There is something amiss when government laws, under the pretense of protecting children, create the very conditions that contribute to their further neglect. Such is the case when a father, or a mother, for any number of reasons, misses child support payments and loses the professional license that allows them to make a living. Part of the blend of tactics that the California Child Support Services has in its enforcement arsenal is the ability to take away an individual’s professional license and driver’s license. So, as a matter of speaking, under certain conditions, the government can take away not only an individual’s privilege to make a living in their chosen profession but also the means by which that person can get to work.
In my recent adventures, a grudging necessity as I travel as a homeless person, I’ve had the opportunity to meet other fathers who’ve been driven to destitution because of the loss of their professional licenses. One individual in particular, whom to protect his identity will remain nameless, was a high-end chef who I met in Laguna Beach one morning. He was sitting at a bus stop with a companion but by appearance was obvious to me that he was homeless. This observation prompted me to inquire how he ended up in his disturbing predicament. The short answer was that he was from out of state and one who used to work as a Chef at a high-end restaurant. Because of missed child support payments that degraded into something uncontrollable, his Chef License was revoked. Another individual, whom I also met in Laguna Beach, was a tow truck driver and for the same reason – missed child support payments – his license was revoked.
I was preparing exhibits for my case entitled Lacambra vs. Shea Properties et al and pulled a recent copy of my California Department of Real Estate License from the DRE website to determine my status as a mortgage professional. Lo and behold, just as I was fearful of, it was recently revoked for non-payment of child support. The first lesson learned; find an industry that is not susceptible to the gyrations of the market. The second lesson learned; marry the right individual in the first place. So, if you get divorced, as 50% or more of all marriages do in America, you’ll have someone who you can count on to understand your situation. My ex-wife knows that I live in a car but would rather see my salesperson’s license revoked than see me climb out of the difficult circumstances I find myself in. As a father, there is nothing more hurtful to me than getting a sense that my children think that I've abandoned them.
At whose feet should we cast the blame? The biggest culprit in this entire circus production is the very government that passed these laws that are so extreme, so duplicitous and so counter-productive. I’ve been working in a profession that requires the very license that was revoked for 16 years now. Under protest and with great dismay that career has now come to a grinding halt. Next on the list of draconian punishments is most certainly to take away my driver’s license. If that happens, it would be a major setback for my children and I.
What’s next on my list? File a case - Lacambra vs CA Child Support Services. I’ll take this to the highest court in the land - the Supreme Court - if I have to. For that I will need a war chest; it will cost a pretty penny. Stay tuned.
