I am extremely puzzled, and very disgruntled at the obvious outdated mess the Child Support system is in in this country.
Where I live, it is a so called 'right to work' state. That said, I do not believe for one minute that if a person can consciously make a choice to reproduce, that he or she should have the right not to work.

From a personal perspective, I have seen much heartache caused not only by the way this prehistoric system is setup, but also the humiliation suffered by my husband in the past 8 years alone.
In this time, ex wife, who has 3 certified professions from various colleges, is permitted to sit at home on her butt, while my husband is expected to pay her a wage of $200 per week for doing so. I know this money is for the children, try telling her that. In the past 7 years, he has been in court 8 times, on all occasions it was nothing more than her pleading for more money.

Let me now share with you the most recent event. I am sure you will be as gobsmacked as I was at the outcome.

Being rightfully responsible for my step children's medical insurance, my husband was allowed to claim one of the children on his tax return to offset his 50% share of co-pays for medical treatment. He also paid that same amount for any medication required. This was not a problem at all, and since he had a great job making awesome pay things should have been left alone. Not so.

In Feb 2006 he was again summoned to appear in court, where said ex wife proceeded to break down in an academy award winning display of tears, claiming that he had "willfully refused and neglected" to forward funds as per agreed, for co-pays and medication for the 2 children. After being asked twice by the Judge had she actually paid these bills, she then paraded another round of heartbreaking emotion and said that she had, and as a result the children have suffered by not having adequate nutritional food and basic clothing necessities etc. These children always wear brand name clothing etc......

The Judge glared at my husband, and took her word that she had in fact paid these bills, although no receipts were provided in court.
As a result, my husband was ordered to serve 8 consecutive weeks community service, and was fired from his high paying job as a direct result . His terms of employment stated that he was to be available 24/7 on call, and since this was not possible his employment was promptly terminated.

The stress was overwhelming, and after obtaining unemployment benefits, from which the Child Support office took almost $200 per week from $330 , we were forced to leave our home and move to a more rural setting near family where we could ask for financial help from them. The upside was, we were now closer to the children, although the Judge had also ordered a stop to our visitation, since ex wife had also claimed Post Traumatic Stress Disorder for both kids due to us verbally and physically abusing our daughter. Of course this was unfounded, but ex had taken progress notes from the Psychologist's office concerning the questions the kids were asked. It was never diagnosed. These notes were not admissible and this material should have been thrown out of court, It was not.

We went another 16 months without having any contact with our kids at all, it was devastating.

It is worth mentioning at this point, that after we moved to a town closer to the children that we began receiving phone calls from debt collectors. Upon investigation by ourselves, we were horrified to discover that not only had she not paid the bills for which were were sued, but that she had also booked many of them in my husband's and the children's names. Another log for the retaliation notes for when we get back to court. She had spent the money elsewhere and has since filed bankruptcy to rid herself of all other leftover obligations.

Recently, we visited an Attorney on another matter who was horrified to see the amount of Child Support being paid to this woman. Since my husband had recovered , he had taken a new job, which pays almost $25,000 less per year but the Child Support Office continually refuses to respond to his phone calls requesting a review for lowering his payment obligation.

Now I have a few questions.

Who do these people think they are?
Where is the justice for people like my husband?

If you are in a position of political power, why are you not looking into this? You should all be deeply ashamed of yourselves. We lived on beans and bread for almost a whole year while my husband was sick, since I also was not able to work at that time.

At this point, I am proud to say that I went back to school and have now gained Certification in Clinical Hypnotherapy. I do extremely well with my writing about that, and other things for pay - online. I love to show people how I can do it, so I share what I have learned. This allows me to be able to help other distressed people, as I was, and also bridges an almost $20,000 gap for us. For both we are very thankful. Others however remain less fortunate, and I will make waves wherever I need to until something is done to get recognition for these non custodial parents who are being forced to cower both mentally and financially to what amounts to nothing more than a system of greed.

I am so disgusted at this whole scenario I began writing an hour ago and had to walk away in tears just typing the words.
Fortunately, I am able to utilize some calming techniques which work rather quickly. Thank heavens my sanity is safe.

When will these people realize that there is no such thing as just dead beat dads? There is no such thing as a right to work state when you have clearly chosen to make babies. Said ex wife, and many like her are legally permitted to sit on their rear ends and make money from hard working decent people, at the expense of the mental health and development of their children who are kept away from the other parent in what only amounts to being a well orchestrated legal scam.

It's your moral obligation!

My husband's kids love us to bits, as we do them. Now,happily, we are able to see them again and it is the most enjoyable time for us all.

*At the time of writing, (end Feb 2008) Child Support has still not returned our calls. It has now only been 23 months .

We're now off to court to file a direct request with the Judge to reduce payments - and to file an official complaint against the Dept. in question.