Family Forum / Parenting / Parenting / November 2006

   Years ago, when the Virginia Division of Child Support Enforcement was
introducing a new enforcement technique (suspending the drivers licenses of
"parents" who were supposed to be behind on their child support) they made a
big public relations deal out of the fact that the first person who had a
license suspended was a mother.  Did she owe the money to the father of her
child?  That wasn't explained.  I think it much more likely that she owed
the money to the state, which had custody of the child, or perhaps to some
foster parents.  But the main thing was to find a woman who supposedly owed
the money.  We were then supposed to think that finding such a woman
indicated that the system wasn't grotesquely biased against men.

   I feel sure that if the Virginia DCES ever finds a woman who owes child
support to the father of her children, they will put up a statue of her in
front of the DCES offices.  Hell, they should give her a cash award, because
it would be such a PR boost to the agency.