Lien filed

Wow, Orange County actually initiated a lien on arrears, without me being involved or even knowing about it – although I guess technically I did bring it up at the last modification hearing in June. So I guess 3 months to process something on their own isn’t too long of a time frame.

Orange County Child Support Customer Service

Two times in two weeks, I have had the luck to call into the local child support agency (LCSA). I don’t know why I’m surprised I still hear incorrect information, but it does really surprise me that incorrect information is given out so carelessly.

I was speaking with an advocate about this latest issue and he said “The system is in place to serve and protect the public employees first and foremost. Any service to the public is purely ancillary, or accidental. “

How sadly accurate that is.

Father’s Day

I was looking up a quote for a friend who’s dad just died, and finally found it.

It’s from the TV show Grey’s Anatomy.

CRISTINA: “There’s a club. The Dead Dads Club. And you can’t be in it until you’re in it. You can try to understand, you can sympathize. But until you feel that loss… My dad died when I was nine. George, I’m really sorry you had to join the club.”
GEORGE: “I… I don’t know how to exist in a world where my dad doesn’t.”
CRISTINA: “Yeah, that never really changes.”

It really never does change. Mine has been gone 4.5 years, I still miss him. This little girl of mine would be wrapped around his little finger for sure.

To the real dad’s out there – Happy Father’s Day.

Thinking process

So back to the situation that was the basis for this blog. There has been an order out for child support for 49 months. Out of that 49 months there have only been two months that there have not been arrears.

That a modification would be filed at this point really blew me away. I guess I don’t understand what goes through someone’s head when they are trying to lower child support when it’s imputed at minimum wage. It doesn’t go lower than that, so what does he think really? That this child doesn’t deserve child support? I mean, in our situation the NCP already pretends this child doesn’t exist. So that’s fine, but it doesn’t mean the child’s needs don’t exist. If it costs one parent over $500 a month for each child, what makes that parent think it would cost any less for a one parent, one child home in OC?

I’m amused and annoyed that the NCP doesn’t think there are child care costs associated with his daughter. Seriously? He doesn’t even pay it {the large arrears were satisfied, but certainly not because he paid it willingly}, so I’m not sure what the point of the request is. But I’ll bring in the proof for the next court date.

By the way, I didn’t request a modification when my child care costs more than tripled what the order was for last year, nor did I complain about it – I just took care of it because she’s my child and I want the best for her. I think what annoys me out of this is, he’s never asked a question about it, but assumes that child care is not needed; and then doesn’t even bring documentation into court. Complete waste of everyone’s time.

For the record, my daughter is five – she needs care when I am not at home with her, yes I work a lot at night when she’s asleep, but I still have client meetings, client projects, marketing, research time where I need quiet and need someone else attending to my child.

Although I do wonder if the NCP takes his 18 month old on the hauling jobs (that he doesn’t do, because he’s hurt.)?

The amused part is that he would read my blog and take things out of context to suit his desire to lower child support.

I really thought that after the arrears were settled, we could act like adults and go forward. That he would just take care of his daughter. He doesn’t do anything else, that he could just do the minimal financial support was all I was asking. I wasn’t going to file a modification to raise the child support. It is apparent that acting like two adults is not possible, I’m disappointed to say the least.

There was a comment made at the end of our modification before a continuance was granted that I want to reply to since I know this is read so carefully. I posted something almost two years ago that is still in effect, and you can be sure that I’ll be seeing what can be done about this.

This became effective earlier this year (2007)

Child Support (AB 2440)
This bill improves child support collections and helps curtail the underground economy by making liable any person or business entity that knowingly assists a child support obligor in evading his or her responsibility for three times the value of the assistance provided, up to the total amount of the child support debt. The term “knowingly assists” is defined to include: (1) with actual knowledge of the child support obligation, helping to hide or transfer assets, as specified; (2) if the individual or entity knew or should have known of the child support obligation, hiring the child support obligor as an employee or independent contractor and failing to timely report the hire to the California New Employee Registry maintained by the Employment Development Department (“EDD”); or (3) if the individual or entity knew or should have known of the child support obligation, when engaged in a trade or business, paying wages to the obligor that are not reported to EDD, such as payment in cash, or via barter or trade.

