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Child
Support Reform Needed Now It is time for a complete overhaul of the child support program in Illinois. In fact, it is long overdue. A recent study by the Chicago Appleseed Fund For Justice and the Chicago Council of Lawyers found that the state program that serves more children than any other except the public school system is doing an abysmal job. "
But statistics tell only part of the story. Legal assistance advocates, legislators and government employees are bombarded with complaints about the child support program. Customer service remains an elusive concept and too many parents -- both mothers and fathers -- don't have confidence in the current system. This embarrassment must stop. Unfortunately, these problems are not new. In 1998, we released a report produced by our Child Support Panel, chaired by retired Illinois Supreme Court Justice Seymour Simon. The report identified systemic weaknesses in the Illinois child support program and outlined potential solutions. But that 1998 report triggered little improvement. The child support program remains fragmented, with more than six different agencies handling pieces of the job and no one taking overall responsibility. Parents, children and advocates are equally frustrated by the system's utter inability to provide straight answers to simple questions. In 2000, Chicago Appleseed and the Council set out to discover why Illinois is one of the worst states in the country when it comes to child support collection and enforcement. We interviewed dozens of parents, lawyers, government officials and child advocates. We observed court hearings at the Cook County Circuit Court. To fully understand how and where the system is strong and where it is weak, we provided legal representation, counseling and advice to custodial and non-custodial parents on child support matters. We also collected and analyzed data from child support programs in 11 other states. Our efforts produced more than 80 concrete recommendations for improving the child support system. But at the heart of the matter is the need for a child support agency that will provide all child support services seamlessly and, to whatever extent possible, under one roof. We propose such an agency for Cook County. Moreover, customer service must become a priority. All consumers using the state's child support program must be able to get accurate information, and they must be able to contact a specific go-to person if there are problems. We call upon the Executive and Legislative branches of Illinois government to commit the time and resources necessary to put these proposals in place. Now is the time to change things. The new governor -- whoever he may be -- must put reform-minded administrators in charge of an agency dedicated to child support reform. And that agency needs to fix the system now, for the sake of all children in Illinois. Malcolm
C. Rich |