Part 1
Mr. Scroggins says that most people would say 100% of their income goes toward supporting their children, he would say that but any honest parent knows the new cars they drive or fancy clothes they wear or trips they take etc. etc. etc. is not money spent to support their children. A child needs the basics, a home, food, clothing and the one thing Mr. Scroggins fails to realize the love and nurturing of both parents and the extended families.
Women ask for equal rights, they deserve them! So why can a mother choose to kill her unborn child if she chooses and that is accepted by the legal system but if a man does not want a child. he only has one choice, keep his pants on, the woman has many from birth control to abortion to adoption.
The system of child support enforcement is not an equal system in this state. Only in Buchanan county is it designed to set non custodial parents up for failure from the very beginning.
Get behind just a little and they suspend your driver's license. It isn't impossible to work and not drive but it certainly doesn't help.

Part 2
Another thing, while child support enforcement is quick to take a man to court and set payments they don't at the same time give that man any rights to custody or even visitation.
If he wants those rights he has to hire an attorney to represent him. If he is having trouble paying support how can he hire an attorney?
What our prosecutors and child support enforcement are doing to the children of this county should be considered a crime in itself. Something needs to change and it needs to change soon. Anyone who feels the same way I about the need for change please email me at Joolsrus@aol.com

Well bless their little hearts. Boo Hoo...They have kids and actually have to provide support for them. Baby Daddy is a cool term nowadays..that stands for deadbeat sperm donor that we have to take care of the product. While I feel sorry for a fraction of the single dads out there trying to support their children and getting a raw deal, I have no such emotion for the deadbeats that don't. Don't want to get behind on child support?? Don't get caught smoking crack and stay out of prison. What..you think we are supposed to support them??

And what people spend thier money on like fancy cars and nice clothes is none of your business, they support their kids..get over it.

I don't care who spends their money on fancy cars and nice clothes, it is just when someone says 100% of their income goes to support their kids it is BS, so you get over it.

And no I don't think tax payers need to support them. My main complaint is not about the support that is ordered when a couple gets a divorce. In most of those cases both people decided to have a child. What I think is wrong are the women who sleep around then expect our tax dollars to support the child and also pay to take care of the men in the prison system.
They say it costs somewhere in the neighborhood of $13,000 a year to house a prisoner. Do you want your tax dollars wasted by putting a man in prison for the crime of being unable to pay the amount they set forth?

I think if the father is doing all he can then that should be good enough my ex is behind but he is doing all he can and the ex wifes have to remember the ex husbands have other bills also too just like them. I know one ex wife that has a new boyfriend living with her and helping her pay bills and she works also she has 2 sons 5 yrs old and 8 yrs old and the ex my in law pays for insurance on them and child support never behind but he has to live on a little over 200.00 a week after they take out for all that does that seem fare no plus he has them every other weekend and he spends on them and so many weeks in the summer but she still gets the money and ask for more.

Hey "whatthef" what the f does your posting have anything to do with the content of this article. Let me break it down for you, this article is about struggles of paying child support in general. Not about whether or not the cops suck or every given chance the court is about who you are not about why you are there, and yes I as a former citizen of St. Joseph love the SJPD some of finest people i know work there, but by the tone of your posting you probably know them better than i do.

There are a lot of young men in this town that have multiple children with multiple young women. It is like a game, let's see how many "Baby Mama's" I can have. They run around paying nothing while we are paying for these women to have the children and for all the medical and food, which these jerks come and eat. These women get on housing and these guys move in and so we pay for that too. There are some that do not live at one particular house they "visit" all their "baby mama's. I know girls that are pregnant at the same time with the same "baby daddy" and they are cool about that. OK maybe I am old but the women of my day would not have put up with that crap for one second. These young girls need to wise up and quit being sperm banks and have some respect for yourself because these guys have none for you. And then these women will go down to the court and sign off child support they think they are the special one and all he did was play you and he is on to the next "Baby Mama". Child support is for helping raise the kid it is not a bargaining chip.

