Why Not a Problem-Solving Court for Child Support?
“Throw the deadbeat in jail; you’ll be surprised how fast money will appear before they ever make it across the street to the jail!” These are the all too familiar words that have echoed for years from the child support courtroom. Jail may be a quick “fix” for some “fast money,” but history tells us that the problem of non-paying parents and the same excuses and reasons why they don’t pay, or better yet, won’t pay, exists in every county and state across the nation. In the next few paragraphs, I am going to tell you how the Wake County judiciary and IV-D Child Support Agency have changed the world of child support court in Wake County through innovation and problem-solving. I have spent the majority of my 12 years on the bench presiding in the child support courtroom in Wake County, North Carolina. Although it was a fluke that I ended up in this courtroom (I was the junior judge and volunteered for the job), it has been the most remarkable time in my entire judicial career being able t
