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Deadbeats here to stay
Face it: Deadbeats are here to stay
By Kim Franke-Folstad July 19, 1999 Rocky Mountain News Maybe it's better to know the truth. Maybe it's time we all uncrossed our fingers and unfolded our hands and faced the reality that wishful thinking isn't going to get all those irresponsible parents out there to pay their past-due child support. And neither is the state of Colorado. If there ever was any doubt about that, it faded last week, when the results of a new audit showed that the state's child support enforcement system is in disarray, and that Colorado parents owe more than $1 billion in back payments. Pity the poor custodial parent who's been depending on the government to deal with a deadbeat ex. Despite optimism about advances in technology and reforms designed to enhance the collection of unpaid support, time remains on the noncustodial parent's side. "It's not like it's gone from good news to bad news. It's just worse news," said Richard "Casey" Hoffman, founder and CEO of Child Support Enforcement, a private, Texas-based agency that tracks down parents who don't pay. Hoffman gave me the heads-up awhile back about new problems for parents who rely on the government to collect their back child support. Because of recent changes in welfare laws, he said, state caseworkers have had to change their focus from families with the best chance of recovery to those who will rely on public assistance if they don't get their support money. Those cases almost always take longer to work, leaving little time for others, he said. As a former special assistant to the attorney general of Texas, Hoffman once directed that state's child support enforcement efforts, and he says he's a "cheerleader for one of the toughest jobs in government." But, he added, the system is overloaded nationwide, and government workers "have to choose very day which children they can help." Naturally, Hoffman suggests those parents who find themselves falling through the cracks get in touched with a private firm such as his. Child Support Enforcement keeps a sizable cut of the dollars it collects, but its success rate is high. The company says it has collected for more than 65 percent of its clients, 95 percent of whom said they tried the government first. But Hoffman also has some advice for parents who are just getting into the game: Try to get things figured out quickly and to everyone¹s satisfaction before the situation gets out of control. The No. 1 reason given for nonpayment of child support, he said, is animosity between exes. If the support amount seems unreasonable, for example, the noncustodial parent may decide not to pay anything at all. There's also a tendency to hold back on the check if the custodial parent doesn't hold up his or her end of the deal and denies visitation. "Parents who visit pay more than those who don't visit," he said. Finally, the sooner you can track down a deadbeat, the better. There are a lot of "nervous Nellies" out there who will start paying as soon as someone reaches out and puts the squeeze on them for the money they owe, Hoffman said. Unfortunately, most deadbeats know the odds are pretty good that they¹ll never be touched. Not if everyone keeps waiting around with their fingers crossed and their hands folded, anyway. |
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