Monday, August 26, 2002

A story published today by the Arizona Republic reports that like many, Aaron Marks and Tricia Ayala's love story ended in divorce.

What's different is that it was Marks, a Phoenix cook, who was awarded full custody of his son.

He joined a growing number of men nationwide who are becoming the primary providers for their children. While Ayala has been making regular child support payments lately, court records show Ayala is still about $11,000 behind in support payments to the couple's son, 9.

"She owes that money to our son and would want it if the situation were reversed," said Marks, 37, who thinks the courts don't do enough to get his ex-wife to pay.

It's not a new gripe. Many men, including Marks, have complained that the courts pamper deadbeat moms.

It's also a tough claim to prove. State child support and court officials do not keep track of how many women are ordered to pay support, saying that the gender of a deadbeat parent doesn't matter. Their job is to collect the $1.5 billion in unpaid child support that has been lingering on Arizona's books for five years.

"I'm always glad to get a woman in my caseload because men seem to think the system is skewed against them," said Steve Silver, an assistant state attorney general who handles cases of the most stubborn non-paying parents. "But it is not. I just handle the reality in front of me."

Benidia Rice, director of state Child Support Enforcement, agrees.

"I don't see a distinction between parents based on gender," she said.

A decade ago, as more men began taking interest in raising their children, the state Legislature ordered judges to place kids with the best parent, reversing a belief that the best caretaker was most always the mom. That change is showing up in census figures.

Arizona is among the top states with fathers raising their children, and the gap between single-mother and single-father households is narrowing. Nationally mothers have custody of the children 3 times more than fathers. In Arizona, moms have custody about 2 times more than dads.

In Ayala's case, she lost custody of her son in 1993 when she left her son with Marks and went to Canada. He filed for custody. She didn't show up for the hearing.

Records show that although she has paid $9,000 over the years, her payments have been sporadic, leaving her about $11,000 behind in addition to the 10 percent interest accruing on the unpaid tab. In 1998 and 1999, the court ordered that her paychecks be garnished 11 times as she bounced from employer to employer.

She admits she has fallen behind, but says she helps out by buying her son clothes. Currently, Ayala is ordered to pay $250 a month plus $82 toward arrearages.