The Remark Mr. Scroggins expressed that most would say 100% of there income goes to supporting there children must be a question answered by women collecting support thru his office. ( this comment does not apply to all woman as some are true cases.) The ones it does apply are milking the system and riding life in style. Its said that a divorce means a 1/3 increase in supporting the child's cost of raising. How does one justify "squealing" she needs more money while vacationing in Florida and seeking a time share in a Branson Condo while living with a paroled prisoner buying ATV's and decorating his home? that keeps telling your children your a "dead beat". Its also questionable the tatic's used By child support recovery to collect support more than the laws itself, most certain the investigators failure to "investigate & do there job"! stroke of the pen an there there job looks good to Mr. Scroggin's and your on your way thru a trip of hell and attorney fees to prove your innocent.. with a low paying job what success rate do you have in that? To much power in the hands of the hands of these individuals and need to be put into check there bully.lying,intimidation practices that not a single collection agency can get away with except there unit.Also they need to be a bit more careful who they are teaching "class 101 on how to steal & make a get a way" over at the YWCA. They just make a crook a better prepared crook to do so.Yes,fine to those you have verified so! not the ones sitting there lying thru there teeth cause they want sympathy and attention to "boaster" there "I'm the victim" story for the courts and everyone to see while getting away with there activities.And for those who wish to attack this comment are you the one who is bearing the cross here? No your not but your "two cents" will be read.Your not wearing the shoe and only adding your pathetic opinion. Don't judge everyone as "deadbeat".

Is Dwight Scroggins divorced? Does he pay child support? Would he pay 100% of his salary to his ex-wife to support their children? I don't think he'd pay even 50% of his salary.

Dwight is not divorced and is married to a wonderful gal. In fact, he is lucky to be married to her. I think he would voice the same sentiment.

What do I want to pay for?? You in prison or your kids?? NIETHER. Boo Hoo..I have kids..what am I supposed to do?? If you got a crappy divorce settlement, get a better Lawyer. If you have kids...support them..Period.

The example in the article said he was brought back from Colorado 3 times on warrants. What...just tell him thats ok, we will pay for it??

If your in and out of prison like a revolving door...do you really give a crap about your kids in the first place??

I am happy Mr. Scroggins is married to a wonderful woman.
Also add perhaps that statement was meant that if came down to so meaning One would sacrifice the food from there own mouth to feed there children since he further stated " it should be #1 priority upon being released". As for the person in this article Who Mr. Scroggins stated he has issued warrants three times for his return for failure to support I can relate there must be a problem on the behalf of the person and not Mr. Scroggins and his staff. Very well the 100% remark is a mistaken quote or so.
Also I wish to add that Mr. Scroggins is doing his job enforcing the laws and judgments handed him by the courts. I disagree with how his staff is handling the matters weather he is aware of the practices or actually his demand for production & results is the main cause for there actions in enforcement. the issues I mentioned previous as per how the woman conducts the spending of Child support is not within his control,rather the courts. Some ask for what they get by simply not wanting to comply with what is the issue, supporting there children. The need for reform is an issue that relates to this article and out of Mr. Scroggins hands. What is in his hands in investigating the underhanded tactics used by his staff. There appears to be those within the staff that enjoy the power of there actions and opinions and willingness to be a deadbeat and do there job correctly.. investigate and act accordingly.

The article pertains as well to the needs of reform of the system and laws. The chosen party in this article is just one example and appears to be one side of the fence. The content of the articles point was not to protect him rather the reform to protect those who are trying and thrown into his circle.

Perhaps this article was not the best for fathers day.I have two amazing children that I surely would die for.I have met several men that ofcourse love their children,but found themselves in a failing relationship with the mother.They take no pride in thier predicament.To say its about bragging rights,and "babys mommas"is simply ridiculous.There are men who stumble in life and dont have a care about who they hurt,turning thier backs on those who need them,but for the most part most of the single fathers ive met, work thier asses off to make ends meet,paying crazy amounts of child support.They face ruination,based on poor decisions made in their youth,but are still willing and able to face the reality of their situation.

They don't go after everyone i have a deadbeat dad who never paid a dime and never did jail time.
i have a friend who is in jail they say he has paid up back support took every dime he had including income tax he is still sitting there while his current wife and child are not doing so well he lost his job over this.he is not perfect but he was trying. your right buchanan county dosen't care it's not their family's being torn apart.
they always go after the ones who are trying why not go after some of these dead beat dads i know quite a few of them. when will buchanan county get it right?

I really think the laws on child support should change cause some guys really make good on payin child support but it may not be the full amount my husband pays and has a wage withholding and they still get him back to court every so often threatning jail and he really really tries unlike my ex who gets the loophole of ssi and has not paid nothing or required to pay anything for 3 kids to help out. and they need to start understanding that the economy sucks right now and jobs are scarce they need a little grace period

I think we need a complete investigation of the Child Support Enforcement division and the prosecuting attorney's office. It seems to be a joint conspiracy between them to turn any non custodial parent into a criminal, or more specifically into a felon.

There are many other remedies that can be used to try to enforce child support orders. Civil contempt is the one that makes the most sense. Maybe they don't realize the extent of damage they do to peoples lives or maybe they just don't care. And I don't mean only the harm that comes to the people that are prosecuted, I mean all the other innocent people whose lives they destroy when they send someone to prison for something they cannot help. Do you really think these people would choose prison if they had the money to pay to keep from being locked up?

