Abandoned and Deceived True Story

2011-04-03T09:15:00.000-07:00

Abandoned and Deceived is based on a true story. Scroll down to read about Geraldine Jensen.
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Geraldine Jensen and the Dead Beat Dad

2009-02-07T19:53:00.000-08:00

The True Story
After her 1977 divorce, Geraldine Jensen returned to Toledo from Omaha, Nebraska with her two young sons, Matthew, 4, and Jake, 18 months. For six months, her former husband paid child support.Then it abruptly stopped. Unable to make enough money to support her family as a library aide, she was forced to go on welfare. Bolstered by federal grants from Pell and Title XX, Gerri returned to school in 1980 and graduated from Bowling Green School of Practical Nursing a year later. As a licensed practical nurse, she was hired to supervise other LPNs at a nursing home. Though she was struggling, Gerri was making it until the end of 1983--when everything caved in. Stricken with an illness that put her in intensive care, she was hospitalized for three weeks. In addition, her son needed ear surgery to prevent hearing loss. With no money or savings, she telephoned her caseworker of seven years at the County Welfare Department to inquire about $12,000 due to her in back support. Informed that the County Prosecutor's office had actually been handling the case, a bewildered and stunned Gerri confronted the prosecutor.With her case file in front of him, he told Gerri that nothing could be done about the child support collection. "If you can do a better job, then go right ahead," he said. Geraldine Jensen did exactly that.She spent eight of her last $13 on a classified ad in the Sunday Toledo Blade, an act which changed her life forever. The ad read, "Not receiving your child support? Call me." Little did Gerri realize the effect this ad would have on Toledo women. Ten women responded that Sunday evening. Within two weeks, the Association For Children For Enforcement of Support (ACES) was formed - with 50 women as members. Two months later, the group ballooned to 200. Now ACES is the largest child support self-help group in the U.S., with 45,000 members and almost 400 chapters in 48 states!

