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ANCPR NEWS

Alliance for Non-Custodial Parent’s Rights

World Wide Web: http://www.ancpr.org

ANCPR Protests Unfair Child Support Awards - Supports LA’s Most Wanted "Deadbeat" Parent

On Monday, March 16, 1998 - Los Angeles’ District Attorney’s office will be prosecuting Charles Powell in Div. 82 Los Angeles Municipal Court (429 Bauchet St.) for not paying child support. From 8:00 - 10:00 AM, ANCPR will be handing out information leaflets in front of the courthouse, and at 10:00 AM, Mr. Lowell Jaks, President of ANCPR will give a brief press conference exposing the hypocrisy of the child support industry.

Poverty is not the problem and money is not the answer. The child support industry propagates the myth that all it takes to raise a happy, healthy child is money. And yet studies consistently show it is the involvement of both the mother and father that is the critical factor, not money. This is also consistent with the fact that many immigrants who came to America penniless and raised their families below the poverty line have students that out-perform middle class American children. On the other hand, children raised surrounded by wealth, such as the Menendez brothers, Patty Hearst and Robert Downey, Jr., prove that money is not a valid predictor of child wellness. "The actions of Garcetti and his Family Bureau of Support cronies is only based on money," says John Smith of ANCPR. "While they may talk about getting both parents involved in the child’s life, their actions almost invariably result in one parent losing all contact with his or her children". It is the position of ANCPR that excessive support orders, combined with draconian enforcement procedures, do not help children. By turning decent parents into criminals, these measures contribute to low self-esteem in children after divorce, poor academic performance, and later to behavioral and criminal problems.

In the case of Charles Powell, Garcetti’s office proudly points to the fact that the interest on his child support balance is $300.00 per day. "This is a perfect example of a clearly unreasonable fine, which can never be paid," says John Smith. Powell had been paying $1000.00 a month in child support. When his ex-wife, Debbie Powell, with the assistance of the District Attorney’s office, sought to raise the payment to over $1300.00 per month, Powell rebelled. This situation is mirrored all across America. Non-custodial parents are required to turn over nearly half of their net income, but are often restricted from having any kind of decent relationship with their children.

A growing body of evidence indicates that sole custody, which is awarded to mothers over 80% of the time, does not work. Debbie Powell had sole custody, and one of her sons got involved with drugs. In a television interview, it was implied that the fault for this was with Charles Powell, the non-custodial parent. "This is a clear case of bias against non-custodial parents. How could Charles Powell have prevented his child from using drugs if he was being denied a full and on-going relationship with his own son?" asks John Smith. It’s too much to ask a parent to work a full-time job and be a full-time parent. A shared parenting arrangement could have helped keep her child off drugs, since fathers tend to be stricter with their kids and living in a different location would have made it harder for the child to establish drug connections.

In a separate but related event, LA City Councilman Richard Alarcon will soon be holding hearings to see if the City should deny or prohibit "Deadbeat Parents" from receiving city contracts. "It’s very clear that the politicians and bureaucrats have no intent of helping the children. How does keeping a parent from earning a living - which prevents them from paying child support - help children?" asks John Smith of ANCPR. If anything, the city and county should give parents who are behind in their support payments an advantage in the bidding process, allowing them to earn money so they can pay child support.

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