Child Support, Part Two

Glenn Sacks and Dianna Thompson destroy the myth of the Deadbeat Dad.

Other "deadbeat dads" are victims of child support enforcement agency errors, which studies have shown account for as much as a third of all alleged arrearages in some states and counties. These errors occur in part because the federal government funds the states' enforcement efforts based on how much money in child support they collect, thus strongly encouraging states to grab and hold every dollar they can, even if it is collected in error.

Other men become "deadbeats" because they have been cut off from their children. Studies show that access and visitation denial has reached epidemic levels, and many fathers fail to pay their child support in part because they are spending thousands of dollars in legal fees just trying to remain a part of their children's lives. Braver's research and US Census data clearly indicate that the more access fathers have to their children, the better their payment record.

Too much hype and exaggeration has been allowed to pass for "fact" in media coverage of deadbeat dads. Glenn and Dianna deserve credit for injecting some much needed balance into this exaggeration prone issue. I recently discussed this topic here.

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