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BOS: Support After Divorce

By Linda Jane

Of the many problems divorcing women face, lack of financial independence is one of the most difficult to resolve. The Census Bureau recently reported an 80 percent increase in the number of single parent families over the past decade, bringing the total of one-parent households with children living at home to 19 percent of all American families. Of this figure, 38 percent are headed by divorced women and another 15 percent by never-married women. The shocking fact is that 31 percent of these women live below the poverty level, compared to 5 percent of families with male heads of household. Another statistic cites that 75 percent of the U.S. population living below the poverty level are women and children.

Even if a woman does not have children to support, she has far fewer opportunities to earn as good a wage as a man. Recent studies have shown that women's earning power is actually declining. Today she earns, on an average, only 59 cents for every dollar earned by a man.

As long as these inequities exist, many divorced women must rely on alimony and/or child support awards. (Ironically, one of the areas in which equality under the law is gaining acceptance is in the decrease of alimony awards!) Such awards, however, are often difficult to collect. The General Accounting Office in 1974 found that only a small percentage of fathers actually comply with court-ordered child support. Of fathers earning $6,000 or less, only 20 percent comply; of those earning $6,000 to $12,000, only 34 percent comply; and of those earning over $12,000, only 30 percent comply. It is evident from these statistics that ability to pay is not related to willingness to pay. In the case of alimony, the statistics are even more grim.

On the positive side, there has been some concrete action, both locally and nationally, to improve the enforcement of alimony and child support. Beginning in 1975, Cleveland Women's Counsel, in conjunction with the National Organization for Women and supported by the ACLU, undertook community education and a study of the methods used in enforcing court-ordered alimony and child support in Cuyahoga County. CWC, which began as a telephone information and referral service for women, became aware of the problem because of the large number of calls they received from divorced women with financial problems. Their study culminated in a set of recommendations submitted to the Ohio Attorney General's Office, directly resulting in the passage of Ohio Senate Bill 87 in the spring of 1978.

This new bill required all Ohio counties to establish Bureaus of Support by January, 1979. The purpose of these bureaus was to collect and enforce alimony and child support awards. Subsequently Congress also passed a law requiring that the federal and state governments work together to locate absent parents, setting up what was called the Federal Parent Locator Service. It also gave the state the power to enforce compliance by such methods as having employers deduct payments from employees' wages and pay them directly to the court and, in some cases, collecting payments through the Internal Revenue Service. Today bureaus exist in all 50 states.

In Cuyahoga County the Bureau of Support, or BOS, operates under the Domestic Relations Court. It has a staff of 42. Its goals are (1) to locate absent parents of families receiving welfare payments and to enforce outstanding alimony or child support orders; and (2) to monitor and enforce alimony and child support orders for non-public assistance persons. It is a free service available to any woman who is having

Page 2/What She Wants/September, 1980

problems collecting payments, thus saving her the expense of hiring an attorney.

The first action the Bureau usually takes when a woman is having problems collecting awards is to send a notice of late payment to the man. These notices are effective in 90 percent of the non-public assistance cases and in 50 percent of the public assistance cases. If the payment is not received, the case is scheduled for hearing in the Domestic Relations Court. There, the judge may decide to order a wage assignment to take the payment out of the man's wages or to issue an arrest warrant. These

hearings are effective in nearly 100 percent of the non-public assistance cases and in 60 percent of the welfare cases.

To date many women have used BOS' services. In its first year of operation, the caseload more than doubled from 2,620 cases in January of 1979 to 6,491 cases in January of 1980. However, as in any government agency, there are problems and inefficiencies that must be worked out. The staff, in addi. tion to handling an excessive amount of paperwork related to their cases, are often confronted with financial and emotional problems beyond their abilities or time to handle. Often notices of late pay. ment are sent beyond the ten-day limit mandated by law, and hearings may take as many as 6 weeks to 3 (continued on page II)

Dinner Party Sought for Akron

When prominent California artist Judy Chicago conceived and designed her massive artistic creation, The Dinner Party, neither she nor the dozens of artists and volunteers who helped her complete the work could have anticipated the enormous public

Drawing for Virginia Woolf's plate/''The Dinner Party"

response it has evoked. Exhibited initially in San Francisco in the spring of 1979, The Dinner Party drew a museum crowd of 100,000. Since then, the Dinner Party has been shown in Houston, Texas and Boston, Massachusetts, and will run for three months, October 1980 through January 1981, at the Brooklyn Museum in New York.

Thus far, midwesterners have had to travel great

Defend the Clinics!

By Barbara Winslow

On August 10 members of the Cleveland ProChoice Action Committee, the Cleveland Abortion Rights Action League and other friends defended a number of clinics from right-wing attacks.

Anti-abortionists had designated August 10 as the day to invade abortion clinics nationally and "rescue" at least 300 fetuses. Their hope was to invade over 100 clinics, gain publicity and frighten the women into not having an abortion.

In Cleveland the anti-abortionists used all the big lie tactics made famous by Hitler in the 1930's. For example, they carried placards with babies in wastepaper baskets. These anti-abortionists claim they are pro-life, but they are also pro-Reagan and pro-death penalty, pro-arms spending and pro-war.

PCAC members and friends showed up at a number of clinics, not to counter-demonstrate but to explain to the clinic patients what was going on outside and to escort people in. PCAC handed out a leaflet which also explained what the anti· fcontinued on page 12)

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distances to see The Dinner Party. However, representatives from several women's and civic organizations in Akron, Ohio, hope to change that, possibly as soon as the spring of 1981. Plans are under way to ascertain if The Dinner Party can be brought to Summit County. There will be three important results of such an exhibit. (1) As the first midwestern showing, Akron will enjoy considerable prestige within the region and across the country. The tens or hundreds of thousands of visitors, drawn from such urban centers as Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Youngstown, Cleveland, Toledo, Detroit, Chicago, Indianapolis, Columbus, Cincinnati, Louisville, etc., will enhance Akron's reputation in both cultural and commercial circles. (2) The collaboration of women's, civil and service organizations with the political and economic leaders of Akron and Summit County will vastly strengthen the entire local community. (3) The financial returns from the exhibition will benefit the whole area as well as the cosponsoring groups.

The Dinner Party is an extraordinary artistic accomplishment. Its celebration of the lives of 39 women from various cultures and eras, and its commemoration of another 999 women who could not be seated at the Dinner Party table, as well as its depiction of women's accomplishments, is an unprecedented historical rendition. Visitors of all ages and walks of life will long remember and cherish this exhibit.

If you want to help the Steering Committee make this venture successful, call any of the following members in Akron: Vivian Kistler, 836-4566; Carol McClusky, 929-1354; or Douglass Terrass, 867-3586 (evenings only), or write P.O. Box 18175, Cleveland, Ohio 44118..

Handbook is Here!

The Cleveland Women's Handbook is now available. Representing several years of effort by Cleveland area women and men, the Handbook is a comprehensive listings of local services for women. The listings are clearly broken down into such areas as women under the law, mothering, the older woman, physical and mental health, and teenage women. Interspersed are narratives describing how to use the services.

On September 21, 4-7pm there will be an open house to celebrate the Handbook's publication. It will be at the White House, 2420 So. Taylor, Cleveland Heights. Contributors to the Handbook are especially encouraged to come help us celebrate. Please bring a dessert to share.

The Handbook is on sale for $5.00 from Cleveland Women's Counsel, P.O. Box 18472, Cleveland Heights, OH 44118. Include .92 postage with your order.