The New York Times
April 28, 2015
From The New York Times:
To the Editor:
Incarcerating noncustodial parents for failure to pay child support is not an effective enforcement strategy for parents earning little or no income. A better strategy is connecting these parents to employment.
Work-oriented programs for noncustodial parents with child support debt couple job training with innovative strategies that help parents break the cycle of unemployment, debt and imprisonment. These strategies include helping parents reinstate driver’s licenses so they can get to work, modifying child support orders to reflect actual ability to pay, and brokering debt compromises that reduce state-owed child support debt.
For millions of noncustodial parents, it’s employment — not incarceration — that will help them support their families while meeting their own needs.
MELISSA YOUNG
Chicago
The writer is director of National Initiatives on Poverty and Economic Opportunity for Heartland Alliance for Human Needs and Human Rights.
