Social Policy : Child Support

Demographically, over 90% of the participants strongly agreed that fatherhood is crucial in our society. A little over 47% of fathers, that encouragement from the mothers of their children matters because of the obstacles they faced with finance, and their duties on the job. The final results of marital status statistics is over 80% married fathers, nine percent divorced, and six percent never married. One surprising statistic was 90% cohabitate with the mother and focal child (Glenn & Popenoe, 2006).

Due to problems arising out of bitter divorces, custody, and support battles fathers are ostracize out of their children’s life. Fathers are often looked at as the bad person when things go wrong and being the blame. Fathers are just as responsible for the child being born as the mother. Over the years fathers continue to fight for equal rights, mothers are looked at as the victims and often make false statements about the fathers to suit their own selfish needs. Accusations of sexual and child abuse by mothers of the noncustodial fathers are often found to be untrue.

When you think about child support, many people immediately think the father is the one not paying it. Little do we know a father can defiantly file child support to the child’s biological mother. The problem with child support is the courts don’t really enforce it the way they should. If the parent who is being asked to pay the child support is financially stabled, they should not be able to hire a lawyer, go to court and try to appeal. I do not feel that it is fair to the parent who is actually with that child twenty-four seven, and it is definitely not fair to the child, because they did not ask to be here. If it took two people to lie down and conceive the child then it should take two people to actually take care of the child.

The introduction begins with quotes from people who mention that fathers get women pregnant and then leave the woman and the child; they mention that men need to realize their responsibilities do not end with conception. The book summarizes these quotes as unwed fatherhood is one of the leading social problems, and these men are irresponsible and “hit and run.” A CBS special report, The Vanishing Family, was an interview of McSeed, a father of six from four different women. In the interview, he says the responsibility of raising the child is on the mother, not him.

For more than a decade the state of Nevada has struggled with the issue of poverty in general, furthermore it has majorly struggled with the issue of child poverty. Ever since the recession of 2008 we have seen increments in the number of poverty in general, in which more children continue to seem affected. Furthermore the poverty levels seem to continue to increase “The number of children living in poverty in Nevada is at 23 percent, up from 15 percent in 2008” (Rise in Poverty). The high levels of unemployment in parents seem to be the most influential issue that sets families under the poverty line. “Similarly the number of children whose parents lack stable jobs has risen 6 points to 32 percent” (Rise in Poverty).

Among those: job prospects, family, church, friends, rent and the cost of moving. According to Gardner, Policy experts say California’s large rolls are the byproduct of numerous factors: sheer size, tough job market and sheer numbers of single-parent households, among them. The state has nearly 30 percent of the nation’s one-parent welfare families. One major — and cash consuming — difference is California refuses to push out children even if the parents fail to fulfill requirements. Gardner states California provides unconditional support for children even if parents fail to comply with rules and regulations and according to Caroline Danielson, a policy analyst who tracks welfare issues for the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California, said the unconditional support for children is “a pretty rare policy in the country as a whole.” While few want to toss children out in the street, there are a number of conservative California lawmakers who believe hard choices must be made given the tough fiscal times for taxpayers, Arguing that California supports dependency on governmental help and handing out cash that it does not have. Furthermore, Gardner states recipient my qualify for Grants even if they go to work depending on how much the job pays. However, from the states point of view , this policy offers recipients incentives to re-enter the work force and move to self sufficiency

Having children, whether planned or not, produces additional expenses for a family that some may not be prepared for. While parents don’t immediately think about long term cost when raising a child, it is shown that raising a child in American from birth to age 17, is over $241,080, and this number is expected to increase every year Covert, 2013). It is estimated that over 15 million children are living in poverty in the United States. These families encounter an imbalance in their education, health care, and socioeconomic resources (Milteer, Ginsburg, & Mulligan, 2012). These low income families must focus on their daily survival and this creates an economic hardship. Milteer et al., (2012) shows that

California’s high cost of living makes it difficult to support the expense that comes with having a child (“Most and least expensive places in America: Regional price parity map - Business Insider,” n.d., “Why the $245,000 Cost of Raising a Child Shouldn’t Stop You From Having One | Money,” n.d.). With fully paid leave stipulated by AB 568, parents do not have to manage a budget with decreased revenue and increased expense, at least for the first 6 weeks of parental leave. Education employees may

