article_snippet.sent: At least, not in the traditional sense, though states do criminalize it.  
article_snippet.sent: It's rightly a civil matter.
article_snippet.sent: Then there are cases like the Scott case.  
article_snippet.sent: Still, given our justifiably dim view of deadbeat dads and child support court scofflaws, there is ultimately something Dickensian in our remedy for enforcement.
article_snippet.sent: First, it's important to keep in mind that nearly every instance of a family court's intrusion into the private family unit is an undesirable event.  
article_snippet.sent: And it almost always could have been avoided if the family could have resolved issues on the family own.
article_snippet.sent: But the better question may be: Why do we as a society not shun parents who don't take care of parents who don't take care of their kids kids?  
article_snippet.sent: Social rejection can be an even stronger motivator than the threat of arrest.  
article_snippet.sent: The Scott situation has highlighted some harsh truths.
article_snippet.sent: If we are, then we have to be comfortable with the possibility that a delinquent dad is going to bolt when a delinquent dad gets stopped for a broken taillight.