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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 from a government agency. This male may have had a casual or no relationship with her prior to being nominated. However statistics have shown that a reasonably high proportion of such fathers were actually in a long term relationship with the mother. Glenn Sacks has repeatedly shown statistics that show that the stereotype of a wealthy men simply choosing "not to pay" child support is largely unfounded. The majority of men in child support arrears are typically unemployed or low income while saddled with unrealistic court ordered payment amounts.

It has historically been used in reference to fathers who fail to act responsibly (as judged by wider society) as a father, that is neglecting their role to act as a parent or bread winner. These men may reside with their children or be separated through divorce or otherwise, with children in the care of their mother.

Deadbeat parents are non-custodial parents who avoid their child support obligations. This characterization does not allow that a proportion of non-custodial parents are not able to pay child support at the level assessed, particularly where opportunities for review of obligations relating to changes in circumstances (e.g. unemployment) occur that affect their ability to pay.

Child support arrears

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.

Child support assessments are made based on the non-custodial parent's known income (or on rare occasions estimates based on past income due to current lack of co-operation with authorities) some non-custodial parents claim their payments are too high. According to 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.

Deadbeat dad legislation in the US

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 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 (the obligor) to make the notification or regard for their awareness of the need to make the notification.

Many 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".

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's "most wanted" list.

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 revoked the driver’s licenses of 1,372 people who collectively owed more than $13 million in child support. In Texas non-custodial parents behind more than three monthsin 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 unconstitutional, even alleging that "The People employed in the family courts and family court services are criminals" However, on September 4, 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. 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. Child Support Recovery Act of 1992

File:Typical Support Order 0001.jpg

U.S. court order issued by family division of county court garnishing typically the father's income

But, like any other past-due debt, the obligee, typically a mother, may forgive what is owed to her.

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.

Terminology

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. However, some local authorities have mounted campaigns targetting so called "deadbeats".

Opposition to the use of the term

The men's rights activist Glenn Sacks regularly publicises situations in which government authorities target so called deadbeat parents, noting that jailing people for non-payment (whether men or women), vilifying public campaigns naming and shaming such people can be ineffective and fraught with error where the identification is incorrect.

External links

In Defense of 'Deadbeat' Dads - suggesting deadbeat dads should be released to ease prison crowding
Deadbeat Parents Punishment Act
"Today, a child support violator can be prosecuted under Federal law" - child support enforcement

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 '''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. However statistics have shown that a reasonably high proportion of such fathers were actually in a long term relationship with the mother.  Glenn Sacks has repeatedly shown statistics that show that the stereotype of a wealthy men simply choosing "not to pay" child support is largely unfounded.  The majority of men in child support arrears are typically unemployed or low income while saddled with unrealistic court ordered payment amounts.
-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]] or [[bread winner (role)|bread winner]]. These men may reside with their children or be separated through [[divorce]] or otherwise, with children in the care of their mother.
+It has historically been used in reference to [[father]]s who fail to act [[Moral responsibility|responsibly]] (as judged by wider society) as a father, that is neglecting their role to act as a [[parent]] or [[bread winner (role)|bread winner]]. These men may reside with their children or be separated through [[divorce]] or otherwise, with children in the care of their mother.
 '''Deadbeat parents''' are non-custodial parents who avoid their child support obligations. This characterization does not allow that a proportion of  non-custodial parents are not able to pay child support at the level assessed, particularly where opportunities for review of obligations relating to changes in circumstances (e.g. [[unemployment]]) occur that affect their ability to pay.