In the entire state of Missouri, Buchanan is the only county that enjoys making felons out of people for the crime of being poor. We have a population of 85,998. We had 846 felony convictions in 2007 and 610 in 2008. The only county anywhere near that many felony convictions was St. Louis county with a population of 1,016,315. Their total felony conviction were 779 in 2007 and 938 in 2008. Green county with a population of 240,391 had 29 in 2007 and 22 in 2008.

I didn't choose the problem I encountered. Paid my support & enjoyed my children all along. Don't confuse "enjoyed" meaning I don't have to raise my kids at her expense and that is a benefit. I would rather they be right here at home and raised right! My problem came as a 'work lay off' and due to the nature of my work and a past injury I couldn't get a sole to hire me! they pretended to care and interested in hiring me but always passed me over or returned a call after.
They always said " whats your problem?" tell them the truth and they would reply " You should be on disability!" those folks say I am not eligible and I whole heart agree ! but all I gather looked at me as potential danger to there business in ways of suits or errors. Was not given a chance to prove my ability to work and perform. Yep there are laws to protect a party from that type of treatment! yet you are shouldered with the burden of proof that they did so against you! ( near impossible to do ) mean while racing to defeat poverty here I was dragged in front of the court with recommendation to toss me away! Thank heavens for the understanding of the judge it didn't happen and with his decision I have the opportunity to prove my intent and avoid a felony charge! So I don't buy the judge is going to throw people away that don't deserve and will stand up and hold there situation. his job is to sort who is telling it true from false. But the prosecution don't always present the truth and in light of the actions or how they arrived at the evidence! They are severe at not returning a call and just as severe to threaten you as well as employers !
equally as well as lying,threats of deception to manipulate there way! When an employer is threatened as well as having to let you off work to go fight back then your faced with his decision there has to be someone better to hold your job that is less hassle. suspension of a commercial drivers license I see is ok if the parent is with proof not making his payments is just cause.. not that if crossed in the mail and they "POUNCE" causing you lost wages and potential being fired. Perhaps the issue be resolved if they were accused of this conduct an put out of work with the burden to prove there was a misunderstanding or actual cause for the accusation. without pay of course and no warning of a potential problem. They don't care for this then perhaps they might take a moment and think before they "beat" the drum. I don't ask for a single favor on the matter, just the chance the reform stop the abuse dished out with such eagerness disrupting my life and work. As well as tired of being labeled a deadbeat and badgered.. There is no dignity in standing over to the Food Harvest as done that one time and swore after I left will eat bark off the trees before I ever go Back! but did so my kids could eat while with me for summer weeks!

One can NOT get blood from a turnip. This whole child support issue has done NOTHING but keep people poor, in prison, and families in poverty. At the same time think about all the people that are employed by the county and state earning liveable incomes with benefits attempting to manage child support. I always hear the line, it is for the children. Well then I would think county and state employees would volunteer their time and efforts in helping the children. Also there are "cultural" issues involved in some of these cases. The courts need to become uninvolved, and let the social workers and welfare system deal with these children born in non traditional family units. Someday when the tax dollars STOP to fund the family court circus, then we will see how concern everyone is about the children.

There is absolutely no debtors prisons anymore, right? Wrong this is what it is in a nutshell but it looks so good for DS on his record and if you don't think he means what he says just talk to him and you will hear the BS.
I'm sorry but there are lot's of men out there trying hard to supply money and health insurance but can't even live themselves. All parents should take care of their children. In this day and age there is absolutely NO reason for a woman to get pregnant but to some of them it is a great way to make a living. You say that if the man isn't paying child support we are? Well we pay for low housing,schooling,food stamps and the lists goes on for some of these women. Then we pay for the person to be put in jail?
It isn't working! It seems it would be better if the county would put these people to work instead of putting them in jail. For all you guys out there use protection! For all you gals out there use birth control, problems solved.
There is nothing the courts do to try and help the father. The money they spend to keep them as prisoners could be spent helping them with rent,food stamps and finding a trade as they do for the women but they are making some very angry people and that's not a good thing for all of us out here. If Scroggins would do as much for the drug problems we have in this town as he does about child support we would have a really clean town.
I knew of one gal that had so many names on a list so that a DNA test could be ran to see just who the child's father was, that's pretty low life. I do realize that NOT all women are guilty of this kind of behavior. But there are SO MANY that are. Also, most of these men cannot have any contact with their children because the power is in the hands of the women. In my humble opinion this problem is 99.99% a womans fault for getting pregnant in the first place! The courts say it is 99.99% the man's duty to pay, pay and pay.
Wonder when Heartland Health will start getting people put in jail for their debts? Between HH and child support that fills alot of space for the News Press. As an old woman who's father came back from WW11 and decided he didn't want the 3 of us, my mother didn't get one penny and we never starved, went naked or any of the horrible stories you hear and you didn't have all the welfare etc. in those days.
So, as the old saying goes "You made your bed lay in it" All of you WISE UP

