Deadbeat Dads: A National Child Support Scandal

164 Pages·1996·6.49 MB·English

by  Marcia M. Boumil

DEADBEAT DADS
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DEADBEAT DADS
A National Child Support Scandal
Marcia Mobilia Boumil
and Joel Friedman
p ws ,
PRAEGER *- " " SSI
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Boumil, Marcia Mobilia.
Deadbeat dads : a national child support scandal / Marcia Mobilia
Boumil, Joel Friedman,
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-275-95125-1 (alk. paper)
1. Child support—United States. 2. Child support—Government
policy—United States. 3. Desertion and non-support—United States.
4. Fathers—United States—Economic conditions. I. Friedman, Joel.
II. Title.
HV741.B693 1996
362.7'1 — dc20 95-34410
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data is available.
Copyright © 1996 by Marcia Mobilia Boumil and Joel Friedman
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be
reproduced, by any process or technique, without the
express written consent of the publisher.
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 95-34410
ISBN: 0-275-95125-1
First published in 1996
Praeger Publishers, 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881
An imprint of Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc.
Printed in the United States of America
<§>™
The paper used in this book complies with the
Permanent Paper Standard issued by the National
Information Standards Organization (Z39.48-1984).
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 32
To James and Gregory Boumil, and David, Peter and James
Friedman, ournext generation of dads. We hope theirparents have
shown the way.
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Contents
PREFACE ix
1 The Deadbeat Epidemic: A New Genveration of Neglected
Children l
2 Children of Divorce: The Psychological Consequences of
Divorce and Absent Parents 19
3 The Effect of Fault and No-Fault Divorce Laws on
Child Support 39
4 When Paternity Is Contested ... 51
5 Legal Guidelines for Establishing and Enforcing
Child Support Awards 67
6 Child Custody Alternatives and Their Impact on the
Payment of Support 87
7 Deadbeat Dads and Single Moms: Who They Are 103
Vlll Contents
8 Social Relationships, Economic Responsibility, and the
Deadbeat Epidemic 129
BIBLIOGRAPHY 141
INDEX 147
Preface
In recent months, various political voices have indicated a strong
desire to track down absent parents (usually fathers) who have
absconded without fulfilling child support obligations to their
biological or adopted children. The intent is to locate these parents
and make them pay. In large part, this renewed interest in
"deadbeat dads" has resulted from a recognition that social welfare
programs, which pick up the tab for abandoned children, are
contributing significantly to an ever-increasing federal budget
deficit. In past years, the relative inattention toward pursuing
absent parents in part resulted from the notion that it was as
burdensome to regulate payment as it was simply to pay the bill.
Of course, there were other reasons as well that the climate was not
right for vigorously enforcing these moral as well as legal obliga
tions: a father who deserted his children was a disgrace and to
pursue him would further the insult.
Today we are all forced to come to terms with the reality that
choosing not to pursue absent parents is a luxury that state and
federal budgets can no longer afford. At the same time, the
deadbeat epidemic has somehow become more of a moral issue
than it was thought to be in the past, and the decision to pursue such
delinquents is one that stirs up great controversy. This controversy