Tucked deep into the recently passed state budget is a new provision that will reduce driver’s license suspensions of alleged “deadbeat” parents.  Currently, a parent owing more than a month in child support faces the possibility of the loss of his or her driver’s license and professional licenses. Under current law, neither the courts nor the Child Support Enforcement Agency can grant limited driving privileges for occupational purposes on a child support license suspension.

The new law, codified in Ohio Revised Code Chapter 3123, which went into effect on September 28, 2011,  provides that parents who pay at least half of their court-ordered child support will no longer face suspension of their driver’s or professional licenses. Another provision will allow parents to have prior suspensions for failing to pay child support removed from their driving record. Benjamin Johnson, spokesman for the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, said that under the new law, county child-support enforcement agencies must look back 90 days to see if a parent has paid less than 50 percent of his/her child support obligation. If so, a pre-suspension notice, giving the parent the opportunity to pay up will be sent. A parent who fails to act then faces suspension of his/her driver’s license. Then in order to get it reinstated, he/she must pay in full or report new employment. Click on the link if you are interested in reading the new Ohio Child Support statutes 3123.44 through 3123.63

These changes came as a result of the recommendations of a task force and are in conformity with a sentence-reform law that encourages judges to sentence non-payers to community service or probation instead of jail. There are 341 inmates in Ohio prisons for failure to pay child support according to the Ohio Department of Corrections.

Donald Hubin, chairman of Fathers and Families of Ohio, said that “the problem is not going to be solved by putting parents in prison or taking away their ability to pay child support… The vast majority of overdue child support is owed by parents who can’t pay it. Two-thirds of the money is owed by people who earn less than $10,000 a year.”

Renuka Mayadev, director of the Children’s Defense Fund of Ohio, had one question when she found out about the change: Will it be effective? She said, “if the potential loss of a license motivates deadbeat parents to pay up, then the law should stay in place. What percentages of families aren’t receiving support?” she said. And now with the new law, “Are more children then getting support? In that case, I support it.”

Over the past year more than 100,000 parents had their driver’s licenses suspended for failing to pay child support.  Not surprisingly, the collection of child support has dropped over the past few years. Kimberly C. Newsom, executive director of the Ohio Child Support Enforcement Agencies Directors’ Association, said the laws have been flexible and enforcement efforts have changed as the sinking economy made it harder for many parents to pay support. “As Ohio started going into an economic recession, counties weren’t suspending licenses as much. They were working with parents and trying to assist them with employment or getting them into work programs to try and get them employed.”  Newsom believes that the new law should help create enforcement consistency across the state. The ability to remove suspensions from a parent’s driving record will help them with future employment opportunities. But she is concerned that if a parent knows that they only have to pay only half of their court-ordered support to avoid sanctions that may be all they will pay.

Even with this change in the law a person who habitually pays only 50 percent after the law takes effect could face other sanctions, including a “black mark” on their credit report, having a bank account seized, or being held in contempt of court.

On July 1, 2011, the Domestic Relations Court of Montgomery County, Ohio adopted a “new” and “revised” Standard Order of Parenting Time, previously known as the Standard Order of Visitation.  Over the years, our elected officials in Columbus, Ohio have chosen to “rename” terms frequently used in the Domestic Relations Court.  The phrase “parenting time” replaces the older word of “visitation”, and, the term “parental rights and responsibilities” replaces the older word of “custody”.  It should be noted that with each change in legislation, the older or former terms have been replaced with longer names or phrases!

I have practiced Family Law for over twenty years.  Until recently, the Standard Order of Parenting Time, fka Standard Order of Visitation, provided for the non-custodial or non-residential parent to have five (5) weeks (35 days) of visitation or parenting time each summer.  Additionally, if the non-residential parent submitted to the custodial parent his/her request for summer parenting time between the dates of March 1 and April 1 of each year, the non-custodial parent was to have preference as to the summer parenting time schedule.

