Federal Incentives Behind Paternity Fraud Cases

In 2002 the California paternity justice app passed through the legislature that would have freed thousands of falsely condemned paternity fraud victims but the bill was vetoed by then California governor Gray Davis Who chose federal funds instead.  Do you think this decision is justified we’ll discuss this next on women against paternity fraud. 

Governor Gray Davis vetoed the California paternity justice Act which would have helped thousands a California men who were wrongly assigned paternity in default judgments and who have been compelled by the state to pay years of child support for children whom DNA tests have shown are not theirs according to then governor Gray Davis. He vetoed the bill saying this bill would directly impact child support collections and would jeopardize California’s ability to meet federally required performance measures putting California at risk of losing up to 40 million in federal funds. This was at a time when in Los Angeles County 79 percent of paternity judgments were decreed by default most of these men had no idea they were fathers until their wages were garnished so essentially the governor of the most populous state in the Union vetoed an effort to reduce paternity fraud because a reduction in paternity fraud might cost the government money governor Davis was not alone in his conclusion that refusing to address paternity fraud is good government and good business many other states have opted to look the other way when it comes to adopting legislation against paternity fraud but why do two federal incentives federal law does not directly require paternity establishment instead the federal government uses the power of the purse to impose conditions upon state eligibility for receipt of federal funds since the 1980s Congress has operated on the belief that federal welfare expenditures can be offset by recoupment of child support payments from non-custodial parents accordingly federal law requires that a recipient of temporary assistance to needy families TANF must assign to the government the right to receive child support payments the federal government also provides penalties and incentives to the states related to their performance in fraternity establishment federal law establishes a target of paternity establishment in 90% of cases failure to meet the target subjects the state to an escalating series of program improvement requirements and penalties in addition Congress has provided that states with the highest paternity establishment rates will be eligible for bonus or incentive payments from the federal government each year the states have tremendous incentives and motivation to pursue high rates of paternity establishment while nothing in federal law requires or authorizes establishing paternity against the wrong man there is also nothing in federal law that prohibits or paralyzes tagging the wrong man eligibility for receipt of federal funds under TANF and under the federal incentive formula depends only upon tagging the largest possible number of men and there is no review or requirement that it be the right man states are highly incentivized to establishment and one man will serve as well as any other the true impact of paternity fraud goes far beyond the dollars collected from men who are not the fathers for children facing life-threatening illnesses such as cancers requiring bone-marrow transplants or other medical emergencies knowing one’s biological heritage can be a matter of life and death some argue that demanding accuracy and determinations of fatherhood with harm children who have established relationships with men they believe to be their fathers this is not true in most cases a paternity fraud the children have never even met the supposed father furthermore court proceedings for a signing fatherhood do not seek to establish a relationship between a parent and a child paternity hearings seek to establish only a financial obligation on the part of the alleged father to the child without a doubt we are a nation and neither fathers however fatherhood is a consensual act made by men who choose to have inter relations or elect to adopt children it is not a decision that should be made by courts that arbitrarily place financial responsibility for children on unrelated and unwilling men the children are the real victims in paternity fraud they deserve better to have their support paid by extortion we can’t legislate morality but our laws and policies should be based on the truth honoring the truth serves the best interests of the children and communities visit our website and become a member help us to help paternity fraud victims because paternity is important to you and to children