eileenhawkeye, you might be spot on with your impression, according to this article (bolded parts by me):
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http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130517/A_NEWS/305170322
My impression on the article.
He has 7 kids (!) And he managed to get custody of 6 of them? 4 different mothers? And it appears that at least one of the mothers wasn't allowed to see her kids.
He had to be court ordered to get a job????? (My ex used to do this. When child support found his place of employment, he would quit. If called to court, he was never working.)
As far as Leila's Mom, in my state if the parent is getting SSI, they don't have to pay child support. They are considered unable to work and the federal funds are for sustenance for the disabled person. As such that portion of a parents income is ineligible for child support.
On the surface a family's situation may seem unrelated to the crime. But whatever stressors are in the HH are reflected to some degree in the kids. Stressors I am seeing here include the obvious inability to connect with one parent and the financial worries. But there also seems to be subtle changes in the coparent changes as well as household moving.
Imagine for instance that you are a child. One day there is a Mom and a Dad. Then there is just Mom. Then just Dad. Then Dad and a new Mom (repeat as often as necessary.) All in the 8-12 years they have been alive. And in this situation I would like to know how long the new "Mom" has been in the family. How long before the kids were instructed to call her "Mom?" Were there any other "new Moms" introduced to the family before?
Under these circumstances I would expect some problems with the kids. And the type of problems would differ from child to child, according to the child's personality, the amount and kind of other support they are receiving. The type of parenting they get from the household bio parent would also affect in the stress on the kids.
No not every kid would kill under these circumstances. Some kids would cry, some would ignore the situation as much as possible, some would act out a lot. And some would take on the attitudes of the dominant parent. And yes, some will kill.