Strollerderby : deadbeat parents

King of the Deadbeat Dads?

Amy Kuras — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 17:29:00 GMT

Back off laydeees – Thomas Frazier may be a reasonably good looking fellow, but he’d be a bad bet.

Why? He’s allegedly fathered 14 children by 13 different women, and paid not a dime in child support for any of them. According to the Genesee County Friend of the Court here in Michigan, he owes $500,000-plus in child support. Yep, half a million bucks.

But poor Thomas – he’s just looking for love. He calls himself just a victim -- of a system that slammed him with debt for some kids he claims are not his and “the victim of a poor upbringing that he said caused him to seek affection from older women.”

"I tried to find someone who would love me for me," Frazier told the Flint Journal.

Awww. Poor baby. Wonder what kind of quality upbringing the kids he’s brought into the world are getting with no child support at all?

To be fair, he claims that only three of the 14 children the courts have him down as fathering are actually his. As for the others, he claims that women who he dated tagged him falsely as the father and then gave a false address for him so he never was notified to challenge paternity. Yes, somehow a dozen or so women all had the exact same idea. And I haven’t been in this situation, but I believe there’s no statute of limitations on challenging paternity.

Better yet? When he was picked up in Iowa he was driving a Mercedes and had $5,000 and plane tickets to Florida in his pocket – and yet is allegedly unemployed.

At this point he’s facing 90 days in jail or he’s got to come up with almost $30,000 as a down payment on the half-million he owes.

Lovely. Mothers of boys, share this story with your sons when it’s time to have the condom conversation.

Florida Mulls "Deadbeat Dad" T-Shirts

JeanneSager — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 21:37:00 GMT

Just in case they're not shamed enough to be out doing community service, a Florida legislator thinks deadbeat parents should have to do it wearing clothes that tell the world they don't support their kids.

The bill introduced by Democratic State Sen. Mike Fasano would require deadbeat parents to spend a week on a work detail, sporting a shirt or pair of overalls that shares their crime with the whole world.

Although its still only in the "bill" phase (it's only just now being introduced in the state Senate), the goal is to have the punishment kick in after a deadbeat father's third appearance in court for his failure to pay. A Florida newspaper reporting on the story was unable to obtain comment from Fasano on how the law would affect deadbeat mothers.

Parents who don't support their kids are easy pickins', but I'm not sure shame is going to work with these people. They can look their kids in the eye in a courtroom and still ignore the court order; they're not exactly the emotional type.

There's also the question of what this does to the kids. It's bad enough knowing mom or dad doesn't bother sending money to pay for your food and clothing, but kids with a deadbeat parent generally don't like to have that news spread around. In smaller towns, all it takes is one kid from school seeing your Dad out picking litter with an orange t-shirt for the news to be spread all around school.

It's a good idea in theory - nail these crappy parents to the wall. But in reality, I don't see it doing much.

Image: myspace

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Man Forced to Pay Child Support for Another Man's Child

JeanneSager — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 14:37:00 GMT

All Walter Andre Sharpe Jr. did was sign for a certified letter. Considering the addressee was Andre Sharpe - not far off - could you blame him?

A judge in Pennsylvania did. He made Walter Andre Sharpe Jr. liable for child support for a little girl who's real father was Andre Sharpe. When Walter Sharpe couldn't keep up with the payments to support a child that wasn't even his? The state threw him in jail.

Walter Andre Sharp Jr. ignored the letter once he realized it wasn't really meant for him. The father of four from a previous marriage already paid child support to his ex-wife. But when neither he nor the real Andre Sharp showed up at a child support hearing to answer the letter, a judge put the onus on Walter Sharpe. He authorized Walter's wages be garnished - to pay not only new charges but more than $5,000 in back support. That was 2001.

Walter Sharpe applied several times for a paternity test to prove he wasn't the girl's father, but he was denied each time. Between 2001 and 2005, Walter Sharpe landed in jail for four separate six-month terms for falling behind on payments to support the little girl. He finally lost his job in 2005, but it would take another two years before the paternity order would be overturned. But as recently as two months ago, the state has still been denying him compensation for the $12,000 subtracted from his pay and sent the way of the real Andre Sharpe's baby mama's mother, the little girl's grandmother. Ironically, the real Sharpe says he's always supported his daughter. In fact, she's lived with him for the past four years.

The district attorney is finally investigating, but the president of the county where this happened is still putting at least a portion of the blame on Walter Sharpe, essentially for not being more proactive.

Since when should a man have to be more proactive in expecting NOT to pay child support for someone else's child? I admit there are plenty of deadbeat parents out there - and they deserve to be hunted down and made to support the child they helped create. HOWEVER, when a guy asks for a paternity test, a paternity test is in order. Who could really lose here? If the result is positive, the judge has even more support behind him or her in making a decision. If it's negative, well, you save a guy $12,000 and four years of his life spent in prison for a crime that he really couldn't have committed. Because how could you fail to pay child support you never owed in the first place?

Image: About

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Should Child Support Slackers Be Shamed Online?

Jessica Ashley (Sassafrass) — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 23:27:00 GMT

Wisconsin State Rep. Steve Wieckert, R-Appleton, wants to put child support slackers online in an attempt to shame parents into paying up with a little interwebs intimidation. Before you go cheering on the Republican from the Fox Valley, take note that a mother who claims she's owed $37,000 in child support and interest by her daughter's father is the brains behind the legislation, which will be proposed this month.

After many attempts to recover the child supported owed to her, custodial parent Julie Jentz read an article about how successful a state website worked in recovering delinquent tax funds. She thought the idea would convert well in pressuring child support non-payers into settling their debts. According to the fired up state rep who turned Jentz's idea into proposed legislation, $3 billion is owed in child support in Wisconsin alone.

My thought on this is Hey, whatever it takes. Sure, complicated situations surround every split parenting relationship, but at some point -- as Jentz seems to know all too well -- the pressure needs to be increased. Hopefully, measures like this site won't be too late to get Jentz what she's owed to fairly care for her child.

Deadbeat Parents Put on Pizza Boxes

Stefania Pomponi Butler (CityMama) — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 18:01:00 GMT

Customers of some suburban Cincinnati pizza restaurants aren't just getting a side of ranch dressing with their pizza, they're also getting wanted posters of deadbeat parents affixed to their pizza boxes.

Local officials, trying to collect cumulative past-due child support of $106 billion, realized that parents who are running from the law rather than pay child support probably aren't dining out, they're ordering in. They see this innovative approach as a way to put pressure on parents to do the right thing.

Authorities contacted local pizzerias about the program and three restaurants agreed to participate leading to one arrest so far. Restaurants claim no customers have complained and most "think it's a good idea."

A local fathers' rights attorney disagrees, calling the tactic "horrible." He feels it can have a devastating effect on kids to see their dad's faces on a pizza box. More devasting than having a father (or mother) who doesn't want anything to do with you? I think not.