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Pizza box pictures used to catch deadbeat dads

On behalf of The Walters Law Group, Ltd. posted in Child Support on Friday, November 16, 2012.

In Chicago, it can sometimes be a challenge to get non-custodial parents to make their child support payments. Recently, lawmakers in Russia came up with an idea to track down those who don’t pay to support their children after a divorce. Print their picture on a pizza box.

The idea actually comes from the U.S. One woman thought of the idea after realizing that ordering pizza was something the typical “deadbeat dad” might do, rather than eat out. This type of “humiliation” tactic has proven effective in many cases. Some reports show that unpaid child support cases dropped up to 30% when the tactic was used between 2007 and 2011. Still, there is some backlash from groups that say such humiliation is unfair to the non-custodial parents.

Whatever tactics are used to track down those who don’t pay their child support in Chicago and across the world, it is clear that many children are not given the support they deserve after their parents’ divorce or separate. When the task is left to regular law enforcement and social services agencies, those efforts often fall short.

Many times, those who are in desperate need to child support payments for their children seem willing to go to almost any lengths to get the money they need for their kids. Some non-custodial parents have a hard time paying because their financial situation has changed since their child support payment was set, In either case family law attorneys can often help parents negotiate a support payment that works better for everyone, even if it isn’t ideal.

Source: Time News Feed, “Russia Considers Printing Photos of Deadbeat Dads on Pizza Boxes,” Regina Wang, Oct. 24, 2012