20740/


== See also ==
==External links==
⚫
*[[Child custody]]
⚫
*[[Divorce]]
⚫
*[[Family law]]
*[[Men's rights]]
⚫
*[[Paternity]]

==External links ==
* [http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,127958,00.html In Defense of 'Deadbeat' Dads] - suggesting deadbeat dads should be released to ease prison crowding
* [http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,127958,00.html In Defense of 'Deadbeat' Dads] - suggesting deadbeat dads should be released to ease prison crowding
* [http://assembler.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode18/usc_sec_18_00000228----000-.html Deadbeat Parents Punishment Act]
* [https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/228 18 U.S. Code § 228] - U.S. Federal law, "Failure to pay legal child support obligations"
* [http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/ceos/child_support.htm "Today, a child support violator can be prosecuted under Federal law"] - child support enforcement
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060111235506/http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/ceos/child_support.htm "Today, a child support violator can be prosecuted under Federal law"] - child support enforcement

{{Parenting}}


[[Category:Child support recidivists| ]]
[[Category:Child abuse]]
[[Category:Child support]]
[[Category:Child support]]
[[Category:Divorce]]
[[Category:Fatherhood]]
[[Category:Pejorative terms for people]]
[[Category:Pejorative terms for people]]
[[Category:Men]]
[[Category:Men's rights]]

Latest revision as of 02:17, 21 October 2024

Deadbeat parent is a pejorative term[1] referring to parents who do not fulfill their parental responsibilities, especially when they evade court-ordered child support obligations or custody arrangements. They are also referred to as absentee fathers and mothers. The gender-specific deadbeat father and deadbeat mother are commonly used to refer to people who have parented a child and intentionally fail to pay child support ordered by a family law court or statutory agency such as the Child Maintenance Service.

Child support arrears

[edit]

According to the United States Census Bureau, 42% of custodial mothers (as "obligees") received all child support that they were owed and 70.5% received some in 2009. Additionally, 34.1% of custodial fathers (as "obligees") received all child support that they were owed and 72.9% received some.[2]

Child support assessments are made based on a variety of formulae, and vary from state to state in the United States. According to one study 38% of Illinois "obligor" parents not paying child-support said they lacked the money to pay; 23% used non-payment to protest a lack of visitation rights; and 69% complained of no accountability over the spending of their child support money, while 13% said they did not want their child or children and 12% denied parentage, (see paternity fraud).

According to a California study, 76% of the $14.4 billion in child support arrears in California has been attributed to "obligors" who lack the ability to pay (see Figure 1, pp. 5-4). In California, the "deadbeat" parents had a median annual income of $6349, arrears of $9447, ongoing support of $300 per month. One reason given for this was that 71% of the orders were set by default—meaning that person who supposedly owes support was not personally served with a notice to appear before the court or administrative agency. A notice is sent to the last known address, which may have changed.[3]

Alternative terms for deadbeat parents who lack the ability to pay are "deadbroke"[4][5] and "turnip" (as in "you can't get blood out of a turnip").[6]

Child support enforcement in the United States

[edit]

Legislation

[edit]
Main article: Bradley Amendment

The U.S. law known as the Bradley Amendment was passed in 1986 to automatically trigger a non-expiring lien whenever child support becomes overdue.

  • The law overrides any state's statute of limitations.
  • The law disallows any judicial discretion, even from bankruptcy judges.
  • The law requires that the payment amounts be maintained without regard for the physical capability of the person owing child support to promptly notify the authorities of changes in their circumstances, or their awareness of the need to make the notification.

The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) of 1996, 42 U.S.C. 653a, established in 1997 a New Hire Registry in which all employers in the United States, private or public, State and Federal, must report all newly hired employees within 20 days or less depending on how they report. The report includes name, address and Social Security number of each new employee. States are required to match reports of newly hired employees against social security numbers of persons having outstanding child support orders, and to issue an order to the employer to withhold and forward unpaid child support payments.

Many U.S. states have passed laws that allows the Department of Public Safety in the state to use its information to find the non-compliant parent and call them to account for their actions.