well it is like this. I have had custody of my daughter since she was 4 months old. After many trials and tribulations, I had to move out of Buchanan County to prove to the state that I had custody of my daughter and put her into another school district did they believe me that I had her. You see AFDC paid her Mom too well. She got housing, food stamps, etc. But did not have the daughter. When I finally got enough money to hire a lawyer to get custody and get into court, the court awarded me no child support. Said she was not well enough to get a job, she is on disability, no support. Well my brother who had a good job found out he had a daughter who was 11 years because the mother lied to afdc, hit him up for 11 years back child support. Now trying to catch up from that is nearly impossible. He / We as a family have seen the child 3 times in our life. He has been in jail 4 times because of this and every time he gets a good job the issue is ordered to take child support out of his check he is soon arrested and put back in jail losing his job. The court have refused to lower the support order from the original order because he is making half the money he was making when he found out he had a daughter. I have had my daughter since she was 4 months old and now she is 17 years old, my brother who has seen his daughter 5 times in his lifetime owes $12000 and she is married living in Kansas and her mom gets money that afdc has paid her for. The system is BROKE.

On top of that my wife lost our 5 year old daughter because of legal problems, her ex husband went out and bought a new jaguar when he was awarded custody. But you know what is funny, when a person is working falls behind on child support, When they are paying and still go to jail, How is that V. unemployment. If you read the article you know what I mean.

Amen 22softball amen the system is broke and it's not going to be fixed any time soon. Especially by the clan running the show at the courthouse. They want to set people up for failure right off the bat, they want to be able to have people put in jail. That's what keeps the prosecutors office funded, when they can say look at all the delinquent support we are collecting. If I am not mistaken at 1 time or another DS boasted of having the best support enforcement office in the state in terms of child support collections. Now that can be a good thing or bad which ever way you choose to view it.

To Expand on my earler post, my daughter's mom was not well enough to pay child support but she was well enough to see her every other weekend, at my expense. I had to drop my daughter off at 6pm friday and pick her up 6pm sunday. The court sysem is broke. You get more time in jail for owing child support than selling crack to kids. I moved to St Joe finally to offset my gas expense.

Dwight Scroggins, or Laura Donaldson, make more money than 85% of the men that they send to jail, How many women go to jail for owing child support than men ????? What's wrong is this... When they are sentenced to jail the child support still adds up and when they are are released they are arrested or brought into court for not making child support payments.

I wish the News Press would do a more in depth story and ask for stories telling how the way Buchanan county handles child support cases has impacted peoples lives. But and this is an important BUT they need to be able to remain anonymous. I understand that might make the stories somewhat less credible but if one speaks out publicly against the prosecuting attorney's office they must be ready for possible retaliation.

By the way Myself and my brother, we are identical twins and our cases totally are parrlel of each other. I understand on both ends...

i have asked and asked that scroggins office be investigated, not only about the way they handle child support, by the melinda, who is head of cs here, makes a good chunk of change, she also worked for scroggins in his private practice. i used to work there, and i KNOW what goes on. but in this town u see, the media is too afraid to do any real investigative reporting, reprucussions u know. political little county we have here. and as long as it is the truth, there should be no problem, but dwight makes the rules, and no one wants to break them. i know someone who has went as far as to contact the attorney general's office and the govener, but u get the same ole reply, thank u for contacting our office. the statements they make regarding we don't threaten anyone, which if i am not mistaken one of the local attorneys brought out isn't true, they do it every day, it's either do it their way, or we will make sure u go to prison whether u are guilty or not. mr. scroggins quotes are, everyone in this courthouse knows who has the real power here, o and another one, we are the prosecutor'soffice, we have more power than God, and it's a no brainer. groovy.

Here is a link to a complaint form that can be used to file a complaint with the Deputy Director, Child Support Field Operations http://www.dss.mo.gov/cse/pdf/cse4.pdf
Maybe if enough people sent a complaint at the same time they might look into the actions of Child Support Enforcement and the Prosecutors of Buchanan county.

