Minnesota Child Support - Bonuses Paid for Collections
Everyone has either been through the family court system, or knows someone that has. Millions of people in the United States, and hundreds of thousands in Minnesota are affected by a system they know nothing about. Title IV-D is the child support collection agency of the DHS; it was created by the federal social security act of 1974. The purpose of this agency was two-fold: to reimburse the expense of providing public assistance to children who had been willfully abandoned; In addition, forced to become dependent on public assistance to satisfy basic needs. The policy was to help ensure continued financial support from willfully absent parents with children that were at risk of requiring public assistance if they did not receive support. This was to prevent them from requiring public assistance to satisfy basic needs.
These are the federal guidelines for the child support collection service. The problem is the unauthorized expansion of the government program to include anyone in Minnesota who apply, no matter what the income. This alone, is costing the state of Minnesota an additional 100 million dollars per year.
According to Minnesota Child Support Performance Report pg. 59, the state of Minnesota offers incentive “bonuses” to counties for each child support order they establish during a fiscal year, they offer a “bonus” for each support modification they complete, and they offer a “bonus” for each medical assistance child whom is identified or enforced during a fiscal year. A $100 Bonus is paid to the counties for each one. A $100 Bonus is also paid for each and every parental custody modification the county successfully completes as a legal action resulting in a court order modifications during the state fiscal year.
The people in Minnesota should be concerned, especially divorced parents and their families. What are the consequences when you give a bonus to the county for a parental custody modification, or successfully completed “legal action” resulting in a court order modification? This policy becomes lucrative for the county, attorneys, psychologists, and parenting expeditors. In fact, it’s job security, and in their best interest to make sure in the divorce, a “winner” and “looser” are identified. It also helps to fill the state coffers at the DHS.
Usually one parent is demonized to keep perpetual strife between parents. It also creates a new class of welfare for parents using the title IV-D DHS collection service. Parents that use the system to collect child support from the non-custodial parent are in fact in the welfare system. The state of Minnesota receives 50% matching funds from the federal government for the program, and every one they enroll, in fact, they encourage it; they also get to collect fees for collection. Pitting parents against one another is damaging to all, especially the children.
Cross-posted : Anoka County Examiner comments welcome
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