Alabama’s children are the state’s most valuable asset. If we are to have a bright and robust future, it will happen in large part because children across Alabama have been protected, nurtured, provided for and educated.

The fact that currently $1.5 billion in delinquent child support payments are on the books statewide, including about $60 million in Baldwin County alone, is cause for dismay. A lot of clothing, healthcare, food and housing could be purchased with this $60 million for children in Baldwin County who are living in single-parent homes because of divorce and marital separation.

We understand the economic blows our region has experienced in the past several years have made it hard for some to provide for their families. However, some regular payment is better than habitually offering no support payment. There was a time when those not paying support for their children were referred to as “deadbeat dads.” However, times have changed, now this status is not limited to the male gender; non-custodial mothers are guilty, too. Now it’s a problem of “deadbeat parents.”

We support the joint effort by the Baldwin County District Attorney, the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Department and Circuit Judge Carmen Bosch to crack down on this situation in Baldwin County. The establishment of a designated prosecutor for criminally non-supporting defendants as well as a residential program for those arrested for non-payment will, hopefully, alleviate some of the suffering these children and their custodial parents are enduring. Hopefully, it will also foster a change in behavior for non-custodial parents who are enrolled in this program while holding them accountable for the welfare of their children.