For the people who have never had to deal with this process, don't think for a minute it could never happen to you. What Deb2007 said is true, Scroggins thinks he is GOD here in Buchanan County and until something is done to put him in check no one is safe. I know you are thinking the people he deals with have had to do some type of criminal activity to be in that situation, but there is the problem,they overcharge many crimes and the idea of innocent until proven guilty is not true. Once you are charged you either hire an attorney and even if you prove yourself innocent you have spent thousands of dollars to do so. If you can't afford an attorney at all, you get a public defender. But because of the the overload of cases they get, due to the way the prosecutor's office handles cases they are too busy to care about the people they are appointed to defend.
We as citizens should be more concerned with what is going on in our local government. Nobody wants thieves, drug dealers, child abusers, sexual predators, murderers and rapists running loose, but our courts and prisons are full of non violent offenders, who have found themselves caught in a never ending cycle of abuse of power by the people we think are there to protect us.

Here is a "no brainer" for you as well. While fighting with the people I contract my work thru to with hold money from my settlements! repeated told I am an independent and not there responsibility do do so (withholding) they threatened to march straight to the office and arrest him for not complying! He simply ( well not so simple as he was hotter than a firecracker!) he gave the investigator directions straight to his desk an expected his arrival with 30 minutes! At the same time Jefferson City collections all of a sudeen mailed back my my check and informed be my check had bounced and could no longer pay by personal check! I check with my bank to see what happened and was informed there records showed positve balance and no outstanding/unpaid or returned checks. So see what appears to be another tactic for forcing with holdings I since then just use money orders ( suggestion do not use the cheap C store money orderss,, use walmart,bank or supermarket chains money orders as in retrieving data the cheap ones can take you up to six months to verfiy !) Down the road my daughter attempted to use a personal check of hers with over $2,000 in her account to make the payment. Check was returned and informed the same thing! saying her check was no good ! she was furious and called Jeff City. they hung up on her. So where does it stop ? won't as long as the wolves are allow to control and run. Reform is need and certain the departments shown they are not above the law.

It's not just Buchanan County that has this problem. It's all over the state. after my divorce I was making less than $30,000 a year working a Full time job and a part time job, but was still required to pay over $500 a month for my daughter, provide insurance, pay half of any medical bills, as well as half of the daycare. To make things worse, actually getting to see my daughter was near imposable. Although I had a divorce decree that stated my visitation, if my ex didn't want me to see my daughter she wouldn't show up at the designated time. I would notify the police, but they could not enforce the decree due to it being a civil matter. I ended up taking my ex back to court and won my case. She was found guilty of 24 counts of contempt of court for violating the decree and 2 counts of perjury. What do you think happened to her? Not a damn thing. They judge said that he couldn't send her to jail due to it would be detrimental to my daughter. Unfortunately, when I had lost my job, and fell 3 months behind on my child support, my ex took me back to court and the same judge said that if I couldn't bring my child support current that I would be escorted from the courtroom and placed in custody until it was caught up. The system's not broke, it doesn’t exist.

I agree the system is broke. I also have had many experiences when my ex wife would not be home at the time I was supposed to get my daughters for visitation.I would call the police & I also was informed there is nothing they could do it was a civil matter. I was not behind on my support. To me this is wrong if our Prosecutors can enforce payments, they should also have to enforce visitation & or all parts of the court order.Why is everything except support payments civil? We all know the reason more money for lawyers,& the courts. I believe if it is a court order all of it should be enforced. It also hurt my daughters when my ex would pull this. The children should be 1st in all cases,not just support.

i do agree that the prosecuter's office is run amok. it is really ignorant to throw someone in jail for not paying child support when they can't make any money in jail. each case should be presented on individual merit. scroggins cannot simply present false evidence before a savvy judge, and judges who buy the story that every single "deadbeat" is guilty are just as pernicious as scroggins.

yes, non-custodial parents get raw deals here all the time. but let us not forget the dad who sits in a bar , smokes dope openly in the parking lot, steals appliances from his landlord, and flaunts his complete disregard for his probation. if the non-custodial parent is proven to be in complete violation of parole and flagrantly disregarding his court orderred probation, then that person deserves to get his tail thrown back in tank. comments that most people would do anything not to end up back in jail are inacurrate. yes, many will lie, cheat, steal, and threaten to stay out, but not stop drinking, drugging or philandering...... additionally, a mother who is shacked up with some loser and tries to stick it to their child's father is just plain devious. the court will re-visit the amount of child support if the non-custodial parent can document that they have lost income. again, the flip side of this is the parent who goes to any length to hide their income so their children suffer.

the system has to figure out that there are multiple angles and issues to each individual case. this is why i no longer believe in the death penalty. the system is broken.

