State of Tennessee sued for seeking child support from wrong man

By Ann KnefIllinois resident Joshua Brown is suing the state of Tennessee for sending him a notice indicating he had a child in Tennessee with a female other than his wife.Brown claims the state sent him a non-custodial parent delinquency notice on March 26 indicating he was responsible for past due child support. "The Notice was discovered by his wife," states the complaint filed Oct. 7 in St. Clair County Circuit Court. "Mr. Brown's parents and in-laws learned of the Notice from his wife and also inquired."Brown claims he "reassured all" that he was not having an extra marital affair that produced a child.He claims he informed the state that it had the wrong person by pointing out the difference in middle initial and social security number, but the state persisted by notifying his employer. He claims he also received a notice that his income would be withheld for child support."Plaintiff's wife again saw these various documents again causing turmoil and strife in the home," the complaint states. "Plaintiff again tried to assuage his family's fears. Brown claims he contacted an attorney after the state sent him a notice that his employer was being directed to add the Tennessee child to his health care plan.He claims the correspondence eventually ceased when the state was "apparently satisfied" that it had the wrong man.His suit seeks damages for defamation."This publication caused his pregnant wife and himself severe hardship, caused plaintiff to lose sleep, have constant anxiety, suffer humiliation, embarrassment, nervousness and mental pain and suffering," the complaint states. "That Defendant knew or should have known of the falsity of such statements considering the different middle names and different social security numbers."Brown is represented by Jarrod Beasly of the Kuehn Law Firm in Belleville. He is seeking "an amount in excess of $50,000 for the damage to his reputation at work, at home and within his family, punitive damages and cost of this suit."

Child support appeal rejected

PIERRE - A Stanley County man failed to show a substantial change in financial circumstances in his bid to have child-support payments lowered, the state Supreme Court says.Three months after agreeing to $1,350 monthly support payments for two children following a divorce, Andrew Heiss asked to have his obligation dropped to $100 a month. He said his income had been cut and he had the children half the time. He said his position as assistant manager in a company that operated a farm for the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe had been changed to ranch hand.The Supreme Court unanimously sent the case back with direction that the requested cut in payments be denied.

The high court said Heiss had the burden of proving that he had experienced a substantial change in financial conditions because he had agreed to the original support order. He didn't do that, the court said.

Heiss :I would like to know where you get the information you print, the truth is the obligation to pay child support is $703 dollars a month. And I do have the kids half time , and My income had changed I already proved that in court .

No pay, no drive

Parents may lose licenses if they don't pay their child support...
Morethan 15,000 parents who are not paying child support are facing, losing their driver’s, professional and/or recreational licenses if they don’t payup soon. Letters from the Department of Human Services warning delinquent parents are arriving in mailboxes across Tennessee. The notices inform parents that if they are behind at least $500 in their child support and haven't made a payment in more than 90 days, they could lose their license(s). "We are absolutely committed to making sure children in this state receive their court-ordered support,” said Human Services Commissioner Gina Lodge. “Having a child means taking responsibility for that child, and it is appalling that so many parents men and womenare walking out on that duty. License revocation is awake-up call that works for thousands of parents who have been ordered,but are not paying their support.”There are more than 20,000 licenses currently at risk. Parents who face the loss of their driver’s, professional or recreational licenses include registered nurses, real estate agents, security guards, and teachers. How can you stop a income, then expect a person to pay? Right ot wrong, 2rongs don't make a right!

Revocation letters have been sent to non-paying mothers and fathers in every county in Tennessee, covering more than 4,500 cases in Shelby County,2,250 in Davidson County, 1,350 in Knox County and 1,150 in HamiltonCounty.State and federal law allows DHS, which administers theChild Support Program, to revoke the licenses of parents who fail topay their child support. The notices inform parents that they can prevent revocation if they contact their local child support office and set up payment plans, or repay the past due amount. Traditionally, halfof the parents who receive notices end up working with DHS to pay offtheir child support obligation. However, last year more than 7,000 licenses were revoked due to failure to pay.This year, data matches between DHS and the Department of Safety identified more than 18,000 driver's licenses of persons meeting the requirements forrevocation of their licenses. More than 400 professional licenses issued by the Departments of Commerce and Insurance, Health andEducation are also at risk. Approximately 1,200 hunting and fishing licenses will also be subject to revocation. In addition to the license revocation program, the Child Support division and its partners use enforcement tools such as administrative wage assignmentor garnishment, liens and federal intercept programs to collectsupport. In recent months, DHS intercepted 41,000 federal economic stimulus checks, totaling more than $24 million. There are currently 260,000 child support cases under court order in Tennessee. Of these, roughly 55 percent pay their court ordered support in atimely manner. For more information on the Child Support Program, visit the DHS Web site at state.tn.us/humanserv/cs/cs_main.htm

