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July 17, 2001
United States Department of Health
& Human Services
Administration for Children and Families
Office of Child Support Enforcement
Washington, D.C. 20447
Ladies/Gentlemen:
I am writing to address my concerns regarding not only my child support order,
but the current status and concerns of all NCP's across America. However
for the purpose of this letter I will address these concerns in first person.
Let me first begin by stating my position. I am not attempting to nullify
myself from my child support obligation. My children deserved to be
supported to the best of the ability of both of their living parents.
However, if I am unable to support myself first with basic living expenses, I am
then made disabled and handicapped without the necessities of life to take care
of myself and thus makes it difficult to pay on a child support order that is
overly inflated. It should be both of the parents responsibility to
financially support their children equally based upon their income.
NCP's all across this country are treated daily as less than second class
citizens by the current system that does not afford us our basic civil rights to
life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. We are held accountable to a
system created by Robert Williams, who openly admits that his figures are
over-inflated.
We are called dead beat because for the most part, we cannot afford the amount
of support we are required to pay, thus leading to arrearage situations and
short support checks and an ongoing cycle of nonsufficiency.
If we cannot, or do not pay we are then subjected to all kinds of
"enforcement" techniques, such as arrest, jail, loss of personal
driving licenses, and negative credit reporting, just to name a few.
We are denied the right to due process, which is a right guaranteed to every
American citizen. When we are finally given our day in court, we have
almost no say in the matters at hand, and come away from court in a worse
position than when we go in to court.
Each state in this country uses the Federal Guidelines to establish their own
individual guidelines, thus resulting in a set of 50 different guidelines for
the same class of people, rather than having one (1) guideline across the board.
Every group of people in this country such as the gays and lesbians, ethnic
races, abortion rights people and so on, have a voice for them when they have
their problems to deal with, but we NCP's have no one. Legislation has
been padded to protect EVERY class and type of American citizen except one. . .
the child support paying NCP.
Our civil rights, as a class of people are being denied every day. But who
will listen, and who will be American enough to do something positive to
guarantee that we will be afforded the same civil rights that every other
citizen enjoys?
We are not criminals. We're not heartless. We do have feelings.
But we wake up each and every day saying "what is the use?" We
NCP's for the most part, are honest, hard working, law abiding, tax paying
citizens who for what ever reason, find ourselves in a situation and system that
just does not care about us.
These are just a few of the countless concerns each and every NCP face every
day. I think that it is time someone looks into this system and does
something to correct it. I am not saying I have all the answers, but I do
believe a little common sense goes a long way. Just a few suggestions are
listed below:
1. If the Robert Williams model system is to be used, it should be re-vamped to
reflect a more accurate economic picture for the NCP. I also believe that
his agency, PDF, should be barred from collection duties, as this creates a
conflict of interest. He gets paid to bring in money. the more he
brings in, the more he gets paid.
2. I believe there should be one (1) set of guidelines across the board for all
50 states, instead of the current 50 sets of guidelines now employed.
3. I believe the EARNINGS CAPACITY of all NCP's should be based on their current
FEDERAL INCOME TAX return, rather than being held to a level which due to
current economic trends, may not be possible to meet. This would encourage
more compliance, and the number of non-paying NCP's would be drastically
reduced. For those who then still refuse to pay, they should be prosecuted
to the fullest extend of the law. But you would see a drastic reduction in
the number of non-paying NCP's if the guidelines were more fairly structured
according to true income and not projections or earnings capacity.
4. I believe that both parents have an EQUAL, 50% - 50% responsibility to
support their children, rather than the current trend of solely relying on the
NCP. This again would drastically reduce the number of non-paying NCP's as
we currently believe we are nothing more than a wallet.
5. I believe the basic, reasonable living expenses of all NCP's should be taken
into FULL CONSIDERATION when setting child support awards.
6. I believe the current enforcement technique of negative credit reporting
needs to be stopped.
7. I believe that threatening to remove an NCP's personal license of any kind,
be it professional or not, should be stopped as this could hamper efforts to
earn a living and pay child support.
These are just a few suggestions that I believe, if enacted along with other
positive changes, and enacted quickly, would make every NCP in America more
willing to comply because we would finally feel like we are still equal American
Citizens, and are being treated in a fair, just, and honest manner.
I earnestly hope and look forward to a response. I am more than eager to
engage in a fair and honest dialogue to correct a situation that I believe needs
changing. I am not encouraged, not looking to make myself the sole voice
of the NCP. Such a legacy is not my desire. I just believe that one
(1) person, no matter whom it may be, needs to stand up for this class of
American citizen. The only legacy I look forward to is 'the Legacy of
America", where each and every citizen has his or her rights not only
guaranteed, but protected equally, fairly, and honestly, thus going one step
further to produce the America our founding fathers envisioned.
Sincerely,
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