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Fed. welfare reform laws & indiv. States' implementation of it...

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D

Deranda

Guest
Under Title 42, Ch.7, Subchpt.IV, Part D of Fed Law, the individual states are mandated to recoup cash assistance benefits from child support monies paid to children in households receiving assistance, to repay the Fed. treasury, with allowance for the States to also recoup payments to their own treasuries out of the children's Court ordered support. This law, in and of itself, appears to infringe upon the rights of the children to their own support. Shouldn't the recoupment of benefits be collected, not out of the children's monies, but demanded from the absent parents? And is it lawful for the State to demand a parent hand over $350/mo in Court ordered support paid for the past 16 years in exchange for a monthly food stamp benefit? My family was sanctioned, not from the cash benefit, but from receiving a measely $36/mo allotment of food stamps because I refused to hand over my children's only means of non-governmental support. (Call me stupid, but to me it seemed an insult to my intelligence to tell me that I could keep the $36 of food stamps every month only if I agreed to hand over to the State my children's support!...Of COURSE! I said, "NO WAY!!!") First of all, I thought that when a judge ordered an ex-spouse to provide child support, that those monies rightfully belonged to the child. I thought parents were responsible for their children's support. And I've never read anywhere that it was required for food stamps to be "paid back"...I can't work. I have two severely medically disabled children (the ones who receive the Court ordered support) and even lost a home-based business I started because it is simply impossible to keep up with all their medical appointments and work, too. Believe me, I WANT to support my kids! No local atty will help me work to get the laws changed. How can I get ANYONE to help me defend the children's RIGHT to their Court ordered support? How can I ever challenge this law and fight for its repeal (on the Federal and State levels)?
 


J

jmsull

Guest
Child Support and Food Stamps

Deranda:

I work for the Federal agency which manages the Food Stamp Program. Through my duties I have some knowledge of child support payments, AFDC/TANF, etc.

Food Stamp benefits are calculated upon the income received by the household monthly. These benefits are not required to be paid back from future income (unless there was an over issuance in any particular month). Therefore, the child support you receive is not being demanded for the purpose of repaying the food stamp benefits previously received.

Child support payments are required to be turned over to the appropriate state agency when the household has received, or is receiving the old "welfare" check, i.e., Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF, formerly AFDC). This is because in effect, the state is advancing a household cash assistance in lieu of child support payments. If there are never any support payments made by the father of your children then you are not required to pay the TANF back

You stated that two children are severely disabled. Have you looked in to SSI?.
 
D

Deranda

Guest
jmsull, the two children who rec'v court-ordred support DO rec'v SSI. My third son, whose father has never paid support is the ONLY child who rec'vs TANF. I was told the other two children's support MAY be used to recoup TANF paid to their half-brother and that was the reason I was told to withdraw my family's food stamps application, because I wouldn't let the STATE steal my two kids support to pay for benefits their half brother had rec'vd, and the CSE couldn't promise that the State wouldn't use their support to pay back the other child's TANF...thanks for letting me know what I already knew...that what they did to me was bull****!
 

racer72

Senior Member
Any money recieved from almost all federally subsidized programs, such as AFDC, TANF, etc., are called grants, not gifts. In theory, this money in a no interest loan. The last 3 years I paid child support for my son, my ex received only $85 out of the $880 payment I made. The rest went to towards her grant. Then to top this, last year my ex won $5000 in a Colorado lottery. When she went to claim her prize, they deducted 28% for taxes then gave the rest to Washington state towards paying off her grant. Technically the money you receive in support is yours, not your childrens, that is why it would be used to pay back all of your childrens grants. Does not sound fair to a lot of folks but there are politicians that would cut everyone off of all government support. I would suggest writing to your federally elected officials and tell them that the laws are unfair. This won't work if they have an "R" after there name though.
 
D

Deranda

Guest
racer72, i've done that already...(d) or (r) it doesn't matter!

What would help is if dads like you and moms like me could get a petition going to get their attention... you can help by contacting organizations of fathers and getting them to help you in your area to get a petition going. Politicians (d) or (r) don't give a rats'*** about women who can't work because they're taking care of sick and medically disabled kids like mine...but if dads got into an uproar too about all the suport their children aren't getting...well, maybe THAT would make a difference...yes, the law does need to change, but only we working together can make that happen!
 

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