The most striking change in the “new” Standard Order of Parenting Time involves Item 8 entitled “Summer Vacation”.  Instead of the five weeks (35 days) of visitation/parenting time, the non-custodial parent shall have parenting time in alternating one week increments beginning the first Friday after the last day of school.  Each one week of parenting time shall commence at 6:00 p.m. on Friday and continue until the following Friday at 6:00 p.m.

Mid-week (usually Wednesday) and alternating weekend parenting time are suspended during the summer vacation period.  Child support shall not be reduced or suspended during this three (3) month period of time even though the non-residential parent is equally dividing the Summer Vacation.

What caused the Court to change or modify the former Standard Order of Parenting Time?  Michael Howley, Legal Administrator of the Court, advised me that the Court made the change because so many non-residential parents were “tacking on” the weeks of Summer vacation  to their normal alternating weekends in an effort to get more than five (5) weeks of parenting time.  Is the new schedule working for parents?  Michael Howley advised me it was too early to tell as the Court has not had sufficient time to evaluate the “new” Standard Order.

To test how this new allocation of summer parenting time will work for next year, I selected Monday, June 4th as the last day of school.  Accordingly, the non-residential parent (usually Father) would commence his first one week period of visitation at 6:00 p.m. on Friday, June 8, 2012.  That one week period of parenting time would end or conclude at 6:00 p.m. on Friday, June 15, 2012.  The second week for the non-custodial parent would then begin at 6:00 p.m. on Friday, June 22, 2012.  I then selected August 21, 2012 to be the first day of school for the next calendar year.   This results in the summer visitation schedule to end on Friday, August 17, 2012 (the last Friday before the commencement of school).  I then counted the total number of weeks of parenting time for the non-custodial parent and was surprised to find the number of weeks to be five (5) as contemplated by the “former” or “old” Standard Order of Parenting Time.

What other changes are reflected or noted in the “new” Standard Order of Parenting Time?

• The visitation periods for Holidays and Mother’s/Father’s Day shall conclude at 9:00 p.m. rather than 6:00 p.m. providing the non-custodial parent with an additional three (3) hour period of time.  (I can already hear complaints from Mothers of young children arguing that 9:00 p.m. is “too late” to be getting home and commencing the bedtime routine!)
• Make-up visitation shall only be scheduled if “requested” by the non-custodial parent.  The “old” Standard Order simply mandated that all make-up parenting time shall be rescheduled and exercised within sixty (60) days.
• Non-emergency phone calls should be limited to one call per day before 8:00 p.m. (EST).
• The second paragraph of the “old” Standard Order regarding actions to be taken by the parents if a child indicates a strong opposition to being with the other parent has been replaced with one sentence– Each parent has a duty to facilitate and encourage the other’s parenting time with the child or children.
• That when there are conflicting dates, this is the order of priority:  Children’s birthdays, Mother’s/Father’s Day, Holidays, Summer/Breaks, Weekends, Weekdays.  In the old Order, Holidays came before birthdays & Mother’s/Father’s Day.

What remains the same with the “new” Standard Order of Parenting Time?

• Parents are encouraged to agree on a fair written parenting time schedule that fits their circumstances and their children’s lives.
• The Standard Order is to be followed as a schedule when the parents cannot agree upon a schedule between themselves.

As with all child-related issues and especially with visitation or parenting time issues/questions, it is important for the parents to be flexible, willing and able to compromise, and understand that circumstances can and do change with all infants, toddlers, children, and adolescents.

On January 6, 2009, Governor Strickland signed Sub. H.B. 320.  This new law requires children between the ages of four and eight and under 4’9″ tall to be restrained by booster seats.  The law provides that this is a secondary offense, requiring the driver to be stopped for another reason before a citation may be issued.  The law goes into effect on April 6, 2009.  Warnings will be issued for six months before fines, ranging from $25 to $75, can be imposed.  Governor Strickland is seeking to increase those fines to between $50 and $100 in his proposed budget. Thanks to our friends at the Cleveland Law Library Weblog for posting this summary! To learn more about the new law, click here.