“Hey, I Didn’t Order This With My Cheese and Sausage Pizza”
Instead of a map of boot-shaped Italy or a caricature of a steaming pizza pie fresh out of the oven, some pizza boxes in suburban Cincinnati may rather include wanted posters of parents accused of bailing on child support payments following a break-up or divorce. A recent Associated Press story detailed that the Butler County Child Enforcement Agency is creatively working with three suburban Cincinnati parlors and their pizza boxes to get past-due child support payments.
The agency’s director, Cynthia Brown, said in a story that she came up with the idea while ordering a pizza. Brown’s epiphany came when she realized that most people running from child support payments don’t eat out but rather order pizza.
Imagine the scenario. An alleged deadbeat orders a pizza and not only finds a greasy pizza inside but also a picture of his or her greasy mug on the outside of the box. One suspects the shock of that sight could cause someone to quickly lose his or her appetite.
While Butler County would certainly be unique in adding this extra ingredient to its pizzas, it is not alone in trying to acquire delinquent child support payments through less-than-traditional means. California’s Kern County allows officials to auction off vehicles of the deadbeat parent and then give the proceeds to the children. Some Ohio counties have included fliers of deadbeat parents in water and sewer bills, a method which has drawn criticism from some people who feel that it could be very disturbing for children to see “wanted” pictures of their parents.