Ex-Coach Gets Probation For Repeated Fondling Of Student

Matthew Lindholm Must Register As Sex Offender

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. -- A former business teacher and girls basketball coach at Central High School in Grand Junction has been sentenced to five years intensive probation for the attempted sexual assault of a student.
Matthew Lindholm, 33, had pleaded guilty in July to a felony charge of attempted sexual assault on a child by a person in a position of trust.
He was accused of repeatedly fondling and kissing a 14-year-old girl in his office at the school between January 2007 and February 2008. Lindholm resigned from the district on Feb. 11, citing family issues. more

121 men in child pornography operation on the Internet

MADRID, Spain (CNN) -- Spanish police have arrested 121 men and seized millions of computer files in the country's biggest operation against child pornography on the Internet.

Investigators uncovered a worldwide network that was trading millions of files.

Authorities are looking at 96 others but they have not been placed into custody yet, Manuel Vazquez, the national police chief of the technology investigative brigade, Wednesday.
Eight-hundred police officers participated in the raids on more than 200 homes in most of Spain's provinces.
The operation was conducted in cooperation with federal police in Brazil, which uncovered a worldwide file-sharing network that was trading millions of files in 75 countries. more

Tenn. To Revoke Licenses Over Late Child Support

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The state warned parents delinquent on child support payments that they risk losing their drivers licenses, professional licenses and hunting and fishing licenses if they don't pay.

Tuesday a news release from the Department of Human Services said that letters were delivered across the state to parents who were behind at least $500 and hadn't made a payment in more than 90 days.

More than 7,000 licenses were revoked last year for failure to pay, and the Department of Human Services said there were more than 20,000 licenses at risk. The professional licenses in jeopardy of being revoked include registered nurses, real estate agents, security guards and teachers.

'They go to prison and still owe child support when they get out…and owe double what they originally owed.

The way the laws are written now, a felon who owes child support can owe more and face more jail time. I admit that the person should not have committed a crime, but they did. Now with the insane laws favoring the custodial parent, Since interest and penalties accrue rapidly, many former prisoners struggle under a staggering debt they will never pay off. Some return to jail because of nonpayment of child support. Others are re-incarcerated after turning to illegal activity to support themselves, because at low wage lawful jobs, 40 or 50% or more of their paychecks are garnished to pay the debt. The costs of these crimes and of re-incarcerating the ex-offenders vastly outweigh the puny sums states collect in back child support.
The amount should either stop the minute he gets incarcerated or debt should be paid in full when a sentence is given to the inmate. Doing anything more than that is setting the inmate up for failure.
Moreover, these debts often make it impossible for ex-offenders—many of whom are young mothers and fathers who were incarcerated for nonviolent drug offenses—to play a meaningful role in their children’s lives. And prisoners pay for their crimes with their time behind bars—these debts often amount to a punishment artificially extended beyond their sentences.

The new report, Repaying Debts, was commissioned by the Justice Department and produced by the Council of State Governments’ Justice Center. It makes some useful recommendations, including capping payments at 20% of an ex-offender’s income and streamlining the collection process…

Unfortunately, numerous legislative attempts to resolve the issue have been defeated, often through demagoguery. For example, in 2005, the California Assembly Republican Caucus helped defeat a modest reform bill, with one leading Republican Assemblyman explaining, “The state should never aid and abet a convicted criminal in avoiding child support.”

Fixing this problem has nothing to do with helping criminals. It instead acknowledges the obvious—parents who are unable to work are unable to pay. All of us want ex-offenders to return to legal employment instead of crime. The Justice Department's new report demonstrates that one important way to reduce recidivism is to end the child support system abuses these ex-offenders face.

S.C. court issues summons for old 63-cent child-support bill

S.C. court issues summons for old 63-cent child-support bill

Kathleen Threatt was summoned the court because she failed to pay child support in Sumter County, S.C.

Why is this news?

Because WLTX-TV says her 12-year-old bill totaled 63 cents.

"I had to apologize to the officer on the phone because I was

"I had to apologize to the officer on the phone because I was laughing so hard," Threatt, 45, tells the station. "It doesn't make sense."

Threatt's children are grown. In fact, she's now a grandmother.

