Make real fathers pay support
Florida has found another way to save money: Make men continue to pay child support to kids who aren’t theirs.
Tampa police officer Michael Anderson took his case to the Supreme Court and was told he had to continue to pay $8,000 a year in child support to someone he didn’t father. State lawmakers realize that if all the men who weren’t the fathers of children to whom they’re paying child support stopped, the state would have to find millions of dollars to give to mothers not receiving support.
Anderson married his ex-wife, Cathy, when she told him she was pregnant with their son. A year later, they separated, and two years later, Anderson learned he may not be the father. He had the child take a DNA test, and the results came back negative.
Still, the state is making Anderson pay child support. Anderson suggested that the state require the mothers to find the real fathers and make them pay. After a set time, if the mother couldn’t or wouldn’t locate the father, she would no longer receive state assistance.
This idea is practical and helps the mother, the man once paying the support and the state. Not only will the mother and child still receive needed money, but the man who isn’t the father is let off the hook, and the real father is forced to take responsibility for his actions. Further, the state doesn’t have to spend any of its money on these mothers.
State legislatures need to seriously think about Anderson’s suggestion, and then implement a new law that uses the process.
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