Question about CPS and child support

[bilnme]

Hi. I am new here but I have a legitimate question. I am trying to help a friend who has been royally screwed by CPS and the child support system.
11 years ago he and his wife separated and she filed for divorce. He had his child with him because she was a drug addict. He didn't want his child exposed to her any longer. He loved his wife, but couldn't deal with it any more so he left the state and took his child with him.
A few months later the wife called him and told him she loved him and that she was getting her life straight and that she missed being a family. He fell for it, went home and was met at the house by the cops who immediately took the child and held him at gun point. It was all a set up. His wife called CPS and accused him of some terrible crimes against her. CPS bought it hook line and sinker. He was ordered to pay child support for his child, which he didn't mind doing, it was his child. However, his wife got so screwed up with drugs again CPS came and took the child away from her. Now mind you, he has been deemed unfit to be the child's father and told he cannot have contact without supervision.
He had an accident at work and could no longer work. CPS didn't care. He still had to make large child support payments to the state since they had taken the child away. But he was informed that even though his wife was in jail, he still had to send his money to her. So she was earning $850 per month for being a drug addict and not even taking care of the child.
I want to know how this is legal? How can this actually happen? This is absolutely ridiculous.
Now after 11 years he finds out that he and his wife are still married. He signed divorce papers 11 years ago that she sent to him. He has followed the court orders to the "T" yet he is a criminal. How do you fight something like this? It's just pure craziness!!!!!! It has totally changed who he is. Talk about PTSD! He's scared to do anything and every time he sees a cop car he panics. What can he do to get his life back?

[monkette31]

It sounds like your friend is still paying arrears in child support, what they call it when they fall behind in payments. CPS and child support are not intertwined in Children's court in Los Angeles from what I can tell, meaning children's court cannot say anything or make any orders for child support issues like arrears. Did he ever get criminally convicted of anything relating to his ex wife and the set up?

[Daruma]

Is it possible to file an appeal on the amount of child support owed? If he's on disability, his payments should have been lowered.

In my state, it's not up to CPS to make the final decision. They simply hand the information off to DSHS, and if they give inaccurate information, it's up to the parent to straighten out the mess himself with DSHS.

My son lost his job shortly before the baby was taken by CPS. CPS reported his pre-job-loss income to DSHS, so he was ordered to pay several hundred dollars a month in child support even though he had zero income. He filed an appeal with DSHS and won, not only getting his payments drastically lowered but getting a substantial refund. Your friend needs to try this route and go directly to DSHS (or whatever it's called in your state; it's the department that oversees CPS).