By Dan Craft
Vickie Caldwell keeps doing the math. That $15,579 would go a long way toward paying for her daughter’s first year at Drake University.
The court system ordered Caldwell’s ex-husband to pay child support more than a decade ago when the two divorced. As daughter Avery prepared for prom and high school graduation, Caldwell had given up hope that she would ever see the money.
“Class rings, senior pictures, money for college. There’s a lot of things she’s going to miss out on because of this,” Caldwell said. “Despite two court orders, there’s simply no good way to enforce them and force him to pay.”
Caldwell isn’t the only parent in a similar situation. Money that could cover everything from baby food to braces, diapers to doctor visits, baseball mitts or dance lessons, goes unpaid. And it’s big money: $56.52 million worth of back-owed support in Benton and Washington Counties alone.
The Child Support Enforcement Office of the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration tracks 6,425 cases of owed child support in Benton and Washington counties, said Dan McMullen, office director.
The parents ordered to pay the money — most are men, but about one in five are women— owe an average of $8,400 in Washington County cases, $9,300 in Benton County, according to data provided by McMullen.
The lowest amount owed is 3 cents; the highest, $163,595.
“This isn’t by any means a complete list, either,” McMullen said. “These are just from the cases enforced by our office. There are other court-ordered arrangements and private agreements as well.”
When those agreements aren’t honored, it can affect the finances of both the recipient and the payer, said Mike Witte, a counselor at Credit Counseling of Arkansas.
“We examine a lot of cases based on what the client is telling us. If they’re receiving regular payments, even small ones, we’ll work that into their budget. If they aren’t getting paid, we won’t include that money,” Witte said. “For those who owe, we either figure it into their monthly expenses, or we deduct it from their monthly take-home income if they’re getting payroll deducted.”
As of November, $108 billion was owed nationally in unpaid child support, according to a figures obtained by CNN. Half was owed to parents who had to fall back on public assistance without it.
Federal figures compiled by the National Women’s Law Center, a nonprofit group, show 41 percent of single mothers are below the federal poverty level. Among those, the divorced or single mothers who receive child support payments get 45 percent of their income from that source.
Like many cases, Caldwell’s agreement involves a single child, McMullen said. However, 85 percent of support cases involve parents that were never married. Cases involving divorce are more likely to involve multiple children, while single-child support is more common among never-married parents. Less than 1 percent involve adopted children, he said.
Attempts to find a phone number or other contact information for Caldwell’s ex-husband were unsuccessful. Contact information for him wasn’t included on open court documents, which were reviewed for the particulars of the case. Records including contract information kept by the child support enforcement officer are sealed.
Child-support decisions depend on a mix of state guidelines and case-by-case factors, said Mark Lindsay, a circuit judge in the 4th Judicial District, covering Washington and Madison counties.
“Every case is unique, but the guidelines are pretty clear as to what exceptions or alterations can be made,” Lindsay said.
The guidelines, set out in an administrative order by the Arkansas Supreme Court, base support on the income of the noncustodial parent. The percentage increases with the number of children supported, up to five kids. Those guidelines can be modified based on a number of factors, including shared custody, expenses for childcare, medical, educational or other needs, insurance, trust funds or other financial arrangements, the income level of the custodial parent and the child’s accustomed standard of living.
The majority of those behind on payments owe $5,000 or less, according to state data. Those amounts account for 3,403 of the 6,425 cases in Benton and Washington counties, according to figures. Another 1,080 cases show between $10,000 and $20,000 owed, while 770 cases show more than $20,000 in arrears. Twelve cases — seven in Benton County and five in Washington County— had crossed the $100,000 mark as of May 1 when the data was compiled.
The enforcement office averages about an 82 percent collection rate on active cases, McMullen said. There are 206 cases in the two counties where enforcement has been suspended because the debtor is incarcerated, he said.
“These numbers change literally every day,” McMullen said. “As a whole, though, they’re reflective of our usual trends.”
Many of Witte’s clients have simply given up hope, although he tries to refer them to the state enforcement office when possible.
“A lot of folks don’t pursue options for collection. They’ve resigned themselves to the fact that they’ll never see that money,” he said.