In 1986 (at 12 yr.s old) my daughter Gwen had visited me and my family in Texas during summer break. After her two week visit, when it was time to go home she asked if she could spend a year or two with us to get to know us better. I was overjoyed to contact her mother and try to make the arrangements. I was asked to send her home at the pre-agreed time so she could gather her things and get the necessary documents.
I didn't hear from her or her mother again after that until I was able to drive to Arkansas five years later and track them down myself. Their home had caught fire and there was no forwarding address or phone number listed that I could find.
As arranged by her mother, I had been paying her child support directly to her by check. My next check was returned with a stamp stating recipient was no longer at that address and there was no forwarding address. The Child Support Enforcement Agency in Arkansas contacted me almost immediately telling me that I owed Gwen back support for over a year.
When we sent them photostatic copies of the returned checks showing that I HAD been paying her support all along they stopped billing me for back payment and I started paying through them again. They wouldn't tell me where Gwen was at or relay any messages to her. They seemed to completely ignored my court ordered visitation rights.
This was the first blow that almost knocked the props out from under me. I went from pleading with the child support enforcement agency to help me get in touch, to rage against the blind machine, to helpless depression, and finally to resigned withdrawal. I was only kept afloat by the birth of my son Feb.'87 and my responsibilities as the Biomedical Technical Supervisor to the three Matagorda County Hospitals. (two county hospitals in Bay City and Palacios, and a 'system' hospital in El Campo)
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