Full-Name: CT Hart
Mailer: Elm [revision: 66.25]
Newsgroups: bit.listserv.free-l
Date:         Fri, 8 Jan 1993 11:56:30 MST
From:         CT Hart <cth@CS.ITC.HP.COM>
Subject:      Re: Your Opinion
              Jan 8, 93 11:54 am

 Two summers ago, I spent a good deal of my time attending the meetings
 of a Colorado Commission similar to the one mentioned here...
 The Colorado legislature didn't pay any more attention to it's recommendations
 than did this court, so having that body elected isn't going to change
 anything...

> Opinion by David K. Garrod, Ph.D.
> Member of the Indiana Child Support Advisory Committee. January 8, 1993
>
>      On Thursday, January 7, 1993 the Supreme Court of Indiana adopted
> a new set of child support guidelines.  In so doing they essentially
> ignored almost all of the recommendations made by the legislatively-
> appointed Indiana Child Support Advisory Committee.  (ICSAC)
>      Some of the 31 recommendations made by ICSAC included:
> Mandatory mediation prior to major hearings; a state-wide system of
> family courts; a set of minimum visitation guidelines; college and higher
> education support guidelines; tax exemption correlation with support;
> elimination of double charging for add-ons such as child-care, medical
> and education expenses; a support table reduction to the average of
> contiguous states.
>      The changes adopted by the Supreme Court were token changes, which
> instead of defining guidelines more fully and thereby reducing litigation
> and increasing overall fairness, produced ill-defined minimal changes
> that can do nothing other than increase litigation.  This flagrant
> abuse of power by the Supreme Court, ignoring the legislatively-appointed
> advisory committee, which contained a deliberately-chosen well-balanced
> mixture of knowledgeable members, will no doubt cause a response from
> the legislature.  The twelve ICSAC members were equally represented with
> 6 men and 6 women.  There are two legislators from each house, equally
> divided with respect to party and sex.  There are two judges and two
> attorneys, one custodial parent and one non-custodial parent and two
> professionals in the area of economics, mathematics or other area
> related to child support.  All recommendations had to have passed by
> this committee by a minimum of seven votes out of the twelve members.
> In fact, many recommendations passed without any contrary votes.
> ICSAC held several full-day public meetings for public input and took
> over a year in public meetings to develop their recommendations.
>      The arrogant attitude of the five upper-income aging males on the
> Supreme Court in failing to admit their earlier errors in the generation
> of the guidelines and in ignoring the recommendations of ICSAC, will
> not go unnoticed by the general public.  Already there is talk of
> introducing a bill to make the Supreme Court an elected body instead of
> appointed, thereby achieving accountability from this body.  A bill to
> legislatively adopt the college support guideline recommendations of
> ICSAC has already been introduced into the legislature.  Further bills
> to adopt the ICSAC recommendations and dis-empower the Supreme Court
> will no doubt follow.
>
     *** SHRUG ***

          - CT         ^    ^
                      / \  //\
        |\___/|      /   \//  .\           " Hic Dracones "
        /O  O  \__  /    //  | \ \
       /     /  \/_/    //   |  \  \          C.T. Hart
       @___@'    \/_   //    |   \   \        Hewlett-Packard
          |       \/_ //     |    \    \      Colorado Springs, Colorado
          |        \///      |     \     \
         _|_ /   )  //       |      \     _\
        '/,_ _ _/  ( ; -.    |    _ _\.-~        .-~~~^-.
        ,-{        _      `-.|.-~-.           .~         `.
         '/\      /                 ~-. _ .-~      .-~^-.  \
            `.   {            }                   /      \  \
          .----~-.\        \-'                 .~         \  `. \^-.
         ///.----..>    c   \             _ -~             `.  ^-`   ^-_
           ///-._ _ _ _ _ _ _}^ - - - - ~                     ~--,   .-~
                                           cth@cs.itc.hp.com    /.-~
Comments: Gated by NETNEWS@AUVM.AMERICAN.EDU