Minnesota
and several other states commemorated August as a national "child support
awareness month" in order to draw attention to the ongoing problem of
unpaid child support in their states.
While
Minnesota may do better than average in collecting delinquent child support,
missed payments of court-ordered support continue to be a growing national
problem. Although some of this might be attributable to the economic collapse,
statistics show that in 2009, less than half of all parents received child
support on time and as ordered. This marked a sharp decrease even from two
years prior, in 2007. More recent statistics are not yet available.
The
awareness campaign is meant to highlight the need for ongoing child support
enforcement efforts.
In Minnesota, child support is designed to compensate for the fact that a
family is being raised by a single parent. When a non-custodial parent does not
pay as ordered, it means that his or her children are likely missing out on
income that they count on and will have to sacrifice accordingly.
This is
not to say that there are not many different sanctions to impose against those
who do not pay their child support. In addition to the possibility of jail time
or an involuntary wage garnishment, people may lose all or part of their state
and federal tax refunds or any lottery jackpot that they win. Especially for
those who must travel overseas, another painful consequence can be the loss of
one's passport. This has, according to some reports, left some parents stranded
in a foreign country until they could pay up.
Nevertheless,
despite the variety of consequences, custodial parents who count on child
support still need someone who can consistently hold the person who is supposed
to be paying accountable for their actions. While the state's child support
collection agencies can be helpful in this respect, there may be other legal
support enforcement options that can be exercised, as well.
Source: GMA
News, "August: National child support awareness months in US,"
Aug. 23, 2013
