F&F: Judge Slams Mother, State Attorney in False Child Support Case

Article here. Excerpt:

'A Dade County, Florida judge has slammed the State Attorney’s Office and the mother it represented for pursuing a father for child support when both the state’s lawyer and the mother knew her allegations against him were false.  Read about it here (Miami Herald, 2/7/13).

It’s long been a scandal that state Attorneys General and other state level child support enforcement agencies represent custodial parents free of charge in child support cases while non-custodial parents, likely already strapped for cash, have to hire their own lawyers to represent them.  As I’ve said before, the U.S. Office of Child Support Enforcement budgets some $5 billion a year to help custodial parents (overwhelmingly mothers) but a mere $10 million to help non-custodial parents (overwhelmingly fathers).  But the inequality in child support matters hardly ends there.
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One of the many problems is that those receiving child support have summary procedures at their disposal with which to enforce the obligations, but those who pay do not.  If fathers want to seek a modification of a support order, they have to file an original pleading, pay the filing fee (often hundreds of dollars) and hire an attorney to navigate the legal system.  Of course a dad seeking a modification likely does so because he’s lost his job, become disabled or had some other mishap that’s reduced his earnings.  So states’ refusal to establish the type of quick, simple procedures for modifications that they do for enforcement carries the distinct odor of gender bias.'