There are now many collections-oriented sites on the Internet that mention or highlight deadbeat parents, some even showing mug shots and marking the photos as "found" in the style of the FBI's "most wanted" list.[7][8]

Action taken against defaulting parents

[edit]

In the United States, persons in arrears for child support payments are potentially subject to incarceration. Other penalties for child-support non-payment also exist. Many U.S. states suspend an individual's licenses (i.e. driver's license, business license, contractor license) if that individual has significant arrearage in support payments or does not consistently pay support. This authority does not extend to professionals who receive licensure through non-governmental agencies. In 2000, the state of Tennessee revoked the driver's licenses of 1,372 people who collectively owed more than $13 million USD in child support.[9] In Texas non-custodial parents behind more than three months in child-support payments can have court-ordered payments deducted from their wages, can have federal income tax refund checks, lottery winnings, or other money that may be due from state or federal sources intercepted by child support enforcement agencies, can have licenses (including hunting and fishing licenses) suspended, and a judge may sentence a nonpaying parent to jail and enter a judgment for past due child support.[10] However, on 4 September 1998, the Supreme Court of Alaska upheld a law allowing state agencies to revoke driver's licenses of parents seriously delinquent in child support obligations.[11] And in the case of United States of America v. Rosen, U.S. Court of Appeals (2nd Cir., 1996), the court upheld the constitutionality of a law allowing federal fines and up to two years imprisonment for a person willfully failing to pay more than $5,000 in child support over a year or more when said child resides in a different state from that of the non-custodial parent.[citation needed]

Socially, deadbeat parents risk motivating their children to violate filial responsibility laws when they are grown.[citation needed]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "De-racializing "Deadbeat Dads:" Paternal Involvement in MTV's Teen Mom Samuel Jay / University of Denver – Flow". flowtv.org.
  2. ^ "Custodial Mothers and Fathers and Their Child Support: 2009" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 25 March 2014.
  3. ^ Dr. Sorensen, Elaine; Dr. Heather Koball; Kate Pomper; Chava Zibman (March 2003). "Examining Child Support Arrears in California: The Collectibility Study" (PDF). California Department of Child Support Services. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 June 2015. Retrieved 25 March 2014.
  4. ^ "Deadbroke dads". Sacramento News & Review. 11 October 2007. Retrieved 25 March 2014.
  5. ^ Sperling, Gene. The Pro-Growth Progressive: An Economic Strategy for Shared Prosperity, p. 158 (Simon and Schuster, 2005), ISBN 978-0-7432-9241-2
  6. ^ Totenberg, Nina (23 March 2011). "Supreme Court Weighs Rights Of 'Deadbeat' Parents". Morning Edition. NPR. Retrieved 25 March 2014.
  7. ^ "Dodge County advises that these parents are being sought for not paying child support". Archived from the original on 9 May 2013.
  8. ^ Indiana Department of Child Services. "MOST WANTED CHILD SUPPORT EVADERS".
  9. ^ "Child_sup_revoke". www.state.tn.us. Archived from the original on 24 September 2005.
  10. ^ "Texas Attorney General". www.oag.state.tx.us. Archived from the original on 1 September 2005.
  11. ^ National Conference of State Legislatures. "404". webarchive.loc.gov. Archived from the original on 10 August 2009. {{cite web}}: Cite uses generic title (help)

Further reading

[edit]
  • Shackelford, T. K., Weekes-Shackelford, V. A., & Schmitt, D. P. (2005). "An evolutionary perspective on why men refuse or reduce their child support payments". Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 27, 297–306. Full text
  • Warsak, Richard A. (1992). Custody Revolution: Father Custody and the Motherhood Mystique. Simon & Schuster.
  • Bender, William N. and Renet L. Bender, The Deadbeat Dad Myth: Strategies and Research in Defense of Men in Divorce. The University of Georgia, Institute of Government.
  • Braver, Sanford L., and O'Connell (1998). Divorced Dads: Shattering the Myths. Penguin Putnam Inc., New York.
  • Baskerville, Stephen (2007). Taken into Custody, The War against Fathers, Marriage, and the Family. Cumberland House, Tennessee.
  • Census bureau statistics and imprisonment for debt information is provided by the Children's Rights Council, Lanham, MD 20740/
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Deadbeat_parent&oldid=1252378461"