Speak up to the child support division and lawmakers — tell them how you feel about children from other relationships…!!
9th Jun 2008
I noticed a lot of opinions and commentary about the topic of children from other relationships. Ladies, take that thought and put your frustrations down by emailing:
State Senators, DSHS (child support enforcement), State Representatives, Women’s Rights Activists, Low Income Representatives, State Bar Association members, Judges, Non Custodial and Custodial parents are sitting down NOW to determine for your family, how your “subsequent child(ren)” are going to be counted. And do you know what the consensus is?? That YOUR KIDS DON’T COUNT.
Don’t let them do this to you, to us, to our future generations. Get mad. Have your say like you did here. Ask your husband your in-laws, your parents to do the same. Help me tell them that we will NOT stand for this!!
They are accepting “public commentary” on children from other relationships and other issues, such as your husband’s overtime, bonuses, insurance, and his (and your) lively-hood.
Here is the list of questions that are under consideration and that deserve your opinion and commentary.
- Should the support schedule and guidelines consider a parent’s children from other relationships? If so, should the Whole Family Formula be the preferred method of dealing with this issue?
- Should the economic table be expanded to include parents whose combined income exceeds $5,000 per month?
- Should the economic table start at combined income at 125% of the federal poverty level and move upward in $100 increments?
- Should the economic table have separate categories for children under 12 and children 12 and over?
- Should child care costs and ordinary medical costs be included in the economic table or treated separately?
- Which method should be used as the basis for calculations to create the economic table: the Rothbarth estimate, the Engel estimator, or some other method.
- Should the self-support reserve be tied to the federal poverty level?
- What rules should apply to imputation of income when calculating child support obligations, including such issues as whether the court should impute minimum wage earnings to a parent when there is not enough information regarding income before the court.
- Should extraordinary medical expenses be included in the basic child support obligation or as a separate obligation?
- Should the current presumptive minimum support obligation of $25 per month per child be adjusted or stay the same?
- Should child support obligations be based on a parent’s gross or net income?
- How a parent’s income from overtime or a second job should be considered when calculating the parent’s child support obligation.
- Whether the noncustodial parent’s current child support obligation should be limited to 45% of net income.
- Whether the child’s residential schedule should affect the amount of a parent’s child support obligation.
PLEASE, PLEASE email your responses to: SupportSchedule@dshs.wa.gov
http://www.dshs.wa.gov/dcs/Resources/workgroup.asp
9 Comments to “Speak up to the child support division and lawmakers — tell them how you feel about children from other relationships…!!”
minicoopsmom
My answers:
1. Should the support schedule and guidelines consider a parent’s children from other relationships?
If so, should the Whole Family Formula be the preferred method of dealing with this issue?
YES, YES, YES! I don’t trust any “method” that an agency (who takes money from one family to give to another) would come up with. The only fair method would be to treat ALL CHILDREN EQUAL. DSHS’s methods and the current state law do not do that now. And I don’t think this committee is interested in doing so either.
2. Should the economic table be expanded to include parents whose combined income exceeds $5,000 per month?
NO. In an intact family, just because a parent (who is already making a decent wage already) makes more money, does not mean that that parent necessarily would spend it on a child.
Also, how much money exactly does it take to raise a child? Has the “committee” figured that out?
And who’s to say that a non custodial parent who’s income goes up wouldn’t provide additional financial contributions to the child at his own will? Doesn’t the NCP spend money on the children while in his home anyway? Why does he make more yet continue to have to send it to someone else’s house hold and have NO SAY in how the money is spent??
Where is the limit to what the state can order a free man to pay for his kids? Shouldn’t there be a CAP on income levels of $5K and more? Absolutely. This committee is going in the wrong direction. They need to implement child support caps like Nevada and other states do.
The more that a man makes, the more that the state takes, and that’s after paying taxes. Its not right.
3. Should the economic table start at combined income at 125% of the federal poverty level and move upward in $100 increments?
I respectfully decline to answer this question. I personally think that there is plenty of representation on the committee to speak for the low income population. And I think that this committee has spent too much time (wasting time) on this topic and not addressing the topics that affect the middle class NCPs who are getting brutalized by this income transfer scheme.
4. Should the economic table have separate categories for children under 12 and children 12 and over?
NO. With the cost of daycare often reaching $1200 (or more) a month for an infant, I find it ridiculous that the child support actually goes UP when a kid is older and eventually will be able to work.
5. Should child care costs and ordinary medical costs be included in the economic table or treated separately?
Separately.