* Hmmmmm “making liable any person or business entity that knowingly assists a child support obligor in evading his or her responsibility for three times the value of the assistance provided, up to the total amount of the child support debt.” That is interesting to me, and would indicate business partners, including spouses, brother in laws, parents, etc would be liable for civil lawsuits when they help deadbeats with cash under the table jobs, or putting business or other assets in their name instead of the deadbeat. Kind of even puts “cheating spouses” into a new light in my perspective.

and for the best performance

by parent not wanting to take any responsibility AT all for his child…..

the winner goes to….

State Employees on this blog

So, California is in a horrible mess with the budget crisis, our collection of child support is in the toilet, there are thousands of parents who don’t get regular or ANY child support. So it really surprises me that “Jan Sturla” is a repeat search term from the Health & Welfare Agency Data Center in Sacramento. (Yes, the OCDUMPS.com comes up every now and then too – Keith McHorney is usually the search term on that one.) I just think there are probably a lot of really useful things any state or county employee could be doing outside of checking out personal blogs. Like collecting child support, or doing whatever job it is you do.

Direction of this blog

Up till now, this blog has been primarily about the struggle to receive consistent child support payments from the Non-Custodial Parent (NCP), along with some of the battle with what I consider inept processes and procedures, not to mention the state and county employees that have zero accountability or responsibility with enforcement.

At this point, I’m going away from the issues with the NCP – as it appears that the lien I had placed has been fulfilled. So as of this date, I don’t believe there are any arrears that are at least 30 days outstanding. I haven’t received it, but I understand it’s in process. My hope is, it’s a fresh start and there won’t be further arrears.

I am still going to chronicle Child Support issues, and some of the behind the scenes issues with both the State and County level Child Support Departments in California.

Red Envelope Day

This is certainly off topic on one hand: But it’s something dear to my heart. My daughter and I painted 10 envelopes today and are off to send them now.

http://www.redenvelopeday.com

You can still send envelopes to the President.

More on the reversal of child support enforcement policies

Larry Holland has some additional thoughts on this reversal.

The changes under the spending bill, signed into law by President Obama, coined the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) seems to be a significant spending bill that simply increases the flow of money to government employees and not to the average American citizen, to “further stimulate the economy.” Many “Title IV-D” or “Child Support Enforcement” offices were looking at shrinking the size of their offices when they found out they were unable to support paying even a mere one-third of their own expenses to justify their existence. The ARRA now encourages continued federal spending for programs that simply are not sustainable and will only continue to drain the American Taxpayer with more and more funding requests to keep their doors open. The child support enforcement program now lives up to its name of a free-for-all welfare spending program, which amounts to an uncapped spending spree coming out of the American Taxpayers pocketbook.

It will be interesting to see if there is still a RIF for state or county child support service employees.

Butte County Taking New Approach To Collect Child Support Payments – CBS 12 Action News

Butte County Taking New Approach To Collect Child Support Payments

Reported by: Cindy Nixon

Email: cnixon@khsltv.com

Last Update: 3/24 11:24 pm

Print Story | Email Story

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In these tough economic times, more and more parents are having a hard time paying their child support bills.

But now, Butte County Child Support Services is taking a proactive step to solve that problem.

The county is the first in the state to use code enforcement officers to help collect child support payments.

The department has assigned the county code enforcement officer with a certain number of cases with unpaid bills.

His job is to stop by houses belonging to those cases while he’s in the area.

Previously, the office has tried to contact parents with delinquent bills by phone or by mail.

But this new program gives them one more tool to collect the much-needed money.

The program is intended not only to crack down, but to educate parents about the payment options available to them.

via Butte County Taking New Approach To Collect Child Support Payments – CBS 12 Action News.