California keeps millions in child support while parents drown in debt
Advocates say California places low-income and minority parents in debt by garnishing child support payments and imposing high interest rates when they fall behind.
Credit: Photo by Anne Wernikoff, CalMatters
Stacy Estes in front of his home in Sacramento, Calif on Wednesday, April 7, 2021. Photo by Anne Wernikoff, CalMatters Author: Kate Cimini, CALmatters Updated: 9:09 PM PDT May 3, 2021
CALIFORNIA, USA
This story was originally published by CalMatters. Lea este artículo en español.
Half of Stacy Estes’ pay disappears every month before it hits his bank account. Each check is about $500 lighter than it should be, intercepted in the name of child support which he wouldn’t have a problem with, if it were going to his kids.
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Half of Stacy Estes’ pay disappears every month before it hits his bank account. Each check is about $500 lighter than it should be, intercepted in the name of child support which he wouldn’t have a problem with, if it were going to his kids.
Instead, only $225 goes to his children. The rest is garnished to repay government debt he began accruing more than two decades ago when he first got behind on child support payments.
The 53-year-old man owes about $47,000 in child support debt, most of which is compounded by years of government-imposed interest, according to financial records reviewed by The Salinas Californian and CalMatters.
April 30, 2021
Stacy Estes in front of his home in Sacramento, Calif on Wednesday, April 7, 2021. Photo by Anne Wernikoff, CalMatters
Half of Stacy Estes’ pay disappears every month before it hits his bank account. Each check is about $500 lighter than it should be, intercepted in the name of child support which he wouldn’t have a problem with, if it were going to his kids.
Instead, only $225 goes to his children. The rest is garnished to repay government debt he began accruing more than two decades ago when he first got behind on child support payments.
The 53-year-old Estes owes about $47,000 in child support debt, most of which is compounded by years of government-imposed interest, according to financial records reviewed by The Salinas Californian and CalMatters.