THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, June 7, 1996 TAG: 9606060008
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A14 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: 50 lines
Regarding the May 28 article concerning the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles suspending licenses of individuals falling behind in child-support payments: As a noncustodial parent, I am increasingly concerned that not all aspects of divorce, particularly divorce involving children, are getting equal and proper coverage in The Virginian-Pilot.
Deadbeat parents are certainly a problem, and no matter what the situation, parents should place the obligations that come with having a child as their No. 1 priority.
There is another side to the ``deadbeat'' story, however. The General Accounting Office has issued a report stating that 66 percent of noncustodial parents who do not pay their child support, can't. Also, ``deadbeat'' does not mean that someone is paying nothing; it most often means that the parent is paying all he or she can while still struggling to survive, let alone provide a proper atmosphere for visitation.
By revoking the drivers' license, the DMV may be disabling an individual not only from working but also from maintaining emotional contact with the children. If this happens, the individual could lose a job and the children could end up with nothing - monetarily or emotionally. If litigation or prosecution ensues, the result is all of us footing the bill.
Additionally, there are numerous ways to track nonpayment of child support but no requirements to track what is being done with the money being paid, the result being that a custodial parent sometimes initiates action against the noncustodial parent as a means of exerting control rather than out of need.
A blanket system of determining and enforcing child-support payments does not always serve the best interests of the children.
Society and the judicial system are flawed in the approach to divorce, child support and custody. Society and the system may claim that joint custody is encouraged, but sole custody is still emphasized and sometimes sought no matter the cost. Studies show that in divorces where coparenting was encouraged and sometimes even mandated, relitigation rates went down by as much as 25 percent, child support was paid on time and in full nearly 100 percent of the time and, most important, contact with the child by both parents was greatly increased.
I hope that more exposure will be given to all of the problems associated wit this situation so that readers can decide for themselves what their opinions are.
THOMAS L. KOWALSKI
Member, board of directors
Children's Rights Council
of Tidewater Virginia
Virginia Beach, May 29, 1996 by CNB