Extra ordinary medical shouldn’t be counted. There are no guarantees of the costs month to month. A money “collecting” parent should be required to submit paid receipts before collecting on medical. How could you prepay something like that? It would vary each month.
Same for daycare. That can change month to month and shouldn’t require an attorney, DSHS or for a payor to defend his right to NOT pay that expense if the daycare costs change.
Again there should be PROOF that these expenses were incurred before an NCP is required to pay for them. Not by raising the child support table and “including in the child support table.”
Leaving these items out of the table allows for easy adjustment, putting it IN the table will result in it being costly for an NCP and a CP to adjust these amounts month to month and will raise the table and that’s not an option.
6. Which method should be used as the basis for calculations to create the economic table: the Rothbarth estimate, the Engel estimator, or some other method.
Some other method. NEITHER system accurately predicts what it costs to raise a child. NEITHER system accounts for children from other relationships correctly and neither is based on a good statistical sample analysis.
7. Should the self-support reserve be tied to the federal poverty level?
Sure, but the fed. poverty level, does it apply to a single father w/ four children or just a single father? Remember, the father is paying for four kids. Does the CP get food stamps? Subsidized housing? Educational benefits? Medicaid? The Earned Income Credit? The Head of Household filing? Well the payor/NCP certainly doesn’t….
8. What rules should apply to imputation of income when calculating child support obligations, including such issues as whether the court should impute minimum wage earnings to a parent when there is not enough information regarding income before the court.
If a parent is not receiving an income because HE CANNOT WORK (disability, injury, etc.) how can you “impute” an income?? What about if a custodial parent decides just to NOT work and live off the child support. Is imputing minimum wage on her enough? Probably not, she could get a better job, couldn’t she?
I think there aren’t enough factors considered here. As a general statement, sure “minimum wage” is ok. But that’s NOT ok when its imputed on a disabled NCP.
9. Should extraordinary medical expenses be included in the basic child support obligation or as a separate obligation?
Separate. (See above.)
10. Should the current presumptive minimum support obligation of $25 per month per child be adjusted or stay the same?
Same. How can you squeeze blood out of a turnip?
11. Should child support obligations be based on a parent’s gross or net income?
Net. And when we consider what constitutes NET income many factors need to be considered. It should be NET INCOME AFTER:
1) Fed, state and local taxes when the NCP claims ZERO for tax purposes (so in other words, at the highest withhold rate.)
2) AFTER the NCP pays insurance on his family.
3) AFTER the NCP is allowed to put away 15% into a 401K, IRA, 403C, or other private retirement plan.
4) AFTER any daycare expenses he has for his “children from other relationships.”
12. How a parent’s income from overtime or a second job should be considered when calculating the parent’s child support obligation.
Overtime and bonuses should NEVER be counted. They cannot be counted on and fluctuate greatly. A parent should NEVER be required by the state to have to work over time or get bonuses. By adding overtime and bonuses into a child support calculation your committee will be REQUIRING an NCP to work over time and pay to adjust that amount when he no longer gets overtime and bonuses.
13. Whether the noncustodial parent’s current child support obligation should be limited to 45% of net income.
An NCPs child support obligation should be limited to 15% for one child, 20% for 2, 25% for three and so on, until 45% at which he shouldn’t be required to pay more than that.
14. Whether the child’s residential schedule should affect the amount of a parent’s child support obligation.
Absolutely, w/out a doubt YES! A paying parent should be given credit for the time spent with the child, even if its as little as a Sat. am to Sunday pm visit. He still provides 3 meals a day, toys, games, activities, power, water, clothing, etc, etc. and he should get credit for the rest of his financial contribution when the child is with him.
mames
I don’t think I can expand on Minicoopsmom…I ditto everything she says!
TRH
Great answers MimiCoopMamajama! I agree, everyone needs to write to the committee to get their information into the committee.
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DM
I just copied and sent my reply. Everyone should! The more responses the more likely someone will take it seriously. Thanks minicoopsmom!
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nanny75
Great post! You said everything that I was thinking!
Rand Gossage
These laws as they are now are totally unacceptable. If and only if to people(A man and woman)mutually decide to bring a chid into this screwed up word then for what ever reason said couple split, then and only then should a man be humiliated and demoralized by being forcede to pay for a decission he had no part in making. Our sosciety has several options to unwed women who get pregnant. Be it adoptionor abortion. that pregnant woman HERSELF decides to deliver and keep a child, it is solely the womans responsability to afford raising that child. We as a societry need to free targeted men. Women have wanted equal rights now here you can start and quit bleeding men dry for your errant decission.
I my self am tired of being held at below poverty leval being held responsible for the decissions of some one else