What does ANCPR stand for?
ANCPR believes it is wrong to arrest a parent, or threaten to
arrest them, simply because they cannot pay an exorbitant child support order.
Current child support enforcement procedures are wrong. You
should not live under the threat of arrest, just because you have been injured at work, or
been laid off, or have made an unfortunate career move that resulted in lowered income.
These are all part of living in the real world. Why should you go to jail while your
ex-spouse goes free? Why should you live in fear of arrest, while your ex-spouse goes on
as if everything is normal, perhaps even collecting public assistance, which then becomes
your debt? If Child Support were truly based on income, the child support amount would
automatically go down if your income decreases, and up when it increases. As the law
stands now, child support can be quickly and easily increased, but it is nearly impossible
to lower your child support obligation when you are facing financial hardship.
ANCPR believes it is wrong to bankrupt one parent to support
the lifestyle of the other.
Current child support guidelines are simply too high. Many
non-custodial parents pay as much as 25% of their take home pay, and some much more, even
as much as 65% of their wages through wage garnishment. This is inhuman. To expect a
person to work as hard as people must work to stay ahead in today's economy, only to take
as much as 65% of their earnings from them by garnishment is totally unreasonable. People
are not animals to be exploited like this. People deserve respect and dignity.
Involutary servitude is not only against the law, it is immoral. Child support
judgements that cause such hardship must be ended.
ANCPR believes it is wrong to cruelly separate parents from
their children.
Fathers, mothers and grandparents all play a vital role in the
upbringing of a child. A child will always have one mother and one father. No court order,
no divorce decree can change that basic fact. A divorce may end a marriage, but the family
unit remains. The current practice of separating children from one of their parents, and
awarding physical custody primarily to one parent is misguided, and is causing great harm
to children. Why should one parent be given the power to manipulate your own children
against you? Why should one parent be given the power to thwart your role as a parent by
making it difficult for you to see your children? Why is it assumed that everyone else
(your ex, the judge, court appointed psychologists, and so forth) seems to know what is
best for your children, and that it serves the best interest of your children to cut them
off from you, and limit your involvement as a parent to occasional weekends and holidays?
ANCPR believes that our court system should respect the human
dignity of parents.
Just because your marriage has failed does not make you a
criminal. Just because you have experienced financial difficulties does not mean you are
any less a parent than any one else. Many non-custodial parents have been driven
underground by current child support enforcement procedures which include posting their
names and pictures on the internet and on the windows of stores and in post offices. Some
have considered suicide in the face of relentless pressure from their ex-spouse and the
courts. How does this help the children? Does it help children to see their father (or
sometimes mother) demeaned by our society in this way? What is this saying about the
society we live in?
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