They're being called delinquent dads and deadbeats - fathers who won't pay the child support. New Jersey is leading the way towards reform - rounding up dads who won't pay. Dennis Levin was one of those dads thrown behind bars. He joins me here in Washington, along with Geraldine Jensen. Her husband refused to pay child support, forcing Geraldine and her children out into the streets. Welcome, good to have both of you here. Forced you out into the streets because you didn't get child support? GERALDINE JENSEN, Husband Refused to Pay Child Support: Oh, absolutely, and I'm not an uncommon case. The payments only came in for six months after the divorce. When they stopped, I was unable to make the house payment alone and take care of my two sons - Matt and Jake - who were 3 and six months old at the time. ROSE: So what did you do? Ms. JENSEN: Well, we lost our home, first. And I did manage to move in with my parents - we were very fortunate - so that I wasn't actually living on the streets. I got a little bit better paying job where I was making about $ 100 a week, but day care for two preschoolers was $ 50 a week. So I only lasted about another year and then I was on welfare. That's the only way we survived. When the boys and I were on welfare, their father made $ 40,000 a year, and didn't pay support. ROSE: Why not? Ms. JENSEN: He said that he didn't have the money, he wasn't able to pay. He started a new family. He wanted to take care of his second family. He basically divorced not only me, but his two sons. ROSE: And so what did you do? Ms. JENSEN: I went back to school and I became a licensed practical nurse. ROSE: But what about him? What did you do to him? Ms. JENSEN: Well, I went to the child support agency to get help because I couldn't afford a private attorney, and they told me they couldn't help me because I couldn't locate him. And I didn't know there was a federal parent locator system and they were supposed to find him. And then they told me they couldn't help me after I did have his address because they didn't know where he worked. And then when I found out where he was working, then they told me they couldn't help me because he was out of state. So because of all this frustration - and it was seven years; and he was $ 12,000 behind; and, even though I had a better job, my sons were never going to have what they needed - I got frustrated and started an organization called, ACES. ROSE: Which does what? Ms. JENSEN: We help families collect child support - both mothers and fathers who are owed payments. ROSE: And if they don't pay, you say what? Ms. JENSEN: Well, the first option is to do a payroll deduction. ROSE: Right. If they don't do that? Ms. JENSEN: The next option is to try to get a bond posted. ROSE: And if they don't do that? Ms. JENSEN: If they quit their jobs, or they're repeat offenders, then we believe that they should be jailed. This is a crime against children. ROSE: But what difference does it make? Does it help them pay the child support if they go to jail? Ms. JENSEN: Absolutely. Nine out of every 10 people who are put in jail for child support come up with the money and support their children. So it brings the issue home. ROSE: So put them in the slammer and they'll begin to think about their obligation? Ms. JENSEN: Absolutely, and it works. ROSE: Does it work, Dennis? DENNIS LEVIN, Arrested for Delinquent Child Support: Not at all. Not at all. ROSE: What happened? Mr. LEVIN: First of all, in the state of New Jersey there's a constitution that says you cannot be imprisoned for a debt, which is exactly what I was imprisoned for. I was- ROSE: Tell me a little bit about your story, before we get too far. Mr. LEVIN: OK, approximately nine months ago I filed an order with the court requesting a judge to appoint a psychologist to interview my two children, who are aged 13 and 14, to determine if they were old enough, if they were mature enough to determine their own child custody schedule. My ex-wife and I have had joint custody since our divorce in 1980. We have had extensive, extensive litigation in the court system. Right after I filed that order, my ex-wife filed an order asking for more child support. Up until that point, I had been paying $ 200 a month. She asked for $ 300 per week. Now, the result of my court order was that I ended up with exact equal time with the children. We have them now every other week. ROSE: How did you end up in prison- or jail? Mr. LEVIN: Several weeks ago, 6:00 in the morning, about six or eight deputy sheriff cars arrived at my doorstep and banged on the door and, in front of all four of my children - two from the previous marriage, two from my current marriage - I was handcuffed and taken away. ROSE: And what did your children say? Mr. LEVIN: My children were very upset about it. It was, naturally, a personal embarrassment for them. It was also- you know, their father being taken- ROSE: Any sympathy here? Ms. JENSEN: Not at all, because he's a very typical situation and a real- it brings the problem home. The average child support order in the United States in the 70's and 80's was $ 200 a month, or about $ 2,400 a year- Mr. LEVIN: I don't think we're quite typical. I- Ms. JENSEN: If you have to pay $ 300 now a week, it means that you earn well over $ 50,000 a year- Mr. LEVIN: I don't deny that- Ms. JENSEN: -therefore, you're paying about 30 percent of your money for your kids- Mr. LEVIN: My ex-wife makes over $ 60,000 a year. And, according to the laws in New Jersey, they cannot take into account her husband's income, nor my wife's income. Ms. JENSEN: Well, they shouldn't count the parents- step-parent income, only biological parent income. Many families - unfortunate as it is - are both parties have been divorced- Mr. LEVIN: How can you go out and buy a house- Ms. JENSEN: -he could be paying child support- Mr. LEVIN: -without looking at the income of both people in a family, of all the family income? Ms. JENSEN: We're talking about a mother's and a father's responsibility to support their children. And even though your ex-wife is working, she's contributing towards the children. And you're working and you should contribute. You have a legal and moral obligation- Mr. LEVIN: With equal time - with equal time, and with income levels over $ 50,000, $ 60,000 on both parts, the father should still be the one to pay, just because he's a male? Ms. JENSEN: If they use the formula that they have in New Jersey - which is a mathematical formula - it takes into consideration the time the children spend with both parents- Mr. LEVIN: No, that formula, the judge finally admitted to using that formula which did not apply at the time this issue came up. The formula stopped at an income of $ 1,000 a month. ROSE: But you don't believe there are any circumstances in which a husband who is not paying child support should not be thrown in jail? Is that right? Is that where you stand? Mr. LEVIN: What advantage is there to throwing him in jail? How is he going to pay the money then? How is he going to earn the money? ROSE: What's the advantage? Ms. JENSEN: The advantage is those people who ignore their obligations and you've tried everything else, when they put them in jail all the studies show they do make the payments. The children benefit. ROSE: That's the advantage. It makes them pay. Ms. JENSEN: It's a deterrent. Mr. LEVIN: The child support is much more than a financial