If a noncustodial parent does not pay child support, that parent can be held in contempt of court or even criminally prosecuted. But imprisoning a parent costs the taxpayers money and really doesn't solve the problem. It's true that some noncustodial parents won't pay, no matter what. But most noncustodial parents would pay if they were regularly employed or had a better job.

Consider this story from South Carolina where Channel 7 interviewed a deputy sheriff named Traxler:

“Family court wants to see you again on October 15th at 8:30 in the morning about your child support,” said Traxler to a man he says owes thousands in child support payments.

And if he doesn’t show up Traxler says he’ll likely have a warrant issued for his arrest.

“That was a good one there $28,348.30,” said Traxler as he looked over the amount the man owed.

How does hauling this man into court help the custodial parent receive any substantial amount of money?

A better approach is the one pioneered by Cynthia Stevens Kent, a state district court judge in Texas. Judge Kent requires nonviolent offenders to come to a Day Reporting Center. There they receive job training and help finding a job. According to the Tyler Morning Telegraph, Greg Parham, the program director, said:

"We've got about a 90 to 95 percent employment rate," Parham reports. "Most of those are people coming out of jail who don't have jobs to go back to. One of the really gratifying things about this position is being able to see someone so excited about getting a job. They feel a lot better about themselves."

A lot of the failure to pay child support is caused by lack of a decent job plus getting in the hole so deep that there's no realistic way out. If we helped noncustodial parents get jobs, custodial parents would receive more in child support and the taxpayers would save money, too.

Tags: child support, incarceration, job