I agree with heritage. In my experience I have never been behind in my support payments, I know plenty who have been. Each case is different, it could happen to any of us. The one's who gets hurt are the children. They love,want,& need both parents,putting one in prison can devistate a child. I still believe that a court order is a court order & the police,& prosecuting attorney should have to enforce all the court order. I do not understand why support is the only part that is criminal,all else is civil. I do pay my support & I believe every parent should,I also believe when it is your court ordered visitation that is your time to bond with your children,if your ex does not hold up to her end she should be prosecuted after all it is a court order.

dont get me wrong, i believe male or female, you need to help support ur children, however, i don't believe the non custodial parent should be left with soooo little that he can't do things with his chilren, like take them to a show every once in a while, got to the movies etc. HOwever, i don't and really never have approved of the way mr. scroggins or his office go after people. the indivicual who states there is no debtors jail any longer, except when it comes to child support, this isnt a debt, it is an obligation that person took on when they had unprotected sex with a member of the opposite sex. so i agree with throwing them in jail, nope, seems kinda silly, then they not only have to pay the child support but also room and board, etc. i would rather that money went to the child. another thing that irks me is, allowing these mothers to waive child support cuz they don't want anything to do with dad. it is not the parents right to waive child support, sorry folks, this is for the kids, put it in a trust, whatever. that would be groovy

that was a little incoherent, sorry, what i meant to say is when these men go to prison, or got to jail, even if they are on work release the first people that get paid is buchanan county, the money is taken out of their check for room and board, if any is left, it goes to child support. i know thru a friend. now, that doesn't make much sense, these people are in jail, on work release to pay for child support, hmmm, does something not seem right here? they end up being even more in arrears even tho they are working. quite honestly, this whole county needs to be turned upside down on it's ear. we need fresh blood in the pa's office and in our so called political system.

Deb2007, on most of the issues here we agree, however it is exactly like a debtor's prison. The issue isn't the child's welfare, whether the child is being provided for is one thing but I know for a fact that even when a huge amount is paid the man is still sent to prison. As for mothers signing it off, if they have custody and that is what they want to do, it should be allowed, even encouraged. If given a clean slate it might encourage the man to try even harder to stay on top of the support. If the child is not and has not had to do without then to me that is the important thing.
As for not having unprotected sex, yes that is true BUT as a woman, you know if one of you get pregnant it isn't going to be him so it is your responsiblity to take care of your own body.
I know of one instance where the woman had 4 men tested before it was determined who the father of the child was. By that time the child was 2 1/2 years old and all of a sudden this man is a father to a child he never knew exsisted, a result of a one night stand.
Why just because he was stupid enough to sleep with such a loose woman should he be the one punished by the courts?
He is in prison, his other children neither have him nor the support he could give them, his elderly, disabled parents do not have him to rely on, the state is paying $13,000 a year to keep him incarcerated and she drives a nice car, owns her own home along with her live-in boyfriend and the child no longer has any contact with the man nor his family.
So basicly he is sitting in prison because he had a one time sexual encounter without protection. Yes unprotected sex is a stupid thing but it shouldn't be a felony.

DMS2007 I totally agree with all that you have written on this subject and maybe someone will replace DS someday? Also, we talk about DS but these judge's are as bad about a closed mind. You almost have to have F.Lee Bailey for an attorney to even get in the court room. It's like they can get O.J. off faster than a person can get in to see or talk to a judge here in this town.
I just can't understand why each case can't be taken without any prejudice and make the system work for these children? Also, would like to know why everytime I see a women have to pay child support it's a meger amount but if it's a man then take everything. In case no one knows there is no set standard or set amounts for child support and I always wonder why one child isn't worth as much as another child. There should be a set standard, I would think. One child, two and so on but NO! Just the roll of the dice and it doesn't make a bit of difference if the person that has to pay has a job at $5.00 per hour or $100.00 per hour? Except I might add for one person in the last month who has to give almost $2000.00 per month for one child and $5000.00 per month to the ex. well guess they will do well but heaven help him if he loses his job he would probably go to Leavenworth!!!!!!!!!! This is a DEBT but if it seems better to call it an obligation that's fine but, debt and obligation is the same with child support, you owe you GO AND GO AND GO ........ TO JAIL, TO JAIL TO JAIL

Deb2007, you must be on the receiving end of child support. You say about child support "this isn’t a debt, it is an obligation that person took on when they had unprotected sex with a member of the opposite sex". So your credit card bills that you pay every month should be considered an obligation and not a debt? You chose to take that card out of you purse and use it. Child support is both a debt and an obligation. I feel the courts need to be fair and exactly what they are supposed to be "blind". Unfortunately, they are not, women paying child support, if they do, do tend to pay less than men. Also, I’ve never seen a woman go to jail when violating a court order by denying visitation. Like I said before, my ex was found guilty of 24 counts of contempt of court by violating our divorce decree, and 2 counts of perjury. After the trial was done she continued to deny my visitation. We went back to court a month later for her sentencing and what do you think was done to her? Absolutely nothing. The judge told her she needs to start following the court order and he didn't what to see us back in front of him again. I've learned that it doesn’t matter what you do, the man is screwed. I still pay my child support to stay out of jail, but I haven't seen my daughter in 6 years, due to her mother denying my visitation and the cops won't do anything about it. I try and call my daughter, but ironically, when I leave a message it is never returned or when they are home the machine won't pick up. Gee, sounds fair to me.

