Letter from Maja Rater

Divorce, rising health-care costs or a sudden job loss or disability can shred the safety net. Some families might be one car wreck or medical emergency away from hunger.

No mentioning of nonsupport of children. When I was divorced we were doing fine. Not before the child support stopped coming did we have problems. When I confronted Governor Tom Vilsack about it I was told that "it is not Iowa's fault that you married a jerk."

Prior to Governor Tom Vilsack, Governor Terry Branstad told me the state was doing a great job (the song they are still singing with over one billion dollars owed to children and families in Iowa. $110 billion across the nation), and Governor Robert Ray told me that "it is not the government's problem. It is between husband and wife."

All these people who are wringing their hands in public telling us how concerned they are about the plight of the poor are the ones who are making sure that nothing changes for them as they need the plight of the poor to further their own careers, foundations etc!

I was watching Governor Chet Culver last night on tv beaming when he pronounced "Shawn Johnson Day" and it was a joy to watch. However, I could not help thinking that October is also child support month and no one cares about those children!! No mentioning of these children's plight. All those children who cannot do things they want to because of nonsupport.

What came to mind was my daughter having to return her trumpet because we could not keep up the payments (we had $136 left to pay and had paid over $1,600), and seeing her in the marching band with pants too short as she is very tall. No, my children never went hungry for food but went hungry for other things needed in order to participate in events they wanted to join--because of nonsupport.

I just heard from a mother who has a son who is nearly 17 years old. CSRU would do noting for her although she has named the father on the applications for FIP etc as was required by law. They kept on telling her they had lost the paperwork!! When she contacted me a few months ago ( I contacted the governor's office and CSRU) they finally got around to establishing a child support order and she received her first child support payment for $35 and she was ecstatic. What about arrears? No response from CSRU so I sent her to the Citizens Ombudsman because she does not have any money for an attorney. She needs to sue the state for this neglect. But who cares?

So what are you all doing that is meaningful and will make a difference in the lives of these people outside of wringing your hands in "despair" in front of a camera??

It is the responsibility of the governor to see to it that the laws of the state are enforced and in Iowa it is the law that both parents support their children. Nonsupport is even a felony class-D but in spite of the law being on the books for 25 years only one case has been prosecuted under this law (while thousands of cases qualify). As the Register Editorial states, in 1999, $826 billion dollars were owed to children, and now 7 years later, over one billion dollars is owed to children by parents. Yet every time child support is mentioned in the news (not often) Roger Munns, the mouth piece for Iowa DHS, steps up to the camera telling us "Iowa is doing a great job!!

Collecting on these orders would eliminate a lot of needs--especially hunger needs!! But who cares? Not the people in charge of enforcement, not the people in the media (except FOX News at Nine who is covering the second criminal nonsupport trial in Iowa's history. Thanks KDSM!)!!

Congress cut the funding for child support enforcement in the 2005 Deficit Reduction Act. Senator Charles Grassley and his republican friends in Iowa, Reps Tom Latham, Jim Nussle, Steven King, voted for it. All democrats and a few republicans voted against it. Since it was a tie and Vice President Cheney had to cast the deciding vote in the Senate I hold Senator Charles Grassley responsible for the passing of this bill in the Senate, which will make even more children not getting their court ordered child support (and medical support); besides having to pay $25 in yearly fees for the CSRU services. Bills have been introduced to restore the funding and eliminate the $25 fees (some states are absorbing this fee but Iowa is not among them) but where are the democrats now? From Iowa only Senator Tom Harkin and Rep Bruce Brayley are co sponsoring these bills (S 803, HR 1386). The cuts went into effect October 1st, 2007.

Maja Rater
Iowa