The second account of a changing stance toward children’s rights was evolution alongside women’s rights. Before this time, women and children were seen as unimportant under the law, whereas a father was given almost total control over all matters regarding his wife and children. If a father was violent or neglectful, society simply turned their shoulder to it. In the latter half of the nineteenth century, laws pertaining to the family system began to change. A new law recognized the equal rights of fathers and mothers with the mother’s rights reigning over the fathers in regards to the children. Also, the legal system began viewing children as important to the future of society, therefore “appropriate objects of the court’s

Pregnancy and early child development is a fundamental aspect of human society, and is pertinent to the development of a successfully functioning community. The developmental and social progress of any civilization relies on children, as they will compose the future working population. Therefore, a mother or father’s involvement in the child’s development is of extreme importance, which is why family leave has been implemented all over the world. Family leave refers to the period of time granted to the employee to care for their newborn child. As communities evolve economically, financial stability is necessary, for what is perceived to be socially successful for a child’s development, which is why paid family leave is popular throughout the world’s nations. However, ABC News reports that “the U.S. is only one of three countries in the world that don't offer paid maternity leave” (Kim, 2015); the same is true for paternity leave. The United States government has an interesting track record dealing with family leave, but in order to analyze what the US government and advocacy groups have done to solve this issue, there first needs to be an understanding on why this issue is so difficult to resolve. The arguments that support and oppose paid family leave in the United States are equally valid, therefore causing a stalemate in the attempted policy making of legislative bodies.

The Urban Institute published a case study that promotes the creation of national paid family leave policy in the United States. In the study, it is shown that this issue has been debated countless times in the past. George H.W. Bush even vetoed an unpaid family leave act during his presidency. This displays the struggles of enacting policy relating to this issue. The lack of a national paid family leave program in the US has left working mothers with three options: “return to work immediately after childbirth, quit employment, or take unpaid leave” (Urban Institute, 2017, p.3). The issue with these options include, loss of pay, unemployment, or the lack of parental presence in a child’s early development. Moreover, although some private companies offer paid leave, less educated and lower income mother have little access to this paid leave, which exacerbates their financial instability, keeping them in a lower societal class. This study found that not only is the current system is inadequate, but it is also inequitable, which causes financial hardships across the nation. According to the study, there has even been a 32% decrease in income after childbirth. Although this is the current situation, some states have enacted a statewide paid family leave program, which displays

The one child policy is a horrible law. The one child policy was instituted on September 25, 1980 in China a little more than 34 years ago. The one child policy limits every family to having one child only, to reduce population growth. There are endless reasons on why the one child policy is a very negative law. Gender inequalities, forced abortions, and not enough young people to take care of the elderly are just some of the many problems with the one child policy. The one child policy is one of the most ridiculous things that has ever happened.

In 2013 changes in child benefits came into effect in the UK. In particular, child benefit was gradually withdrawn from individuals earning over £50,000 a year and completely withdrawn for individuals earning more than £60,000 a year. Investigate, using the standard labour supply model, how this change in benefits will affect labour supply decisions for a single mother with two children who is able to find work at £30/hour. Assume that she would opt-out of maximum working time regulation in case this becomes relevant. Finally, the measure of income used in the actual calculation is “adjusted net income”, which is equal to gross income minus pension contributions and several other things. For this essay assume that

It wasn’t until the 1960s and 1970s that more unmarried pregnant woman opted to keep their babies instead of putting them up for adoption (Else, A., 2012). Due to the financial pressures of sole-parenting the Domestic Proceedings Act was introduced in 1968, which required fathers to pay mothers some maintenance for

The amount of child support cases in arrears would decline if a few things were changed, hopefully providing incentives to pay child support on time and regularly. There are also harsher consequences that could be carried out to prevent future mistakes. There are things being done, but is it enough? As it stands the noncustodial parent can face loss of visitation, probation, and even jail time for none payment of child support. By not enforcing court ordered child support and making examples out of those who are not in compliance, we are sending out a message that child support is more of an option than a legal obligation. Think about the ones who are really suffering here, the children involved.