Falling Through the Cracks:

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With Over a Billion Dollars Collected in Child Support

Payments, Custodial Parents Worry Its Still Not Enoughby Shanita Bigelow

As the recession looms and unemployment soars, good news is hard to come by. Casting a sliver of light through the heavy clouds of economic uncertainty is the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS), which recently announced the states fifth record breaking year for the collection of child support payments. Although the $1.38 billion collected in child support is luminous, for some, that sliver is distant and dim.

As custodial and non-custodial parents face the possibility of job loss, job change or pay cuts, child support collection faces new challenges. To deal with these difficulties, HFS uses tried and true programs that guarantee results, programs that [make] it harder for noncustodial parents to go about everyday activities, Annie Thompson, HFS spokesperson said.

Partnerships with the Department of Natural Resources and the office of Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White, which reject hunting and fishing permits and suspend drivers licenses of parents who avoid paying child support, have also garnered much success. HFS also uses the Deadbeat Parent Website, which posts the pictures of parents who owe $5,000 or more in overdue child support as well as the amount due. Posted amounts range from a little over $10,000 to nearly $250,000.

The New Hire Outreach Program is another effort, which requires employers to submit information regarding new and rehired employees to the Illinois Department of Employment Securitys (IDES) New Hire Directory and the National Directory of New Hires in order to check them against Illinois child support files. If there is a match, HFS Division of Child Support Enforcement (DCSE) has the power to issue an Order/Notice to Withhold Income for Child Support.

Despite these efforts, many broken families are still falling through the cracks. Forty-nine percent of those ordered to pay child support fall behind on payments, while their children struggle for the necessities of life, forcing many custodial parents onto public aid, according to Jesse Whites office. Cynthia Prewitt, a mother of three who has spent 30 years in the child support system, contends that many say, go get on public aid when non-custodial parents dodge child support payments, but thats not a solution. With child support, one-third of single parents on welfare would be completely independent, according to Jesse Whites office. Its not fair, Prewitt said.

Over the span of 30 years, Prewitt has continually deal[t] with the same issues. She spent ten years looking for the non-custodial parent to no avail, until she contacted a non-governmental child support organization, which found him after two years. With the non-custodial parent only paying when he wanted to, Prewitt was forced to hire an attorney because [they] do what the state wont do, which includes calling the state and the non-custodial parents employer every two months. Its maddening, she continued as she described her frustration with the state, which had to literally dig for her files.

The case workers and states attorneys are way over burdened with casesSo many of our calls go unanswered and unreturned. Usually by the time we can get into court, we have already gone 6 [or more] months without support... Many [non-custodial parents] cry hardshipand the court just believes this with no proof, said Michelle Deihl, mother and site moderator for Child Support in Illinois, a non-profit organization determined to aid custodial and non-custodial parents, which she joined due to her struggles with the child support system.

In mycase, my sons father said he only made $25,000 a yearI filed my own paperwork and went before a judge to request that my [non-custodial parents] bank records be subpoenaed. The subpoena was approved and I found out my [non-custodial parent] was spending double his child support every month and making an excess of $70,000 [a] yearSituations like this happen very often.More needs to be done to verify assets and income, she continued.

There is a solution and it is simple, according to Cecilia Raymond, whose ex is thousands and thousands behind in support. The state has the power to intercept tax refunds and incarcerate offenders amongst other penalties, she added.

Deihl, who has been battling for child support for over seven years, is finally seeing some justice due to the arrest of the non-custodial parent. He has now paid every payment for almost [two] years, she said.

HFS works with both the custodial and non-custodial parent to try to find an arrangement that is best for the child, Thompson said.

With the children in mind, many custodial parents continue to battle only to feel likefailures[in] a system thats not fighting for [them], Prewitt said.

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