Tuesday, February 14, 2006

Don't cancel child support

While Mr. Souter has suffered from the unfortunate events, which have manipulated his life for the past 13 years, I must ask, where is the sympathy for his children ("Not guilty, but not off the hook," Press, Feb. 2)? Why should Christine Souter negotiate a deal to lower the child support debt that has affected these children's lives for 13 years?

The State of Michigan needs to begin paying for its mistakes. In fact, the state owes Ms. Souter child support at the rate of $100 per week, since this is the amount Mr. Souter would have been ordered to pay if he had not been wrongly convicted.

The state has more than enough funds to compensate the Souter children. State officials collected money for child support that they claim can't be distributed because they can't locate the custodial parents.

The state is owed $4.5 billion in back child support for individuals receiving welfare and is now "forgiving" 75 percent of this debt.

The state funds the "work first" program through the Friend of the Court to assist non-custodial parents with employment.

The state put $990,000 into the Healthy Marriages program to help marriages that are not struggling. Yet maintains there are not funds available to compensate for errors such as this and other mistakes occurring within the child support system.

Wake up Kent County! Theses are our children we are talking about. Every dollar owed to support a child decreases that child's standard of living. What does that mean to us? One more future doctor, dealing drugs on Division Avenue. One more future accountant, robbing the corner liquor store.

DAWN

The Association for Children for Enforcement of Support

Alpine Township