Child support law leaves man a default dad

Tulsa World ^ | October 13, 2008 | Jarrel Wade

[RogerFGay]

Brande Samuels, 29, shows some
of the child support documents from
the Oklahoma Department of Human
Services. Samuels has been forced by
the state to pay child support for a
child but DNA tests show he is not the
father. SHERRY BROWN /
Tulsa World Friday

He promised himself and his family that when he left his prison cell, he would work hard to build a stable and positive life. After two years in prison, he was released early on good behavior and worked for less than minimum wage while he trained to become a welder. But that's when he first got notice from the Oklahoma Department of Human Services' Child Support Enforcement Division that he owed child support, he said.

Now, Samuels owes about $13,000 in back child support, he lives with his ailing grandfather and DHS seizes portions of his wages every month. "The last four years have been the worst in my life," Samuels said about life since leaving prison in 2004. "I went into so much debt." Samuels said under other circumstances he would take full responsibility for the child as a father should.

But he is not the father.

0.00 percent chance

Samuels was aware of the possibility that he might be the father during the pregnancy, he said. But the mother had been in another relationship at the same time.

"She wouldn't even allow me to sign the birth certificate," he said.

Two months later, the mother — Nadia Smith — put his name down as the father when she filed for child support, which Samuels wouldn't learn about until after his Oklahoma prison sentence, he said.

"They make (the mother) give up a name for the potential father. If she doesn't give up a name, then she can't get any assistance," Samuels said about the process to receive child support.

Jeff Wagner, spokesman for DHS, said when a mother is opening a child support case, she names the alleged father and provides "a great deal of information" in the Mother's Affidavit of Paternity.

In 2004, when Samuels left prison and learned of his obligation to DHS, case workers told Samuels if he wanted to fight the original order and get a hearing, he needed a lawyer, he said.

"I just want to be heard," he said. "The court was made for justice. It was made to help make the right decision."

Samuels did not have enough money to pay a lawyer, and no one would take his case for free, so in 2006, he approached Neighbor for Neighbor, a Tulsa nonprofit organization. They helped him prepare papers to require the mother to provide the child for a DNA test.

He found out then that the mother had left the state and had to be tracked down. She had left Oklahoma for Texas, Texas for Iowa, and then Iowa for Mississippi between 2004 and 2007, he said.

Neighbor for Neighbor helped Samuels track her through the courts and filed court papers seeking a DNA test from the child in March 2007, according to court records.

Two months later, Samuels received DNA evidence that the child support had been based on a false assumption. He was not the father — 0.00 percent chance.

"I was hurt. I was actually hurt because they put me through all this stuff without the child even being mine," he said.

After his three years of work, he believed he would be forgiven all his debt for the child, he said.

But it wasn't forgiven, and according to Oklahoma law, it won't be forgiven.

Default fatherhood

In child support cases, the burden of proof is on the alleged father — the accused — according to Oklahoma statutes.

An alleged father must appear at a child support hearing to request a paternity test. If he does not appear, he is legally designated as the father and child support is established in most cases.

Once designated as the father, that person is financially responsible for the child until he or she is 18 or adopted with a few stipulations for petitions which may vacate the original order, according to Oklahoma statutes.

DHS records show that Samuels was served papers to appear for his child support hearing in 2001, but Samuels said he was working in Texas at the time and could not have received the notice.

Wagner said by Oklahoma law someone can be legally served if the subpoena is put into the hands of someone 15 or older who lives at the same residence as the person.

But Samuels said the documents never touched his hands.

Regardless of the outcome of the DNA test, which Samuels spent three years trying to get, it was already too late.

Samuels was ruled the default father in 2001, and legally, DNA has no bearing.

"If you got me on default, you should still have to prove that I'm the father," he said.

This is the second recent story in the media of a default father being forced to pay child support in a bureaucratic nightmare with DHS.

The first, reported by The Oklahoman, was about Micheal Thomas of Tulsa, who had shown that he had never even met the mother and that he had DNA evidence that showed he wasn't the father. Still, he became a default father after missing his initial court hearing.

DHS does not keep statistics on the number of established fathers or default fathers who are not genetically related to the child they are responsible for, Wagner said.

In the eyes of the law and DHS, once paternity is established, there is no difference.

DHS officials would not comment on whether any changes have been made in establishing paternity since the Micheal Thomas case was reported.

---

Paternity figures

Between April 1, 2007, and March 31, the state Department of Human Services established paternity of 20,452 children in Oklahoma —of those cases, 5,208 were forced through court order, according to DHS Child Support Enforcement Division records.

In the same time period, there were 3,127 paternity tests conducted in DHS cases. Of those, 781 of the alleged fathers were found not to be the genetic father and were released from the case.

---

Jarrel Wade 581-8310
jarrel.wade@tulsaworld.com

[Doohickey]

Yup. LA County comes after me about once every three or four years. Why? Because I have a pretty common name, and I had a California driver’s license 25 years ago.

Of course, being a male, I have no legal recourse to countersue and stop the harrassment for good.

[An American In Dairyland]

Yep ... like lambs to the slaughter we walk every election year.

Yep...and men like you promoting the election of the very chains that bind men. Oh, the irony.

[steve8714]

As many of us know, it’s the division of child support enforcement, not justice.
The key is “force”.
Whatever the woman says goes.

[PapaBear3625]

I’m well aware that lots of middle and upper class kids get pregnant. My point was, in the context of kids APPLYING FOR WELFARE being required to name the biological father, that such girls have a significant probability of not knowing the father’s actual legal name.