DMS2007 ur right, however i have a friend whose son was with this girl and she said oh yeh i am on birth
control yadda yadda, guess what, she wasn't, that i why i say it takes 2 to tango. he didn't want any more children and shouldn't take a woman's word, especially one that isn't real honest, which he realized a little too late, now this family is just aboslutely in love with the newest addition, unfortunately dad is strapped for cash. as a woman i do know that we have a lot of control over those types of issues. However, i don't agree with not paying child support at all, if the custodial, male or female, parent wants to write off an amount of child support, that is fine. if she is on state assistance she cant. but this money is for the children, their care, not anything but that, and that includes, home, food, clothing, etc. putting this money in trust would allow a child to maybe be able to go to college, or whatever. an amount can be agreed on, doesnt have to be what the worksheet says, it can be an agreed upon amount. some of the non- custodial parents can look into parents fair share. i think the laws should be different, and i believe the distrust in the prosecutors office hinders a lot of discussion where the parents could work out an amount that is suitable for both.

OKAY, we may not all agree with everything each of us think but we all agree that Child Support Enforcement and the prosecutor's office is not doing any favors to non custodial parents, nor their children by the way they now handle these cases.

I know the men and women who have been put through the hell of prosecution are afraid to speak out publicly because you know how the system works and to speak your mind only puts a larger target your back but if you are will to share your stories, even anonymously please contact the writer of the original article. Ahmad Safi can be reached at ahmadsafi@npgco.com. I have written to him and he is willing to try to get his editor to allow him to do an in depth investigative article but he is going to need some of us willing to speak to him, before he can begin to understand just how bad it is.

I have always wondered if in todays day and age it were possible to have a written pre-copulative agreement. By that, I mean that two people who wish to enter in to a physical relationship who are not married to one another can have a legally binding contract that would limit, prohibit, and detail every aspect of the relationship. I don't know if it would work.....but I'll bet that women might not get pregnant as much if there is a legal clause signed by the woman in their agreement stating that the guy owes nothing if she does. And, vice versa in terms of if a guy would pay a fixed amoutn etc.......just food for thought. No clue if it would work or hold water.

gocubbies, no dont receive child support, know people who do and people that pay. as far as not seeing ur children, there are motions u can file with the court. no one, i mean one, would keep my children from me, if i had to file a motion every month and represent myself. i don't know ur situation, but u need to speak with an atty there r things u can do. and no, the police cannot get involved.
Okay everyone, lets just not stop with child support, lets go for the gold. anyone, anyone who has had any dealings with the prosecutors office which was not quite above board, contact ahmad, lets not stop there, dfs, child custody juvenile court. let's bring it all out in the open. show that there needs to be change in this county with our "elected officials" and yes i know how it is, for atty's that have a crim practice, rock the boat, your screwed, go to the paper and say, look he is charging someone with a misdemeanor, however if they don't take the deal the pa's office is offering, they are going to up it to a felony, u won't get any deals at all. and by the way, that is standard practice. there is safety in numbers, however be ready to prove or show proof of your allegations. remember the truth is an affirmative defense.

Deb2007, you are absolutely right, it all needs investigated. My soap box has been the child support issue for so long, that I sometimes forget just how bad the entire system is.
The sad part is only the people involved are aware of the way things are handled and the average citizens see only the arrests and court records as reported in the News Press. I'm sure most people believe, as we all once thought, they do their jobs protecting us from the criminal element. What you learn once you become involved in the system is, with enough money in the right hands or the right contacts, you don't have to answer for any crime. But those who can least afford it are used as examples which on paper makes law enforcement as a whole look good.

Innocent until proven guilty and due process are non existent. The treatment of the people incarcerated and those who care enough to try to visit or take in clothing or money is uncalled for.

Yes, Deb2007, a total investigation of all aspects of St. Joseph / Buchanan County law enforcement is long over due.

The system needs revamped that is for sure. Those making the rules need to put themselves in the others shoes. I imagine it is hard for them to relate to those who have less than them. Sending non-custodial parents to prison does not help. The person sent to prison has a stigma of being a felon and then when they get out, it is very difficult to find employment. The children suffer, cause they have to be without that parent and their relationship then becomes strained and you have at-risk-youth.

