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September 10.2008
Deadbeats don't
get checks
Records show child support
agencies seized 1.4 million federal stimulus checks totaling $831
million.
STEVE LeBLANC
Associated Press Writer
BOSTON: Deadbeat dads and
moms around the country are discovering that their economic
stimulus checks from Washington intended to encourage the purchase
of TVs, cars and other goods are being intercepted and funneled
toward the support of their children.
Treasury Department figures
obtained by The Associated Press show that more than 1.4 million of
the checks have been seized since the payments began last spring,
and a total of $831 million has been collected by child support
agencies nationwide.
Cheryl Hayes, a 32-year-old
paralegal student from Auburn, Mass., said her ex-husband owes
about $30,000 in support for their three children, and she hopes to
see some of that via his stimulus check.
Hayes said that while she
knows the stimulus checks were intended to encourage people to head
down to the local Wal-Mart, Best Buy or Home Depot, in the case of
deadbeat parents, their
childrenââ'¬â"¢s
well-being should come first.
The stimulus check is
something at least they can get to help live off of, Hayes said. It
should go to the children because the children are the ones that
would need it.
The parents who are owed
child support won't immediately see the money. And in some cases
they may not receive it at all.
The intercepted checks in
Massachusetts, for example, are deposited with the state and held
for 180 days to allow the parent to file an appeal. If the appeal
is denied, the money is turned over to the parent who has custody.
In most cases, the mother unless she has been on public assistance,
in which case the funds can go back to the state and federal
government to reimburse the taxpayers.
Some states hold the funds
longer, others for less time.
In California, $97.9
million was collected via 152,877 diverted checks, while Texas
brought in $80.3 million from 132,144 payments. Rhode Island saw a
$1.9 million boost from 3,465 diverted checks. Massachusetts took
in $11.2 million, Tennessee $24.4 million.
It's been a very nice bonus
for our children in need of support,said Mike Adams, assistant
commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Human Services. We've
been very pleased with the amount of money we've been able to
collect.
The stimulus program
proposed by President Bush and approved by Congress provided $600
checks for most individuals and $1,200 for couples filing jointly,
with a $300 per-child credit added on.
States submit the names and
Social Security numbers of deadbeat parents to the IRS, which
crosschecks those names against the lists of taxpayers receiving
stimulus checks. The IRS then sends the deadbeat parents checks
straight to state child support agencies.
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The Black Children's Institute of
Tennessee
BCI