[An American In Dairyland]

Whatever the woman says goes

That is absolutely true. So why don't all of you men protesting this injustice run out on November 4th and vote for a woman who has already *proven* she thinks she has the personal and *official* right to decide a man's and his children's lives for them? The word irony doesn't begin to cover this.

[meadsjn]

Department of Human Services

First and best target for budget cuts -- 100%.

[An American In Dairyland]

PapaBear3625: I know what you were saying. I just used your comment as a springboard to get on my own soap box. Sorry, about that. It wasn’t fair of me to use your comment in that manner.

[wtc911]

wtc911 is pushing the same-sex marriage agenda.

--------------------------------

Nice try. My issue is what it has always been...dead-beat dads are scum.

You pull that line every time anyone calls you on your BS.

[RogerFGay]

Constitutionally, marriage and family issues belong to the states and to the people. The federal government is not allowed to regulate. 100% reduction in funding that supports family law reform is 100% appropriate and easy to do - with only benefits for taxpayers and society as a result. There is absolutely no downside except for those people who are part of the theft machine. By removing the federal government from family law regulation, and its pork-barrel funding, we would also be shutting down a significant organized criminal operation.

[RogerFGay]

You said that I know why you’re posting those comments. My best guess - which I asked you about several times - is that you’re pushing the same-sex marriage agenda. If you’re right that I know why you’re posting, then I’m right that you’re pushing same-sex marriage.

[tatsinfla]

so you are saying that it is a fed law that says in oklahoma he has to pay regardless of if he is the real father or not...??...i will have to check but i do believe that the states differ on the law...in fla one can put his name on the birth cert. as the father. if he finds out after 2 years that he is not the father to bad so sad he pays child support, but if it is under 2 years and a dna test is done and he is not the father he doesn’t have to pay. i don’t believe that is a fed law but a state law. correct me if i am wrong and please do so by showing proof.

[wtc911]

Tell you what Mr. Gay.....show one post wherein I ever supported gay marriage and I'll quit FR. You won't be able to because I never did.

This accusation is a tactic of yours. You've used it before with other freepers. It doesn't fly.

Dead beat dads are scum.

[An American In Dairyland]

Constitutionally, marriage and family issues belong to the states and to the people. The federal government is not allowed to regulate. 100% reduction in funding that supports family law reform is 100% appropriate and easy to do

If it were easy to do, MRA's and FRA's would have accomplished it already. In fact, it is NOT easy to do. It hinges almost entirely on getting the RIGHT KIND of politicians into office. Electing people to high offices who you *already* know don't believe men have rights WRT children and who have a personal track record of acting on that belief will NEVER get these laws rescinded.

[No.6]

“In child support cases, the burden of proof is on the alleged father — the accused — according to Oklahoma statutes.

An alleged father must appear at a child support hearing to request a paternity test. If he does not appear, he is legally designated as the father and child support is established in most cases.”

An example of the screwy nature of this thing ... but at the state, not at the federal level.

As far as I know child support is the only area where DNA testing doesn’t matter. If you’re in jail for murder and DNA exonerates you, you go free; if you have a support order and DNA proves you aren’t the kid’s parent, tough.

[RogerFGay]

I cited another source that says it was the 1996 welfare reforms that created this particular problem. I recall it pretty well, since I've been studying this stuff since 1989. I didn't specifically remember that 1996 federal reforms created this problem, but it seems quite right to me. That's about the time - or shortly thereafter - when states started changing their laws in this way.

The general background that people need to understand in order to get all this stuff is that the fed. has taken over marriage and family law. Constitutionally it's left to the states and to the people - so I agree with anyone who says it shouldn't be the way it is and understand when people are suprised at the very least. But it is so. All marriage and family law has been pulled into welfare law and is being written by Congress. States merely implement.

I've written several articles about how it's happened and why they're getting away with it. I'm known as an expert and writer on the subject - a little known fact - I served as an expert witness in the case that reclassified marriage and family law to allow the federal takeover. I was called in by the other side - which was fighting against the child support reforms.

[RogerFGay]

You said that I know why you're posting those remarks. You have therefore agreed with my assertion that you are pushing the same-sex marriage agenda.

Examples of your doing so on FR are easy to come by - just take all of your posts in this thread together. There you go - now I'll leave it to you to keep your word. Quit FR.

[RogerFGay]

“Easy to do” verses “easy to do.” It’s easy enough to do, in fact, but just impossible to get the people with the power to do it to do it. Too much corruption.

[An American In Dairyland]

The general background that people need to understand in order to get all this stuff is that the fed. has taken over marriage and family law. Constitutionally it's left to the states and to the people - so I agree with anyone who says it shouldn't be the way it is and understand when people are suprised at the very least. But it is so. All marriage and family law has been pulled into welfare law and is being written by Congress. States merely implement.

I agree on the importance of people understanding the background of how this began. I agree that reading the links Mr. Gay posts here are an excellent way to find that background out.

However, IMO history has now become more important here than looking at ways to get *out* of this travesty of justice. The *only* way we can get out of this mess is to start electing politicians who see the problem. Electing politicians who benefit privately by using this system will only get us more of the same system in the future.

[RogerFGay]

An example of the screwy nature of this thing ... but at the state, not at the federal level.

It's implementation of federal law, backed by 10s of billions in federal money.

[RogerFGay]

Knowing how we got into it gives me a very clear understanding of how to get out.