Photograph by Richard McCulley
I’m a child support recipient as well as a payee. Long story but my oldest child lives with a paternal aunt. I’ve fought and fought to get her to live with me but unfortunately, I’m done fighting. Why? Because she’s going to be 15 soon, and she has been brainwashed about me.
So, every time I get paid, the State Of Maryland takes some money out of my check for the support. Where it goes, I don’t know. I don’t know if my child is benefiting from it or not. All that matters is I’m doing what the court told me to do.
I waited to file my taxes this year because ever since November of 2008, I was receiving notifications from the State of Virginia that I was behind in support payments. Each time I get a letter, the amount has risen. I have been contacting them every month since then, only to have no one return my calls. So, I have had to rely on my worker here to handle it for me, and she told me in a letter just 3 weeks ago that the situation was remedied, so I filed my taxes.
Even though I waited two months longer than I usually file my taxes, The state of Virginia intercepted my tax refund. They took over $2000 and left me with a little over three hundred dollars. I called their call center again, this time irate, but I kept my cool while I was on the phone with the call center. She took my message and phone number and she then informed me that I probably wouldn’t get a call back since I was not their client. Later that day, I finally got a call back. I was told until the State of Virginia spoke with the State of Maryland to verify I was not in arrears here, they were going to be keeping my money.
Luckily, later that day, I received a call back from the worker in Virginia, who told me that she had verified that I wasn’t in arrears here, and as soon as they received the money, they would send it back to me. The catch? It could take up to 30 days for them to receive the money, and another 6-8 weeks for me to receive it.
Meanwhile, the support I receive is consistently late and is only current after tax season. Matter of fact, I’m currently owed $400.
The child support system in this country is broken and needs to be fixed. What I am highlighting here is completely unacceptable. I did my part, and contacted the proper people to remedy the situation 6 months ago. Nothing was done about it. Also, there’s a stigma that goes along with anyone who pays support – if you’re a non-custodial parent, you’re a deadbeat. This couldn’t be farther from the truth in my case, but I am still looked at like a deadbeat mother, even though I’ve spent most of my daughter’s life fighting to have her live with me, while raising two other children. I’m a single mother who’s been to hell and back, but still perseveres so that my children can have a good life, or at least a much better one than they would have had if I had kept on the road I was on.
What amazes me is that to be a child support worker in the State of Maryland, you at least need an Associate’s Degree. I know this includes at least three credits of Psychology and/or Sociology. Where is the child support workers’ compassion? I only see/feel it when I call about the money that is owed to me, not about the case that I am referring to here.
I advise these workers to stop assuming and treat everyone with respect. They do not know the person’s situation nor do they care. What ever happened to the Golden Rule? You know, treat others how you want to be treated? That’s what I expect when dealing with anyone, much less representatives of the state that I’m paying taxes to.
Related articles by Zemanta
- Suburban mom a savior for hardluck families (cnn.com)
- Mom stands between families and homelessness (cnn.com)
- When do you stop supporting your children? (blisstree.com)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_b.png?x-id=586c7355-bde3-49c1-805c-35e383560804)
