Stealing My Opportunity to be a Father

Abstract

On April 4, 2015, Walter Scott was shot and killed while running away from a police officer in North Charleston, South Carolina, after being stopped for a broken taillight. As a video of the shooting circulated, it came to light that Scott had a warrant out for his arrest for failing to pay child support. Scott had previously been incarcerated for non-payment on three separate occasions. This case illuminates a major issue—the use of excessively punitive surveillance and enforcement mechanisms—in the child support system. The reality that parents could face incarceration for falling behind on their child support payments impacts how these individuals engage with their kids and live their daily lives.

Toward a Du Boisian paradigm of family science

“…This literature is important for underscoring how the state impacts the experience of fatherhood, but it does not necessarily provide insight into what is undergirding these experiences. To address the need to understand how the state intervenes in parenthood, the first author explores how gendered, racialized, and classed stereotypes of responsible parenthood lead to carcerality in the child support system (Battle, 2021). Exploring the logics that support stereotypes of responsible parenthood also uncovers how custodial parents, those that the system is purported to help, are marginalized in the system, including exposing them to punitive enforcement mechanisms for non‐compliance with the myriad expectations of the court and support system.…”

“…Exploring the logics that support stereotypes of responsible parenthood also uncovers how custodial parents, those that the system is purported to help, are marginalized in the system, including exposing them to punitive enforcement mechanisms for non‐compliance with the myriad expectations of the court and support system. Moreover, for low‐income custodial parents receiving Temporary Aid to Needy Families benefits, child support payments are withheld by the state as reimbursement for the cash aid they receive, largely reducing the potential benefits for this mandated support (Battle, 2021). Understanding not only the ways that incarceration and other carceral mechanisms are used here but also the narratives, assumptions, and principles which undergird their use is important.…”