"Texas uses private eyes to hunt deadbeat dads"
Excerpt by Scott Baldauf,
Staff Writer, The Christian Science Monitor, August 31, 1998. Used by
permission.
As Texas' top official charged with chasing down deadbeat parents, Casey Hoffman
learned the limits of government. His caseload, at roughly 1 million cases a
year, kept growing. His budget, in the era of tax cuts, didn't.
His solution? Leave government, start a private company, and lend the state, and
citizens, a helping hand in obtaining needed child support.
"The state has done a good job, but there's just too many cases for them to
work," says Mr. Hoffman, walking through the warren of gray-flannel cubicles of
Child Support Enforcement Inc.* CSE* is able to hire more investigators to
handle its caseload. "The people we're serving are the people the government
doesn't have the resources to help."
Over the past two decades, the notion of giving government functions to private
companies has increasingly lodged itself in the American political conscience.
The evidence is seen in everything from private trash collection to jails and
charter schools.
It may be too early to measure the success of all this outsourcing, but one
thing is certain: The period of experimentation is just beginning.
"There's a lot that can be privatized," says Susan Orr, director of the Center
for Social Policy at the Reason Foundation, a libertarian think tank based in
Los Angeles. In government, she says, "the simplest task becomes complex. But
private companies, they have a bottom line. They have to perform or they won't
get hired."
For the most part, state officials in Texas have been grateful for the help of
companies like CSE Inc.* "Obviously, with 1 million cases out there, we don't
have the resources or staff to move cases as quickly as CSE*," says Ron Dusek,
spokesman for the Texas attorney general, who is responsible for prosecuting
deadbeat parents. "But there will always be a need for government," he adds,
especially in tougher cases where paternity must be established or a parent
doesn't earn enough to pay support.
The 33 percent fee is worth it, because without [CSE*], I'd be getting nothing.'
- Ex-wife of deadbeat dad
CSE* can take such action because a court order already exists for the parent to
provide child support. This means that any asset, from real estate to cars and
even driver's licenses, are fair game. Even bankruptcy isn't an escape. "That
just makes it easier," says Thomas. "That means he has no bills to pay, and our
client is first in line" for what's left. Since it is a felony to flee child
support of more than $5,000, she says, "If push comes to shove, we will push
them to the wall."
Anita Carter can vouch for the effectiveness of CSE.* For 10 years, she didn't
receive word or payment from her ex-husband, but it took CSE* only one hour to
find him.
"We lived without child support for 10 years, but I worked two jobs, and we
managed," says Mrs. Carter, who manages a self-storage lot in Austin with her
new husband, Steve. "Finally, my son had seen ads on TV [for CSE*] and he felt
it was time for his dad to acknowledge him."
The result has been well worth the 33 percent fee that CSE* charges for back
child support, she says, noting "without them I would be getting nothing." For
one thing, the child support means that her son, Robert, now can afford the
clothes and sneakers he wants. But perhaps most important, Robert has begun
developing an on-again, off-again relationship with his father.
* CSE Child Support Enforcement now offers its services to families as
Supportkids.
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