The mother of T.I childern suing for more child support

The mother of T.I.’s oldest 2 children, Lashon Dixon, is suing Clifford for more child support. She says the current $2000/month she gets for both boys just isn’t cutting it and they need a raise. It is a recession peoples. According to the Associated Press, Lashon Dixon has been reportedly been receiving $2,000 a month for their two 7 and 8 year-old boys. Rather than demanding a specified amount, the 29 year-old is requesting a court to order a stipend equal to Tip’s financial success.

child support tax unfair for single parents

I'm a single father, and I've never received child support. Those who do get a check often pay for it in blood, sweat and tears. As a matter of fact I also pay child support as well and that's a battle I have trouble managing myself.
I consider myself one of the unlucky that I have that ongoing war each day. Single moms and dads often barely make ends meet -- especially in a county where the number of working poor rises each year. Raising kids is a two-person job, and paying for the little monsters often requires aunts, uncles and grandparents to chip in.
Now, the federal government is demanding that custodial parents pay a $25 yearly fee to receive child support. And guess when those first payments are due?
2007's is due in September. 2008's is due in October. From there on out, the annual fee is paid in October.

Parents are trying to scrape money to get their kids back in school. $25 may not seem like a lot, but it's a pair of shoes, a uniform, a backpack or lunch fees for the month for a child.
That's right. One child. Imagine if you're trying to outfit two or three.
And in a slap to self-reliant working parents, those who have EVER received cash or food assistance in any form are exempt, as are those who collect less than $500 in child support. Receive $501 per year in child support and you pay the fee.

Child support should be just that, to pay support for the child! This should not be an opportunity for the government to figure out ways to get extra money by any means possible...

ex-radio host gets 7 years for child porn

A former San Francisco radio talk show host and former Roman Catholic priest was sentenced to more than seven years in prison Thursday for distributing child pornography.

Bernie Ward, 57, pleaded guilty in May to one count of distributing child pornography. Prosecutors said investigators found dozens of pornographic images of children as young as 3 on Ward's home computer, including masochistic images of children bound and gagged.

"He traded in the currency of children's suffering," federal prosecutor Steve Grocki said.

Ward, a father of four known for his staunchly liberal views, hosted a nightly radio show until the station fired him when the child pornography indictment was made public in December.

A Stanislaus County woman who exchanged sexually explicit Internet messages with him called police after Ward sent her a photograph of two children engaged in a sex act.

She also provided police with transcripts of a conversation where Ward said he was aroused when his daughter walked in the bathroom while he showered, according to court documents.

"I find it extremely troubling that a parent would say the things he wrote in those messages," U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn Walker said before sentencing him to seven years and three months.

Ward's attorney, Doron Weinberg, had argued for five years, the mandatory minimum prison sentence. He cited numerous letters of support Ward received after pleading guilty and Ward's volunteer work.

Weinberg has said Ward downloaded the child porn for journalistic research.

"It's clear that it ended in a dark place," Weinberg said. "Bernie Ward is a good man."

Brangelina Eligible For Child Support

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are probably the last couple on the planet who needs monetary support to raise their children. But leave it to France to offer it as an option!

Because the Jolie-Pitts are now residents of Brignoles, they are now eligible to receive child support in the amount of $2600 a month. That means they would receive money for a nanny and be compensated for their children who were adopted.

A spokesperson for Brignoles Council says, "We do not discuss individual benefits cases. But can confirm that all resident local families with young children are eligible for certain benefits."

Let's hope they don't accept the offer! And if they do, they'd probably put it right into charity anyway!

Stimulus checks boost child support collections

Davidson County has joined the rest of the state in witnessing a jump in child support collections primarily because of payments from stimulus packages intended to boost the nation's economy, according to the Tennessee Department of Human Services.

During July, $5.1 million was collected in child support, up 11 percent from the same period last year in Nashville.


Judicial districts statewide collected a record-setting $530 million in child support for the last fiscal year, up from $508 million the previous fiscal year.

Of the state's collections, nearly $24 million came from economic stimulus payments, according to DHS.

Stimulus payments are diverted to child support if a parent is at least $500 behind on child support.

"It's been a really wonderful benefit to children and families of the state relying on child support," said Michelle Mowery Johnson, a spokeswoman for the Department of Human Services.

An intercept program allows DHS to divert economic stimulus payments, lottery winnings and tax refunds toward child support.

"This is helping to pay for the daily necessities the rent, the groceries, the mortgage, the new school shoes," Johnson said.

The stimulus payments provide short-term relief, and DHS officials said they expect the numbers to drop next month.

Davidson County performs better than many others in the state but is being included in a cluster that is targeted for performance improvement.

The county was one of four in the state that showed a slight dip in collection payments in the last fiscal year.

