An Arizona agency began shaming deadbeat dads on Twitter and Facebook this week after Gov. Doug Ducey called out fathers in his state who aren't taking care of their child support responsibilities.
"Too many of our kids find themselves in difficult family situations because their dads aren’t being dads,"
Ducey said during his State of the State address on Tuesday. "So guys, I’ve got a message for all of you out there: Wherever the authorities know of a deadbeat dad in Arizona — find him and hold him to his responsibilities with the full force of law. If you are old enough to father a child in Arizona, you’re old enough to assume financial responsibility for that child."
By that evening, the Arizona Department of Economic Security began tweeting out photos and names of dads who are behind on their child support payments.
The campaign isn't just focused on fathers, either.
Not everyone agreed with the campaign:
But Ducey pointed out that the effort is not aimed at parents who are just a few payments behind:
In a separate tweet, Ducey also said that all deadbeat parents in the state owe a combined total of $1.74 billion.
To be shamed on social media, men or women whose whereabouts are unknown must owe more than $5,000, have a warrant out for their arrest, and be at least
six months behind on child support payments, NBC News reported.
"The non-paying parents included in this Child Support Evader list do not represent those with the highest amounts owed or the most egregious circumstances," Tasya Peterson, a spokesperson for the state Department of Economic Security, told NBC News. "Rather, they are featured to enlist the help of the general public in locating these parents so DCSS [Division of Child Support Services] can continue its efforts to collect child support on behalf of Arizona families.
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