According to my partner (and wife) Andrea, who used to do family law, one of the first rules observed by those involved in child-support cases is "don't involve the children." So why did the Michigan Attorney General establish the PayKids billboard contest, in which Michigan children get prizes for submitting drawings that "clearly convey the message of encouraging payment of child support"?
It seems ill-conceived to me. According to the rules, the first 250 entries were to receive a $10 gift certificate from Domino's Pizza. Well, Domino's didn't like the idea too much either, and it issued this open letter to its customers. I saw it the other day when I was ordering some pizza. According to Domino's, "We were never informed of the . . . decision to use our gift certificates as an incentive for children to design billboards in order to pressure a parent into paying child support."
Here's more about the brouhaha from the Detroit News.
"Ill-conceived." That's the excuse a lot of these guys give for not paying their child support.
Seriously, as a former law guardian and divorce mediator, and coparenting instructor, I agree with Evan and Mr. Domino -- this programs smells worse like anchovies. See Children in the Middle,
Posted by: David Giacalone | October 12, 2004 at 11:49 AM
Giacalone can't proofread or Google very well. He meant to say: "this program smells worse than anchovies." And meant to link to the originators of Children in the Middle.
Posted by: Prof. Yabut | October 12, 2004 at 12:04 PM
Notes from the [Legal] Underground is undoubtedly responsible for Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox's design to cancel the PayKids Billboard Contest. See his news release announcing that the contest is cancelled.
Posted by: Ann M. Byrne | October 16, 2004 at 05:33 PM