When I led a division of a public company and had to find some budget cuts, I can't imagine a time I would have considered cutting a program that had a 338% return - returning $4.38 for every dollar spent. But that is exactly what the Federal government has just done.

The Federal program that provides funds to the States to help them collect child support from non-custodial parents has been very successful. In 1998, the Federal government tightened the program to ensure results were being met and provided performance-based reimbursement. This helped states double their collections and provided a means for many single-parent families to reach self-sufficiency.

Having raised two children singlehandedly, I met many single parents, almost always women, who had no funds to go hire an expensive attorney to track down their children's other parent and get them to contribute to the upbringing of their children. So many times I recommended that they use this program. And sometimes it had a successful outcome and made an enormous difference in the lives of the affected children. Simultaneously, it saved the government money and put personal responsibility where it should be - on both parents.

With a slash in Federal funds, and little hope that the individual States will have the funds to supplement the program, many more families will descend into poverty and strain the already overburdened welfare programs of the States.

Have we stopped holding our lawmakers responsible? Shareholders of a public company would vote the Board out if they did something as ridiculous as this. It's our tax dollars they are wasting. Let's start paying closer attention and speaking out.

Gillian Parrillo
The Sacramento Executive