PARENT'S RIGHTS NOW!

We have been reading the series of Post and Courier articles on the "Good Cheer Fund" with a great deal of interest this year. One recurring theme appears to be that people need help because they are not receiving child support from the absentee parent. On Saturday, the Post and Courier reported, "Jill is a single parent of three children who recently was laid off from her job."

In today's Post and Courier was an article titled, "Donation could help single mom pay rent, recent medical expenses." In the article we learn, "Dana is a single mother of two who always has worked hard and budgeted carefully in order to make ends meet. Recently, an illness that involved a number of expensive tests put the family in a financial crisis. Dana is faced with possible eviction on one hand and collection agencies on the other."

While these articles do not indicate whether Jill and Dana are not receiving support from the children's father (or fathers), the use of the phrase "single parent" certainly implies that this is the case. Moreover, previous articles on the "Good Cheer Fund" make it very clear that the absentee parent is not providing support.We continue to be baffled on the issue of why neither the Courts nor local attorneys assist these people. Moreover, we know of several instances in which people were hauled into Court very quickly even though they disputed owing money and the amounts allegedly owed were relatively small. And in our view, the arbitrariness of enforcement creates disrespect for the Court system and probably helps decrease voluntary compliance.