In 14 states child support payments do not stop while the person paying them is incarcerated. Most of these states also assume a father has at least a minimum wage job or better, without taking into account their average living costs and income. This is detrimental to some who are doing all they can to better their own life as well as their child's. It is important to think about parents who are incarcerated and the effect this has on their children. One in nine African-American children in the United States have a parent who is incarcerated.
Child support payments affect low-income communities the most, as debt quickly piles up as payments are missed due to lack of money, not by choice. This especially affects those incarcerated, as it often is a struggle to find a job coming out of prison let alone finding the money to pay tens of thousands of dollars in child support debt.
Child support payments affect low-income communities the most, as debt quickly piles up as payments are missed due to lack of money, not by choice. This especially affects those incarcerated, as it often is a struggle to find a job coming out of prison let alone finding the money to pay tens of thousands of dollars in child support debt.
Are there safety nets in place for the children who have an incarcerated parent unable to pay child support? It seems those children would suffer both from the lack of having one parent in the picture and a lack of resources. (Maybe even basic resources)
ReplyDeleteIf it is found the child cannot be cared for, they ca be taken into the foster care system.
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