Based on an interview by a local Carson, CA advocate (Mr. Smith) specializing in child support enforcement program, this paper presents suggestions on solutions regarding the roadblocks the advocate experiences in regards to the child support system. The advocate had a strong feeling that the Carson, CA child support system is outdated since it was initially a bipartisan policy reform that was created to serve the divorced parents that were in stable employment. This system, the advocate alleges, was created about four decades ago and is based on stereotypes that perceived mothers as housewives and fathers as the breadwinners. A system based on a 1970s narrative cannot work in 2020. Therefore, there is a need for a modern child support system that reflects on the real needs of an American father and mother, with equal roles to play in the life of a child (Pearson, 2015). For this to work, laws need to recognize the fact that the traditional roles of the mother and father have changed.
The advocate has pointed out that the Carson child support system makes it very difficult for low-income fathers. About 29% of the families in the system are living below the federal poverty line. Most dads want to do it right for their children, but they do not have the means. Parental alienation arises when unpaid child support charges accumulate (Barth et al., 1986). California state treats incarceration as voluntary unemployment, and this means child support continue accumulating as the fathers serve time in prison. This becomes a painful cycle to break. The government needs to consider the fact that most dads do not have the financial capability and genuinely need the federal or state government to help to avoid this accumulation. This problem can be solved by the government assessing the genuine cases and provide waivers to parents who cannot pay back the accumulated payments.
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Mr. Smith also points out that the current child support system places much emphasis on enforcement while ignoring involvement. The laws put much focus on enforcement but ignore the fact that the fathers need to be involved in their children's lives. For example, the government raises billions of dollars annually by tracking non-custodial parents to enforce payments. This shows how the government is efficient in enforcing child support laws but less efficient in addressing the children's custody statutes ( Waller & Plotnick, 1999 ). The government needs to put more resources and effort into making the children's lives better and not necessarily in enforcing the laws to have the fathers make the payments. Similar efforts need to be placed in ensuring the children have better outcomes. The children need to have enough quality time with their mothers and fathers. It is not enough to have cases solved to make the children need to be provided, they are humans, and they have great feelings for their parents.
Mr. Smith concludes by saying that child support was from the beginning designed not for child support, but other purposes. The system has been misused by the courts to defraud fathers while ignoring the children. In his opinion, the Carson, CA child support is a money-making system. This money is collected and taken to satisfy the welfare needs of the state. The judges make recommendations that keep the fathers from their children and children from their fathers (Julianelle, 2007) . This, according to Smith, is wrong. It is, therefore, important that the entire Child Support system is reviewed, to give support and help to the people who need it most, children. The significant part, if not all, funds generated through child support should be directed to fulfilling the purpose for which it is originally collected.
References
Barth, R. P., Berry, M., Carson, M. L., Goodfield, R., & Feinberg, B. (1986). Contributors to disruption and dissolution of older-child adoptions. Child Welfare , 65 (4).
Julianelle, P. F. (2007). The Educational Success of Homeless Youth in California: Challenges and Solutions . California Research Bureau. 900 N. Street Suite 300, PO Box 942837, Sacramento, CA 94237-0001.
Pearson, J. (2015). Establishing parenting time in child support cases: New opportunities and challenges. Family Court Review , 53 (2), 246-257.
Waller, M. R., & Plotnick, R. D. (1999). Child support and low-income families: Perceptions, practices, and policy . San Francisco: Public Policy Institute of California.