Judge each case on it's own merit. Make and or help the non-custodial father find employment, let them atleast show that they are trying. Some don't get that it is a responsibility and for those who don't get it, then maybe a little time in jail will help, but don't label them a felon, cause that doesn't help anyone.

The jails and prisons are overcrowded now and reentry is a big issue, especially in big cities. Have a little empathy for your fellow man and don't judge them for not being able to pay child support. Usually a lot of factors are involved (economy, lost job, health).

We convict people for not paying their child support. Then we turn around and give limited employment opportunities to most of these "cons." When they do not pay, we jail them and their child support obligation continues to grow. Sounds like a vicious circle to me.

well from previous experience, my guess is your brother owed a specific amount to the state, that cannot be written off. it has to be paid. end of story. u haven't indicated why ur brother got so far behind. or why he hadn't seen his child more. Child support, child visitation and child custody are all different issues.

I don't understand why anyone would support a man who doesn't support his children. I know a 30 year old man who has two children by two different women. He pays absolutely no support to one and very little to the other one. He took the one mother to court to lower his payments only to find out he was paying over $100 too little. He gets good jobs only to quit after a few months to avoid paying his child support. He is ordered to have his employer take the payment out of his paycheck, but only has them take 1/2 of what the state ordered him to pay. He bought a new double cab pickup only to lose it a few months later to a DUI. He remarried last year and now has a third child! The one mother in the meantime works full time and part time to pay the bills. He was on probation twice only to have Judge Taylor tell him to try harder and send him on his way. Now he owes over $4000, makes NO payments and is no longer on probation. Nice guy!

Our whole system is screwed up. If your female & for any reason have to go in front of Judge Taylor you have it made, he is all smiles, polite,you have no worries. A male he cuts short, is very rude. I also know people who have stated that our prosecutors will threaten you with trumped up charges if you don't agree to the plea bargain they give you. It don't matter if you are innocent try to fight them you will end up in jail. Yes we need to overhaul the whole system starting with getting rid of Dwight Scroggins. There should be a term limit on a job that gives anyone that much power. DS has total power in Buchanan County. Most of our judges are fair & honest I can only name 2 that I always hear is all for the women,& DS controls them.

caseyjones, you may think you know the whole story of this man, and you certainly know more of it than I do, but are you sure all of the information you gave above is correct? First, from the cases I personally know about he would not have had a driver's license so not only would he have gotten a DUI, he would have gotten a driving while suspended. Secondly, the amount taken from one's check is not a requested amount the order is for the full amount up to 55% of a mans gross wages.

Buying a king cab truck would also be difficult because when you are behind on child support your credit rating is ruined.

It is not a matter of supporting a man who doesn't support his children, it is a matter of common sense. I was a single mother, without ANY support from the child's father and while it would certainly have helped, I believed then like I believe now, a woman's body is her own responsibility and if I had not wanted that child I could have prevented his birth by several methods. I wasn't raped and when I consented to unprotected sex I knew what could be the result. Their was no mistake that if one of us were to become pregnant it would be me. I think women would be a little more selective with who they sleep with if they didn't know the courts would punish the men if they didn't pay up in the years to come. Maybe I'm warped, but I see men being forced to pay for "sex" as the courts being pimps for loose women.

Most of these statements are not about children born from a marriage or even a long term relationship, but the ones where the women sleep with any male that drops his pants then wants him prosecuted, put in prison and cause pain and suffering to not only him but all those who love and care about him.

No it is not the child's fault. but lets quit punishing men for women's choices. The courts would do a much better service if in these cases they tried to initiate a relationship between the man and the child instead of just issuing a court order to pay support and not addressing ANY visitation or any other involvement. That man has only one job in the eyes of the courts and that is make payments to a woman for at least 18 years. The judges don't give a damn if he has any contact with the child just as long as he pays the money.

This man is very tricky, he lives in Kansas so his MO DUI did not affect his liscense other the typical 30 days. Because of the DUI he could not afford the Truck he purchased thru his father's used car lot.(his financing) He was married for 9 months, but kept threatening his wife that he would have someone from the Indian reservation take care of her and dispose of the body where no one could find her.She and her child left one evening while he was playing ball. Our law enforcement cannot touch anyone on the reservation. Think about that when you visit the Indian casinos. He never wanted his visitation (4 years) before until he married a 21 yr old last year. The Child spends all her time with the new wife who comes from a very disfunctional family. Which is why this man has so much power over her. The man refused to give his exwife a divorce until the judge forced him after a year of monthly court dates. In the last two years he has had many high paying jobs including the Highway Department as an engineer/inspector. In my opinion Judge Taylor is TOOO lenient with Deadbeat dads.