issue, and that's the way the courts have dealt with it. It's an emotional issue. Yes, it's an economic issue. It's a psychological issue. It's how you deal with your children. It's how you treat- train them to their own upbringing, what their morals are. Ms. JENSEN: There's two separate issues. One is a financial issue and one is an emotional. And it's wrong to, for example, withhold child support payments because you're arguing about visitation. You're stealing the food out of your own child's mouth. You have to go to court, resolve those issues- Mr. LEVIN: But the- ROSE: Let me interrupt and come right back. I promise I'll be right back. I also want to mention that we did contact Dennis' ex-wife, but she refused to come on this show. And when we come back we'll have more about sending deadbeat dads to the slammer. Back in a moment. [Commercial break] ROSE: Delinquent dads who don't pay child support. New Jersey has conducted three pre-dawn raids, rounding up approximately 1,700 fathers who owe over $ 7 million. Here in Washington is Dennis Levin, a father who was thrown in jail during the most recent raid. Also in Washington, Geraldine Jensen. Her husband left her kids without a penny to live on. And joining us now from New York is Sheriff Jim Plousis. He developed the entire pre-dawn raid concept because children are being cruelly made to suffer in epidemic proportions. Sheriff, I'll be with you in just a second. Let me just come to Geraldine and a couple of quick points. Have women gone to jail for not paying child support? Ms. JENSEN: Yes, they have. In fact, the studies show that mothers who are non-custodial parents don't make payments any more often than fathers - there's still about a 80 percent default rate - and that jail works as well to get mothers to pay support as dads. ROSE: One other point. Your husband, former husband, is now paying child support? Ms. JENSEN: Yes. Since ACES was about three months old and I finally did get him brought into court and the judge threatened him with jail, he's not missed a payment. And my sons are much better off now because they know that there will be food in the house. ROSE: Sheriff, tell me about these raids in New Jersey. You developed the idea. Why is it a good idea? JIM PLOUSIS, President, New Jersey Sheriffs Association: Well, Charlie, we wanted to bring out the public awareness to the situation. And we really don't want these people in jail. When we do do these pre-dawn raids, we have it arranged where a sitting judge would hear the matter, just in case there were some extenuating circumstances. And in those cases- ROSE: Let me talk about Dennis' case real quick. Should you have- how many patrol cars? Mr. LEVIN: There were six or eight in the driveway. ROSE: Six patrol cars - when this man has kids and they may be traumatized by this? I mean, I know you could argue that trauma works both ways, but is that overdoing it? Sheriff PLOUSIS: Well, we try not to, and that might be- I think that's the exception, not the rule. In some cases- Mr. LEVIN: May I interject, the press was there as well. They were invited - even from The Washington Post - to come to New Jersey. This is a very big political event in New Jersey. When my story made the front page in the Star Ledger, the local paper in Moorestown - the Daily Record - the top story was sheriff's pay increase- ROSE: And the only reason you weren't paying is because you think your wife makes enough money to support the children, even though the formula that is being used is appropriate and legal by the practice in New Jersey today? Ms. JENSEN: Right, and he could have gone back to court and modified the order if it was unfair- Mr. LEVIN: I am in the appellate division now. I was arrested anyway- Ms. JENSEN: -and if it wasn't appropriate. Mr. LEVIN: -and the probation department is well aware. ROSE: Even though you were trying to appeal, you were still arrested? Mr. LEVIN: And I was still paying to the probation department. ROSE: Sheriff, do you think you've set a precedent that might spread across the country, these raids, in putting more - as we say on this program and others - deadbeat dads in the slammer? Sheriff PLOUSIS: There's no doubt about it, but let me clarify. It was both men and women. And as we speak, there's less than 10 percent of the people that we arrested two weeks ago that are still in jail. There's no question, when they're subject to going to jail they come up with the money. And the few that go to jail, if they don't have employment, we will find employment for them. So we do get the money one way or the other. And the reason that we have the public exposure to it is that we want other people to come in on their own, and that has worked not only in New Jersey but in New York. Mr. LEVIN: Sheriff, what about the constitution in New Jersey? ROSE: Dennis, once again, I'll have to ask you to hold up- Mr. LEVIN: OK. ROSE: I'm up against the break. Forcing dads to pay child support with that threat of public humiliation - we will be right back. Stay with us. [Commercial break] ROSE: We have been talking about rounding up delinquent dads and putting them behind bars until they pay up. Here in Washington, Dennis Levin and Geraldine Jensen; and in New York, Sheriff Jim Plousis. Let me go to Mesa, Arizona, and get at least somebody in on this conversation. Welcome. 3rd CALLER: [Mesa, Arizona] Hi. ROSE: Hi. 3rd CALLER: I have an ex-husband who lives in Texas and is a peace officer. And he is over $ 15,000 behind in his child support, yet I can't seem to get any coordination to at least threaten this man with jail to help him to decide to pay up. ROSE: What have you done to try to get him to pay up? 3rd CALLER: I've been through the state of Arizona's URISA program, and they tell me if he decides to move that's too bad, we start over. What can I do? ROSE: Geraldine? Ms. JENSEN: The best thing to do would be to try to locate where he's working and do an interstate wage withholding. That takes about six to eight weeks to do, and it's much more effective than a URISA. Also, the government has formed an interstate child support commission and we are working on ways to improve the laws to collect across state lines. I would encourage you to contact ACES at our office in Toledo, Ohio, and we'd be happy to send you some information about what you can do. ROSE: What would you do to change the system? Mr. LEVIN: I think the system has to be taken out of the courtroom. A judge is not qualified to make these decisions on his own. In England, there are three-judge panels- ROSE: Even if they don't pay up until they go to jail? If jail has a sobering effect - as someone once said a hangman's noose does - why not? Mr. LEVIN: Well, first of all, it's a violation of constitutional rights, of civil rights, to be put in jail for a debt. At least in the state of New Jersey it is. Ms. JENSEN: It's not being put in jail for a debt. This is a crime against children. It's for neglecting and abandoning the children. And these kids grow up in poverty. ROSE: Thank you, Geraldine. Thank you very much, Dennis. Sheriff Jim Plousis, thank you very much for enlightening us about the New Jersey situation. A pleasure to have all of you on the broadcast. I thank you for letting me sit in Larry's chair. I hope he's having a great vacation, and I hope all of you have a great evening. Good night.
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