Comments on: What good does it do to put someone in jail for not paying child support?

By: STR8SHOOTER

STR8SHOOTER — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 12:13:59 +0000

Thats the go put em in to free accomodation with free meals…so instead of them paying ..the rest of us taxpayers can pay to look after him…what a joke
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By: kass72

kass72 — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 11:36:59 +0000

why should they get to walk around with it being a choice to pay? Any amount given is showing your trying but hey…it’s breaking a law if you don’t pay you go just like breaking any other laws.
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By: Death By Chemistry

Death By Chemistry — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 10:59:59 +0000

Because they make douches like you work in jail for a small wage, enough to cover child support, and they mail it to the mother.

-Billy
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My waste of a dad tried to stop paying child support.

By: janine o

janine o — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 10:09:59 +0000

They weren't paying before, so what's the difference? Some people work under the table so they don't have to pay. If you put them in jail, the judge can order they be on work release. That way, they have to find a legit job, pay taxes like everyone else, and have their wages garnished for child support. Also, the threat of incarceration may make some of these dead beats actually look for a job and support their children.
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By: lynnbodoni

lynnbodoni — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 09:42:59 +0000

Not everyone lives from one paycheck to the next. Most people have some money put aside. The threat of jail is enough for many parents to decide that they’d better pay child support, rather than buy themselves some luxury. If a parent truly can’t afford the child support, then the case needs to be revisited, and probably the payments will be lowered.

Most people who owe child support are able to pay it, they just don’t WANT to pay it, for one reason or another. Yes, usually this involves a bit of a sacrifice, but having a child means making sacrifices for that child, in time or money or effort or all three, and child support usually doesn’t begin to even cover half of what is involved in raising a child.

Nowadays, too, there’s another incentive. Many states will revoke or refuse to renew many licenses if the non-custodial parent is in arrears.
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By: Cowboy Bill

Cowboy Bill — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 08:58:59 +0000

Well, there’s always the chance of being gang raped by lifers in jail … that would amuse your ex wife greatly I’m sure.
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By: pragmatism_rules

pragmatism_rules — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 08:41:59 +0000

Putting someone in jail for not paying support is supposed to be a punishment…punishment and a deterrent. The person gets punished because they didn’t do the right thing. Hopefully they hate the punishment so much that it acts as a deterrent and from then on, they pay the court-ordered child support so they don’t go back to jail. And other non-custodial parents will see that they too can be punished for non-payment and they will be encouraged to do the right thing and pay up!

As for not being able to pay child support while they are in jail, that support still adds up and when they get out of jail, they will still have to pay, with interest. And since you can’t go bankrupt on child support debt, you might as well pay in the first place as in the end, you will have to pay and some of the consequences for not paying could be unpleasant.
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By: LovesTheConstitution

LovesTheConstitution — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 07:54:59 +0000

For over 15 years, I was a child support enforcement officer, then a manager of four child support offices in my state.

During graduate school, I had studied the question whether the policy of jailing persons who violate court orders on child support is effective. I found that a loser is still a loser with or without incarceration. However, jailing deadbeats has two very positive effects on payment of child support. First, the average payment rate (among the counties I studied) was higher in those counties in which incarceration of deadbeats was high compared to the payment rate in counties with very low incarceration rates. Second, though the irresponsible person rarely improved during or after incarceration, the experience sometimes motivated immediate payment to secure early release.

If the loser is on the outside, he may be of no use to anyone. If the loser is locked up, at least he serves society as a bad example.

In my experience among men who failed to support their children, many are "momma’s boys". When a momma’s boy is in jail, momma will pay arrears to get her little boy out early. I did not find a correlation among women who were jailed for failure to pay support.

Unfortunately, most jails are overcrowded and do not offer the courts this very effective option to better the lives of hundreds or thousands of children in their communities.

Jail works.
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By: Natasha B(blocked by cowards)

Natasha B(blocked by cowards) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 07:19:59 +0000

Depending on where you live it can help.
When they get locked up the child can get a certain amount a day for the time they are locked up. If they bail themselves out that money also goes to the child.

If a guy has a job and he is not paying child support, he should not complain that he lost his job due to the lock up he was not paying to begin with.

Next time he gets a job maybe he will be motivated to pay child support to keep it.
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By: jen

jen — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 06:38:59 +0000

Actually putting them in jail really doesn't accomplish anything, I agree, but the threat of jail time should motivate the men who have no motivation to get it together and support their child. Sad that it even has to come to that, but it does. For the jackasses who are out blowing money on everything but their child, I gotta say it would serve them right to spend some time in jail, but that doesn't mean it'd be helpful for the child.
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