New Child Support Program

http://www.10tv.com/content/stories/2015/05/27/columbus-ohio-franklin-county-courts-using-innovative-child-support-program.html

I accidentally wrote about schools last time, so here is my story about child welfare.

In Franklin Co. there is a push toward working with parents who owe child support to allow the parents to be more supported, rather than being thrown in jail for their non-payment. This program that was implemented last year is designed to help the parents take a more proactive approach toward caring for their children financially, rather than simply throwing them in jail. The program targets workforce education, GED completion and even AOD treatment so that parents can get back on their feet and be in a position better suited to help their children.

I think this is a great program because it helps not only the parent, but also the child, the parent with custody, and society as a whole. The parent receives the help they need, the child and custodial parent are receiving the financial support that they need to help the child grow up, and society does not have the burden of paying for parents to be in jail due to not paying the needed dues that are mandated by the courts or to pay for workers to constantly chase down the parents who are not paying their dues.

Having been a child of this system, I have first hand seen the stress and tension that the old way of managing child support can bring. With constant phone calls, letters, and putting the child in an awkward position, it causes unneeded stress for the whole family. I believe that attempting to treat the parents who owe child support is something that would truly be beneficial for everyone involved. It may cost more upfront, but for the long term I believe that it will help families and society as a whole. Of course, this will not fix every family situation and there may still need to be jail time for some family members or at least use this as leverage to bring payments forward, but giving parents a second chance is something that could solve more problems than it brings.