"Possible Drivers License reinstatement and/or waiver of a portion of past due child support"

Huh?  Is anyone else weirded out by this whole post?

Its a tarp!  I mean trap!

This is the kind of dialogue PDD is awesome for.  Sorry I got so nervous.  Thanks for the comments and corrections, etc.  

I do not work for child support and I am not a law maker so I am not the best qualified to answer questions.  BUT, I'll try.  

First in response to Chris ... the event is about honoring fathers and their contributions, in general. Not just non-paying non custodial fathers.  That is the minority of dads, even though if you are struggling with the pain of NOT having an active, involved, supportive father in you or your child's life it can seem like everyone is an irresponsible clod.  So ... the event honors all fathers, even if they have made mistakes.  

The point of suspending driver's licenses or jailing dads for non-payment/contempt of child support orders is actually to GET them to pay child support.  If they can come up with a reasonable plan to pay back arrears, and get current and HELP their kids then the state or county has an interest in doing whatever it can to facilitate that.  Sometimes that means giving people a break, like reinstating their licenses.  At this event, people will have access to some great information about all aspects of health and family life, they will get to meet a genuine superstar, Oscar Reed, and some pretty heroic, impressive kids (the UMD football Bulldogs) so this is not at all, whatsoever about just fixing child support problems.  Sorry if the posting emphasizes the negative over the positive.  My error.

For the record, I grew up with a non-present, non-active, non-paying, non-custodial father.  And it really sucked.  So for my own personal part I want to do whatever I can to encourage strengthening that father child, and father-mother relationship.  

But I can see how it seems counter-intuitive.  Thanks again for the thoughtful comments.

Thanks c-freak.

We are trying to help people.  And you are preaching to the choir when it comes to expecting that dads be responsible.  But all parents need a little extra help sometimes.  Moms and Dads.  And like I said, I know it may seem counter-intuitive, but we are not just flying blind here.  There is a great deal of research and other findings that support this strategy.  Including the more controversial child support mitigation efforts.   Most notably from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation (for ending Child Abuse and Neglect), the Center for the Study of Social Policy, and also fatherhood specific groups like the National Fatherhood Initiative.   I don't know how to post links in this box, but if you want to know more you could do a web search on those names and lots of cool stuff would come up.