Parents on trial : jailing for child support nonpayment

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dc.contributor.advisorGlass, Jennifer
dc.contributor.committeeMemberWilliams, Christine
dc.contributor.committeeMemberPettit, Elizabeth (Becky)
dc.contributor.committeeMemberOsborne, Cynthia
dc.creatorCozzolino, Elizabeth Anne
dc.date.accessioned2018-08-08T16:39:10Z
dc.date.available2018-08-08T16:39:10Z
dc.date.created2018-05
dc.date.issued2018-05-07
dc.date.submittedMay 2018
dc.date.updated2018-08-08T16:39:10Z
dc.description.abstractAlthough the child support enforcement and criminal justice systems have divergent purposes, they are connected when courts jail parents who owe child support debt. Jailing for child support nonpayment is one of many possible mechanisms of child support enforcement, but little is known about how frequently this tactic is used, against whom, and what the consequences are. Using a mixed methods design, this project explores the frequency, process, and consequences of jail for child support nonpayment. This dissertation is divided into four substantive chapters. In Chapter 1, I use data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCW) to explore the prevalence of jail for child support debt in a national context, finding that about 14% of debtors go to jail for this debt by the time their child is nine years old. I propose two conceptual pathways into jail, and find that debt load and family complexity are major predictors of incarceration. In Chapter 2, I map the legal process of finding a parent in contempt and committing the parent to jail, focusing on the role of judicial discretion at three crucial decision points in the life of a case. Focusing on my field work in Riley County, Chapter 3 argues that child support officials police the work and family choices of nonresident parents in ways conceptually similar to how welfare policy controls recipients’ behavior. Chapter 4 identifies how interpersonal gendered disputes translate into legal action in the child support enforcement process. This project has the potential to contribute to the national conversation about legal debt, family change, and criminal justice reform, as well as to inform laws and policies concerning child support, criminal justice, and the family. This project also has implications for the study of inequality. Through triangulating a range of novel data sources, this dissertation investigates how one legal process—punitive child support enforcement—affects people’s lives and life chances.
dc.description.departmentSociology
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdf
dc.identifierdoi:10.15781/T2VM43F70
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2152/66028
dc.subjectChild support
dc.subjectJail
dc.subjectFamily policy
dc.subjectCriminal justice system
dc.subjectWelfare policy
dc.subjectContempt of court
dc.subjectMixed methods
dc.subjectQualitative
dc.subjectQuantitative
dc.subjectFragile families and child well-being study (FFCW)
dc.subjectTexas
dc.subjectFamilies
dc.titleParents on trial : jailing for child support nonpayment
dc.typeThesis
dc.type.materialtext
thesis.degree.departmentSociology
thesis.degree.disciplineSociology
thesis.degree.grantorThe University of Texas at Austin
thesis.degree.levelDoctoral
thesis.degree.nameDoctor of Philosophy

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