About childrenSupport is an obligation

August is not only the start of school, it is Child Support Awareness Month. I'm sure you have all heard stories about dead- beat dads, but there also are dead-beat moms. Both should be ashamed of themselves.

Although child support is a moral as well as legal obligation to your child, it is arrived at through a legal process.

First, a relationship between the parent and child must be established. If a couple is married at the time of a child's birth, the husband is presumed to be the father. If the parents are not married, there can be a voluntary acknowledgment by the father through completion of the Acknowledgment of Paternity Affidavit.

If the parentage of a child is contested or in doubt, either parent may request the CSEA conduct genetic testing to determine the father. For a paternity order to be established, the test must show at least a 99 percent probability of fatherhood.

After paternity is established, a support hearing is held to establish a support order for the child. Establishment of paternity refers to the legal determination of parentage only. It does not determine the child's last name. If the mother has not agreed for the child to have the father's last name, the father must go to court to have the name changed.

Testing through DNA to establish paternity is available at any time before the child's 23rd birthday. The amount of support a parent is required to pay is determined by using the Ohio Child Support Guidelines.

If the parent who owes the child support doesn't pay, the state has a number of ways to collect. Income withholding is the best, and most frequently used. Personal earnings, workers' compensation payments, unemployment compensation benefits, pensions, annuities, allowances, private or governmental retirement benefits, disability or sick pay, insurance proceeds, lottery prize awards, any form of trust fund or endowment, lump-sum payments, assets in a financial institution, or any other payment in money are all considered income.

There also is the Tax Offset -- the collection of state and federal tax refunds for child support. The CSEA can report the support debt to the credit bureaus, invoke professional license suspension, increase the amount of income withholding to pay arrears and get a seek work order.

Failure to comply with a child support order can lead to contempt of court charges, fines and/or jail time. Federal law can be used for criminal nonsupport charges. In certain instances, possible penalties include imprisonment for up to six months and/or a fine, and mandatory restitution of the unpaid support obligation.

But the question is why would you not pay your support? You don't owe child support to your ex, you owe it to your child.

All too often child support is used by one parent to control or punish the other. If you have been ordered to pay child support, remember this is not about you and your relationship with your former spouse/partner. If you are the custodial parent, let your ex see the children. If you are the noncustodial parent, pay your child support. This is about providing for your child.

Bev Theil is a child advocate in Wayne and Holmes counties. She can be contacted at [email protected].