"I think last year was harder than most as far as the economy and the things that affect the collections for child support," said Charles Bryson, director of field operations for child support at DHS.

Easton man tries to pay support with pennies

Grant Trump says he understands why he has to pay child support but he didn't like the smug attitude he received from the support office in Caroline County.

The Easton man was turned away last week when he tried to pay his balance with more than $1,000 in rolled pennies after he was found by a judge to be in arrears.

He tells The Star-Democrat, "I was determined if I was brought to court for something bogus then I'm going to be bogus about it." When his coins were refused, he says officials told him they would get his money one way or the other.

Trump says a supervisor called him Friday and apologized for not accepting the payment. He plans to make arrangements this week to return with his pennies.

Yung Joc, Girlfriend Clarify Child Support Situation

Rapper Yung Joc came forward yesterday (August 18) to clarify recent allegations made by his seven-year-old son’s mother regarding late child support payments.

Speaking to Atlanta radio personality Ryan Cameron, Joc explained the existing arrangement between him and his son’s mother Fatimah Jester, just three days after she appeared on a local television news broadcast, Yung Joc was behind on child support payments.


“When I got on, I was only ordered to pay $114 a month because the courts couldn’t determine how much money I was gonna make,” Yung Joc explained during a live interview on V-103’s Ryan Cameron Show. “I was like, ‘What the hell is that? Who can survive on that?’ As far as it looked to them, I didn’t have a job. But I was paying more [than what was ordered]. And something came up one day, and she came to me and said, ‘I think we need to sit down and talk, because I need more money.

“My attorney got with her attorney, I think we did it in a cool fashion,” Joc continued. “We came up with an agreement: I was paying $2000 a month, I would take care of all his medical issues, expenses, extracurricular activities, anything to do with my son. And that was the agreement, and I never missed a payment.”

A few hours earlier, Jester contacted V-103 personality Porsche Foxx.

While she maintained that a discrepancy existed, she explained that Joc was not behind on child support payments, as had been reported on Friday (August 15).

The issue at hand, she said, was that the payments were not timely. Joc, born Jasiel Robinson, stated in his own defense that what his son’s mother is referring to as lateness is a matter of a couple of days, a delay that may simply be caused by how his child support payments are processed.

“I don’t pay it directly to her, I pay it through [the Georgia Department of Resources Office of Child Support Services],” said Joc. “My banker wires the funds to DHR, they wire the funds right to her account. However long that takes, she needs to discuss that with them, and not put me out there bad like that.”

While he says he is more hurt than angered by his former girlfriend’s actions, Joc did express anger at the media for exploiting the situation and jumping at the opportunity to paint him in a negative light.

In addition to reporting that he owed back child support, which Jester never claimed, the WSB-TV report pointed out only his previous encounters with the law.

“They brought up all the charges I been through,” Joc pointed out. “But they never brought up the fact that since I been on, I’ve contributed over half a million to charities and I do charitable work every week…you got cats out here who don’t even be with their kids. And it hurts even more because I am a black man…you born into this world as a black man, your back’s against the wall. So I’m trying to do everything I can to go against the odds that was against me when I’m born…and when you look up in the media at stuff like this depicting your character to be just what they stereotype you as, it hurts.”

Does child support change if another child is born?

If a person who pays child support has a baby with a new partner does the CS for the older child get reduced because the payer has to also support the new child even though new child lives in household with payer?
Unfortunately no, the child that is the last to be born is the one that really has the least of rights. It may not be fair but the Court always has the interest of the child who is getting the child support. There are many of children who currently suffer because a percentage of money is sent to another house hold. So the best interest of the child is bias.

'Wanted' posters help find parents

Every six months, a new set of faces that represent 10 parents "wanted for failure to pay child support" is plastered on posters displayed across Mississippi.

