Families and the War
by
Glenn Sacks and Dianna Thompson
© 2002
As the United
States prepares for war against Iraq, tens of thousands of fathers who
serve as reservists are preparing to say goodbye to their families and
serve their country overseas. Yet, America's enemies abroad are not
the only danger these dedicated men will face. Upon return, those with
child support orders will face a threat here at home — the war that is
being waged against "deadbeat dads."
Bobby
Sherrill, a divorced father of two from Parkton, N.C., was a casualty
of that war. Mr. Sherrill, who worked for Lockheed in Kuwait before
being captured and held hostage by Iraq for nearly five harrowing
months, was arrested the night he returned from the Persian Gulf War.
Why? For failing to pay $1,425 in child support while he was a
captive.
If laws are
not changed, thousands of today's reservists could face a similar
threat. Reservists' child-support obligations are based upon their
civilian pay, which is generally higher than their active-duty armed
forces pay. When a child-support obligor's pay decreases, the remedy
is to go to court and get a downward modification. However, since
reservists are often mobilized with as little as 24-hours notice, few
are able to get these modifications before they leave. As a result,
many reservists fall hopelessly behind while serving, and can be
subject to arrest for nonpayment of child support upon their return.
For example,
a naval reservist who has three children and who takes home $4,000 a
month in his civilian job could have a child support obligation of
about $1,600 a month. If this father is a petty officer second class
(E5) who has been in the reserves for six or seven years — a
middle-ranked reservist — his active-duty pay would only be $1,912
before taxes, in addition to a housing allowance.
States assess
interest on arrearages as well as penalties on past-due child support.
Because the federal Bradley amendment prevents judges from
retroactively modifying or forgiving support, obligors who fall behind
for legitimate reasons cannot have these arrearages wiped out. And
even those returning servicemen who avoid jail or other sanctions may
still spend years trying to pay off their child support debt — a debt
created entirely by their willingness to serve their country.
Though the
Family Support Act of 1988 allows noncustodial parents who have had a
reduction in income to request a decrease in their child support by
getting downward modifications, few state agencies honor such
requests. According to Elaine Sorensen of the Urban Institute, even
among fathers who experience income drops of 15 percent or more, less
than one in 20 are able to get courts to reduce their child-support
payments. Because state agencies are federally reimbursed for every
child-support dollar they collect, states have a powerful incentive to
grab and hold on to every dollar they can.
Another
problem is that the child support money that the armed forces are
supposed to take out of reservists' paychecks and send to their
families sometimes does not arrive. This was an issue for many Gulf
War veterans, and reservists are having similar difficulties today.
For example, Diane Keary, a custodial mother from Monsey, N.Y., has
not received a child-support check since Joseph Keary Sr., her
ex-husband, was called to active duty five months ago. Computer
glitches such as this, as well as billing errors, can leave reservists
subject to government sanctions upon their return.
What is
needed to solve the problem is legislation like that passed by the
Missouri legislature in the days leading up to the Gulf War. The
Missouri statute, which is unique in the nation, requires an automatic
adjustment of support for reservists called up for active duty.
During the
Gulf War, more than 250,000 reservists were called up, and today more
than 75,000 reservists and National Guard troops are on active duty as
a result of the events of September 11. Many are now being notified
that they will be expected to serve another year, and a total of 1.3
million reservists could be called into service for indefinite periods
in the event of war.
James, a
16-year veteran of the Navy and the commander of a 177-member Naval
Reserve Unit on the West Coast, is concerned about the effect that the
current child-support policies could have upon his sailors when they
are called to active duty. He says: "My people are sacrificing a lot
to serve. I want them focused on our assigned mission. I don't want
them worrying that their own government might come after them.
This article originally
appeared on the Glenn J. Sacks
Website
and appears here with the permission of the author.
Copyright 2001 Glenn
Sacks, all rights reserved
