Deadbeat Parents Could Lose Variety Of Licenses 11,000 Idahoans Delinquent In Child Support Told To Pay Up Or Lose Privileges

Parents who do not pay court-mandated child support or uphold visitation rights with their kids can forget about hunting, driving and fishing.

Last week, 11,000 delinquent parents across Idaho were sent friendly reminders to pay child support and allow visitations, or after Jan. 1 they will no longer have a driver’s license, professional and occupational licenses as well as hunting and fishing licenses.

In all, more than 200 different permits are subject to suspension.

The letters are being mailed to anyone more than $2,000 or three months behind in child support payments. The Department of Health and Welfare wants these parents to make their most current payments and arrange a plan to catch up on past debts to their children, said Department of Health and Welfare Region 7 Director Del Hobbs.

License suspension laws are on the books in 38 other states. But Idaho is the only state putting licenses on the line for parents who do not keep the conditions of visitations.

The combination of visitations and child support in the threat of license suspensions is meant to end some situations where children are caught in the middle of arguments over payments and visits, Hobbs said.

This plan holds both parents responsible, he said.

The goal is not to take licenses away, but to make people responsible to their children, strengthen family relationships and ease a tax-payers’ burden, Hobbs said.