The Department of Human Services hasn't received much response from its latest poster. But DHS officials say the poster technique, used since the late 1990s, results in a minimum 60 percent success rate in locating the men and women.
Getting them to pay is a different matter. Some people don't have the money to support their children, said Walley Naylor, director of the Division of Child Support Enforcement.
"And some people will pay because they don't want their picture on that poster," he said. "It lets people know we're serious."
One thousand posters are scattered throughout the state at post offices, state buildings and child-support offices in each county. The poster also is on DHS's Web site.
To be pictured on the poster, parents must owe at least $10,000 and lack any information that would help locate them, such as a current address or employer.
"When these noncustodial parents don't support their children, taxpayers get the bill for their financial and medical support," the poster says. It names the parents and gives a toll-free number for DHS.
Nsombi Lambright, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union in Mississippi, said she's not sure if the poster violates privacy rights. The ACLU has protested statewide billboards that feature photographs of sex offenders.
"I'm sure resources can be used more effectively to help families and support the lives of children," Lambright said.
But Craig Robertson, a Ridgeland family law attorney who handles child-support cases, said he believes the posters serve as a deterrent.
"I think most fathers don't want to be considered a deadbeat dad," he said.
One woman is featured in the latest poster.
DHS announced last week that Mississippi received millions more in child-support payments over the last fiscal year because of more efficient collection methods.
Heavy caseloads prevent the state from collecting a lot more money.
DHS served 468,548 children during the fiscal year that ended June 30, and collected more than $264 million in child support. That's a $21.9 million increase over the previous fiscal year. About 65,000 families are getting some form of child support each month, up from 62,000 the year before.
About $800 million has gone uncollected during the last 20 years, Naylor said.
Mississippi uses a variety of methods to enforce child-support payments. Some of those include withholding income, intercepting taxes and unemployment benefits, denying passports and suspending driver's licenses.
"Most people pay, in my experience, without having to be repeatedly sued," said James Bell, a Jackson family law attorney who handles child-support cases. "There is a significant number who don't pay."
Sometimes parents leave the state or stop reporting income to avoid child-support payments, Naylor said.
Bell said sometimes parents can't afford to pay because they lost their job or business. And sometimes a rocky relationship with their ex plays a factor, he added.
"If you can get them to focus on the welfare of a child, most people say, 'I want to help my child, regardless of how I feel about my (ex),' " he said.

16-Yr.-Old To Pay Child Support

It's a situation fraught with so many twists and turns that if you saw it on a movie screen you might not believe it.
It began when a 19-year-old girl from the town of Lancaster, Ohio was accused of molesting a 15-year-old boy. Jane Crane was allowed to stay at the child's Columbus-area home when allegations surfaced that her stepfather was being abusive.
But something apparently clicked between the girl and the underage son of those providing her temporary refuge. She's since been charged with unlawful sexual conduct, after allegedly having physical relations at least twice with the underage boy.
So far, the story is somewhat sad, but not that unusual.
But here's where it takes an odd turn. The teen became pregnant as a result of the encounter and paternity tests prove the boy is the father of the little girl, who was born in late April.
Now a court has ordered the youngster to pay $50 a month child support, despite the fact the act that resulted in the child's birth was apparently illegal.
Crane, meanwhile, could face up to 18 months in jail if she's convicted, and that's now prompted the boy's family to try and gain custody of the newborn. The baby is currently living with Crane and her family not far away.
The parents of the now 16-year-old say that because of the allegations against the stepfather, they don't think their granddaughter is safe and they want to take her home with them. They're also outraged that a teenager said to be the victim of a crime has to pay child support.
The unidentified boy's parents claim their son is having nightmares and problems sleeping and that his life has been changed forever because of his naivete. His folks are hoping for a plea bargain to resolve the issue, even as the young mother awaits her own day in court this week.

So what is next a teacher molest a student 15 and she is 21; she gets pregnant and they expect the 15 year old to pay support, is that really right? I guess as a man he should have rapped it up?

Former basketball star Jason Caffey

A former NBA basketball star wants to back out of his own bankruptcy case, but lawyers for at least two of the seven mothers to whom he owes child support urge the judge to sell off his assets.

Faced with the threat of jail in two states, Jason Andre Caffey went to U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Mobile a year ago, seeking breathing room to renegotiate tens of thousands of dollars' worth of child support debts.

So what is sad is he was running around having babies all over the place and can not even pay for what children he has had. Although he could have got caught in the system where he has several courts that are not acknowledging what the other courts are implementing as orders. Creating mass confusion.

Yung Joc Sued Over Child Support

Atlanta rapper Yung Joc has reportedly been sued by the mother of his seven-year-old son over child support.
According to WSBTV, Fatimah Jester claims that Joc owes her $2,000 in court-ordered child support payments and has refused to stay in touch with her. She also claims the rapper's missed payments have made it difficult for her to pay bills.
“I never thought he would be putting me through some of the stuff I'm going through now,” Jester said. “I can't even get in contact with him for things for my baby...it's just hard”.“The type of money he makes, $2,000 is nothing,” she added. “[He] has all kinds of cars, Bentleys, Mercedes Benz, Ranger Rovers, two Range rovers”.
It does not matter if he has 10 Bentleys, the key is he has a child that he is not paying child support for. Regardless of the situation he has a responsibility to his child and if he does not value his child, then maybe he would value some time sitting in jail!