No help getting child support & arrears - What do I do?

[DesperateMom]

The father of my son is over $24,000 in arrears and has not paid child support since January of this year. I have contacted my case worker, Nevada Department of Health and Human Services, Federal office of Department of Health and Human Service, and Project Save our Children.

My case worker, when she responds, offers no real assistance other than stating that I should get a lawyer if I want more done because he is in another state and handed it to them in June. Despite my inquiries as to what she has heard about my case from Virginia, she does not respond. The Chief of Child Support Enforcement Program for Federal DHHS has sent her numerous letters stating she has to let me know what the status of the other state is, but still no response. The NV DHSS has told me that my case worker told them that she is not sure if he is out of state so they are taking the stance that until she exhasts all remedies, they will not send may case to be federally prosecuted. Project Save of Children stated my case qualifies for federal prosecution but cannot do anything until my case worker does the paperwork to send it to him.

I cannot afford a lawyer since I am unemployed. And my attempts to hire a private company (National Child Support, who I do not recommend anyone go to) have been unsuccessful since they have passed my case from one worker to another for months.

I have exhausted all routes that I know of to get someone to do something with my case. What else can I do?

Please help~

 

[j2thep66]

I suggest you do what you would do if there was no such thing as child support & support your child yourself. Getting a job would be a step in the right direction, however as an unemployed female with a child, most states have an abundance of welfare services to take advantage of and if you were taking advantage of all the freebees available you'd likely do better on welfare. Either way, stop worrying about money you are never going to see. My son's mother owes me close to the same amount, however I've never pursued her for it as a matter of pride. She may get pulled over or caught up with eventually but I'm not holding my breath for a windfall nor do I feel slighted. I took my child at age 5 from a drug addicted mother, but I didn't do it with the precursor that I get paid. I did it because it was the only thing to do. I struggled as many single parents do, but never slipped into self pity & petty money grubbing from the State nor took a Government handout. I worked, paid a baby sitter, paid rent, bought groceries and went back to work the next day. You should feel every bit as personally empowered to do the same thing, and then do it, unless of course you are physically handicapped in some way or mentally disabled. Best of luck & remember, desperation is a state of mind!

 

[DesperateMom]

I suggest you do what you would do if there was no such thing as child support & support your child yourself. Getting a job would be a step in the right direction, however as an unemployed female with a child, most states have an abundance of welfare services to take advantage of and if you were taking advantage of all the freebees available you'd likely do better on welfare. Either way, stop worrying about money you are never going to see. My son's mother owes me close to the same amount, however I've never pursued her for it as a matter of pride. She may get pulled over or caught up with eventually but I'm not holding my breath for a windfall nor do I feel slighted. I took my child at age 5 from a drug addicted mother, but I didn't do it with the precursor that I get paid. I did it because it was the only thing to do. I struggled as many single parents do, but never slipped into self pity & petty money grubbing from the State nor took a Government handout. I worked, paid a baby sitter, paid rent, bought groceries and went back to work the next day. You should feel every bit as personally empowered to do the same thing, and then do it, unless of course you are physically handicapped in some way or mentally disabled. Best of luck & remember, desperation is a state of mind!

I have been supporting my son since the day he was born since he has had nothing to do with him since he was 3 weeks old. I am not expecting a "windfall" but I do think that dead beats need to be brought to justice. I also resent the implication that I have "slipped into self pity" or "petty money grubbing", I am asking for what my son deserves. Just because you don't want to persue your drug addicted ex doesn't mean I don't have the right to persue the non-custodial parent of my child who has made it very clear he intends to quit every job he gets once the garnishments catch up to him. I dont feel pity for myself at all and I do have a great deal of pride in the mother that I have been even without what is owed, I am simply asking if anyone else knows of an avenue that I have not persued.

 

[j2thep66]

I apologize, I was only speaking for myself. No insinuations intended. However, no one "owes" you anything. No one owes anyone anything. Your son deserves a loving parent, thats it. Society has set up a "safety net" for women...the weaker sex...do yourself & all women a favor and "do for yourself." Have some pride and give your son something truely valuable, a loving parent with a good character & a strong work ethic.

You've got your child & you are rid of your ex, which presumably was what you wanted and possibly best for the both of you. Now, just take your hand out of his back pocket & do your job. Stop wasting time & effort worrying about others who aren't doing theirs. All the best!

 

[yvnnjas]

child support arrears

I really understand how you must feel. I am not sure if your situation entirely but I live in VA. I also have a son the father does have visitation but does not always pay his support. One of the things I do is take him to court myself due child support enforcement does not seem to handle the case well. If you have the noncustodial parents address subpoena him for show cause for arrears by going to jd court and appealing for a court date. I have read j2thep66 comment I understand some of the comment but I feel it is in your best interest to make sure your child is taken care of to the best of your abilities. :yes: It is hard to take care of a child alone but keep faith and try to subpoena him yourself.

I hope this helps. May you be blessed :angel

 

[Duranie]

Child support case workers are not miracle workers. If the father is absolutely bent on not paying child support, he won't. Have you pressured your case worker to submit to this to the AG';s office? Dad could be threatened with jail or a suspeneded license. Is Dad employed? If he has no assets or bank accounts, it makes it extremely hard to recover any money from him. Sad but true. You now have to go the extra step and support this child on your own, the best you can. Child support enforcement is just not staffed enough to chase after ever single deadbeat in NV as there are probably thousands of them.

 

[DesperateMom]

Child support case workers are not miracle workers. If the father is absolutely bent on not paying child support, he won't. Have you pressured your case worker to submit to this to the AG';s office? Dad could be threatened with jail or a suspeneded license. Is Dad employed? If he has no assets or bank accounts, it makes it extremely hard to recover any money from him. Sad but true. You now have to go the extra step and support this child on your own, the best you can. Child support enforcement is just not staffed enough to chase after ever single deadbeat in NV as there are probably thousands of them.

I have pressured my case worker by calling daily, going to the NV DHHS, the Federal DHHS, and Project Save Our Children but they believe the lies that she tells them to get them to back off. Case in point, I have signed letters from her stating she knows he is out of state and has a good address for him but then she told NV DHHS and Federal DHHS that she is not certain he doesn't live here in NV so DHHS tells me that they can't take the case to the federal level until my caseworker has exhausted every avenue. I have sent her letters back to both DHHS offices but they just blow me off because of what my case worker tells them when they call. My case worker refuses to suspend either of his licenses, file contempt paperwork, or attach his assests because he is in VA. I have faxed weekly to my state senators, the govenor, the AG, and the Mayor but the only response I got was from the AG who said they cannot help me because they are in charge of giving legal advice to my case worker. I have been supporting my son on my own from the very beginning and will continue to. I understand that they can't chase after every deadbeat but it is just frustrating when you are told your case qualifies for federally prosecution under the Deadbeat Parents Act but your caseworker prevents the case from leaving her desk.