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Butler County has led the state in the number of parents incarcerated for not paying child support the past two years, but court officials say it’s an outcome that creates a “vicious cycle.”
Today, 37 Butler County parents are in state prison for not paying child support, second only to Clermont County, which has 41 inmates. In 2011, Butler County led the state with 51 parents imprisoned, according to state records.
Court officials admit the county is aggressive in prosecuting “deadbeat” parents, but said more is being done to get them help so their children don’t suffer.
“Once they get out of prison, what we’re finding is they can’t find a job because now they have a felony on their record. It doesn’t matter to employers whether it’s a non-violent felony or a violent felony,” said Butler County Domestic Relations Court Judge Sharon Kennedy “We routinely have guys get of prison and go through the civil contempt side of this because they’re still not paying their support because they can’t get a job with a felony on their record. It’s a vicious circle and it’s a vicious cycle.”
To be convicted on a felony non-support charge and be sent to prison, a non-custodial parent has to miss payments for 26 weeks out of a consecutive 104-week period, court officials said.
Assistant Butler County Prosecutor Lee Oldendick said many parents believe the law allows them to miss 26 consecutive weeks and then they can pay a little bit of their obligation.
“A lot of them could save themselves possible prosecution if they just faced up to the fact they have some economic issues and say ‘I gotta address my obligations to my children now’,” he said. “They need to go in and give what they can and try to get an adjustment.”
Kennedy said she can make adjustments to parental child support obligations if the parties can prove there has been a 10 percent swing in income.
Melissa Shough said she understands the “vicious cycle” created when a parent is sent to prison. Her ex-husband was sent to prison in November 2010 for not paying child support. Ryan Shough, who could not be reached for comment, spent six months in prison and still owes $11,500 in back support.
Originally, the domestic relations court ordered him to pay $50 a month because he was jobless. Now, he is supposed to pay $187 a month.
“When he first started working from home, my checks were like $14, no lie,” she said. “And based on the hours (he was working), I once got a check for 32 cents. I couldn’t even buy a stamp with that.”
Frustration with her ex-husband, the courts and the process have ruled her life, she said.
“I didn’t really feel like the courts listened to me,” she said.
Shough’s plight isn’t rare, according to Oldendick. He had one case where a father owed $110,000 to the five women he fathered 13 children with.
Butler County Common Pleas Court Judge Noah Powers, who runs the specialty felony non-support court, said there are many good reasons to aggressively pursue parents who don’t pay.
“People come out much better parents, active not only in financially supporting their children but in all aspects of their lives,” Powers said.
Butler County is implementing a new diversion program. If wayward parents participate and successfully complete the program — that includes job training, substance abuse programs and other assistance — a felony conviction is not put on their records.
Powers said the diversion program works with local businesses to convince them to hire non-support parents with criminal records.
“There are so few times these people have had success in their lives when you tell them congratulations on completing a program or completing felony non-support court, you can just see on their faces a beam of pride they have never before expressed in their lives,” he said.
Ray Pater, executive director of the Butler County Child Support Enforcement Agency, said his agency has lost a third of its staff through attrition over the past five years, but it still has been successful in collecting child support.
“Child support is often kind of pushed aside, but really we are one of the driving forces,” “If a child is well supported there’s a lot less chance for abuse, there’s a lot less chance for people going on public assistance.”
Butler County topped the 10 metropolitan counties in the state last year for average dollars collected per case at $1,988 and a total collection of $57 million in calendar year 2011 for 28,774 cases. Felony non-support collections were just over $1 million last year. Warren County has had similar success, with an average per case collection of $3,267 in 2011. The county handled 12,100 cases and collected $39.5 million in calendar year 2011.
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