A Movie About Child Support?
Wednesday / May 30, 2007
Support? System Down says it "explores the
fundamental flaws in America’s child support system."
Let's take a look.
Aginelo Productions is shooting a documentary about
the child support system. The film's website says that it
"explores the problems through over 38
interviews with both custodial and non-custodial
parents and the attorneys, judges and county
employees on both sides of the paradigm." The
film's synopsis, also on the website, explains:
The footage in Support? includes men and women being jailed for not obeying child support orders; testimonials of family court judges and lawyers who see what the affected families go through every day; dozens of stories told by non-custodial parents who claim to experience psychological and emotional trauma in not being allowed to see the children they are financially supporting; parents who rely on child support checks to live on; and advocates for reform, some of whom claim to have proof that a large percentage of child support proceeds collected NEVER reach the children in question!
Here are some of the questions the film asks (with my comments interspersed):
How can the judicial system continue to charge a man with child support even when the paternity test comes back negative? It might depend on when the man took the paternity test. If he waited too long, he could be barred from challenging paternity.
Why aren’t custodial parents held accountable for how their child support is spent? Sometimes, a good question. It's silly to claim that child support money should not be used to pay rent - the child lives there, too. But if the children wear ratty clothes while the custodial parent always seems to have money for other things, it's a fair question.
How accurate is DNA testing, and why do courts sometimes decide not to use it? DNA testing purports to rule out other men as fathers with a high degree of probability. Because it is based on probability, test results are not a certainty. Courts sometimes decide not to use tests when, for example, a father challenges paternity too late. See the hyperlink above.
Why is the child support enforcement system, although necessary, so archaic in its laws, and what's being done to reform it? The child support system was massively revised by welfare reforms in the 1990's. Other than that, I'm a little unclear on what this questions asks, so I'll pass on the rest of it.
Why are non-custodial parents automatically labeled as deadbeats, jerks, and losers while stuck in a vicious cycle of arrears, incarceration, humiliation, and, worst of all, the loss of their relationship with their children? The fact is that most noncustodial parents do pay their child support. I must admit, however, that once you fall behind in your child support, you can get stuck in the system so that it's hard to get out. This is true for many criminal justice programs, too.
This movie is being promoted on a number of father's rights websites, so I expect a pronounced editorial tilt in that direction. All the same, I will watch it once it comes out and then give you a first-hand movie review. Stay tuned!
The footage in Support? includes men and women being jailed for not obeying child support orders; testimonials of family court judges and lawyers who see what the affected families go through every day; dozens of stories told by non-custodial parents who claim to experience psychological and emotional trauma in not being allowed to see the children they are financially supporting; parents who rely on child support checks to live on; and advocates for reform, some of whom claim to have proof that a large percentage of child support proceeds collected NEVER reach the children in question!
Here are some of the questions the film asks (with my comments interspersed):
How can the judicial system continue to charge a man with child support even when the paternity test comes back negative? It might depend on when the man took the paternity test. If he waited too long, he could be barred from challenging paternity.
Why aren’t custodial parents held accountable for how their child support is spent? Sometimes, a good question. It's silly to claim that child support money should not be used to pay rent - the child lives there, too. But if the children wear ratty clothes while the custodial parent always seems to have money for other things, it's a fair question.
How accurate is DNA testing, and why do courts sometimes decide not to use it? DNA testing purports to rule out other men as fathers with a high degree of probability. Because it is based on probability, test results are not a certainty. Courts sometimes decide not to use tests when, for example, a father challenges paternity too late. See the hyperlink above.
Why is the child support enforcement system, although necessary, so archaic in its laws, and what's being done to reform it? The child support system was massively revised by welfare reforms in the 1990's. Other than that, I'm a little unclear on what this questions asks, so I'll pass on the rest of it.
Why are non-custodial parents automatically labeled as deadbeats, jerks, and losers while stuck in a vicious cycle of arrears, incarceration, humiliation, and, worst of all, the loss of their relationship with their children? The fact is that most noncustodial parents do pay their child support. I must admit, however, that once you fall behind in your child support, you can get stuck in the system so that it's hard to get out. This is true for many criminal justice programs, too.
This movie is being promoted on a number of father's rights websites, so I expect a pronounced editorial tilt in that direction. All the same, I will watch it once it comes out and then give you a first-hand movie review. Stay tuned!
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