For activist Kenya, Rahmaan who received child support transformed her into an activist determined to abolish the child support system. She calls government-ordered maintenance payments a modern debtor’s prison. A person who does not pay child support can have their driver’s license, professional license, and passport revoked and be jailed indefinitely until they pay any arrears. Judges can set a payment for “presumed” income, not what the dependent parent actually earns, which puts fathers into a devastating cycle of incarceration. And if they manage to pay off debts, the fines and high interest rates are withheld by the state and do not go to the custody parent.
Rahmaan’s story began as a young mother when she applied for welfare. Little did she know that this would result in one of her exes being sued by the state for child support payments. However, the child benefit did not go to them, but the state used it to repay the money that the state had spent on welfare. The state kept any money in excess of their welfare benefits.
Kenya Rahmaan teaches families about the child benefit system with her book The Child Support Hustle … [+]
Kenya Rahmaan
“My ex was struggling to pay child support and he was locked up. I had to appear at his hearing and the judge asked me if I wanted to rescue him or stay in prison. I said I wanted him to be released, ”Rahmaan said. “It was then that I realized that I had too much power over another person just because we had a child together. I immediately started trying to close the case. This seemingly simple task took eight long years. “
The difficult experience of closing the case encouraged Rahmaan to learn more about how the system works and what can be done to change it. She did her Associates Degree and worked her way up to a Masters in Human Resources. Along the way, she immersed herself in the Child Benefit Act and wrote the book The Child Support Hustle, which turned into a social media platform and website.
Child support is the only debt you can incarcerate for failure to pay as it is seen as a contempt … [+]
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“With the Child Support Hustle, I wanted to educate people about how unconstitutional the system against non-imprisoned parents is, as the debtors’ prison was abolished over 100 years ago. I want to teach people how to cut jobs and get rid of debt, ”Rahmaan said.
Rahmaan has helped parents remove thousands of dollars in fraudulently charged arrears from accounts and end cases through social media and dozens of town halls. What motivates them are the children who suffer from the child benefit system.
Kenya Rachmaan, founder of the Child Support Hustle, works for families involved in the child … [+]
Kenya Rahmaan
“Child support can prevent fathers from being in their child’s life,” Rahmaan said. “There are many fathers who turn to me and don’t understand why they have to pay child support when they can’t see their child. These fathers are often punished without due process for missing child support payments. However, a mother can refuse any contact or communication between father and child and has no legal consequences as the courts do not enforce visiting instructions. ”
Men can also be declared biological father, although he is not. Many states have a statute of limitations to counter this claim, but many men serving in the military or raising a child they believe belong to them do not timely deny this claim. One of the most notable cases is that against Carnell Alexander. Without his knowledge, he was named as the father of a child on a social application. He later proved he wasn’t the father through DNA testing, but the state of Illinois still expected him to pay more than $ 30,000 in child maintenance arrears as it did after the statute of limitations. Rahmaan filed a complaint with the Federal Office for Enforcement of Child Support (OCSE). The case was subsequently dismissed and any arrears were cleared.
“My main complaint is that the child benefit system is a welfare restoration system,” Rahmaan said. “It punishes parents for their low incomes, and more than half the nation refuses to pass on child support collected to these vulnerable families.
Workers routinely ignore even the most basic of guidelines, such as an obligation to hold a hearing or offer other safeguards before issuing a warrant for disobeying the court, and lawmakers are silent. For jurisdictions to use debtors’ prisons in 2021, even after they were abolished since 1833, is a violation of due process. Failure to pay is a contempt of the court, and if a person is held in a contempt of the court because it is a civil method, they have no right to counsel. Even if that person can end up in jail.
“If child benefit is abolished, it should be replaced by an expansion of wealth and tax credits for children. I support the new proposal under the Biden administration. Currently, custody parents must work with child support to receive TANF and Medicaid benefits, ”Rahmaan said. “The child benefit system is harmful to children and fathers and needs to be at least profoundly reformed, or at most completely abolished.”
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