Men can apply for child support – Court Superintendent

Court Superintendent Shellon Daniels is urging men who believe they are entitled to assistance in caring for their children to apply for child support.
Daniels, Court Superintendent of Regional Division 4 ‘A’, made this statement while being interviewed by Guyana Police Force Public Relations Officer Stan Gouveia on Tuesday evening in a weekly episode of ‘Police & You’.
Daniels has reminded men that they, too, (once they are deemed by law as the guardian of their child/children) are entitled to child support, and can apply for a warrant if/when the parent (mother) does not honour those orders.
After six weeks, the person (man) that took them (the women) to court for maintenance can apply for a warrant.

She highlighted instances wherein persons may apply for maintenance, which are either under the Domestic Violence Act or strictly under the maintenance ordinance.
“So what they issue first now is a ‘distress warrant’ that is executed on the person if he or she – and I’m using ‘he or she’ because if the man is taking care of his children and the woman is living scot-free, he can apply for child support. So, it’s no longer just one-sided now, but the men – I don’t know why they are not utilising the services,” Daniels expressed.
She went on to give an example of a recent case wherein “a woman would’ve been committed for ten days because she would’ve failed to pay the $240,000 child support. So, the thing of it was that a warrant was issued for her, the distress warrant. She hadn’t the money, so the warrant was backed by the Station Sergeant, and an application was made for an arrest warrant, and she was picked up. She hadn’t the money, and she was a guest of the state for ten days.”
The Court Superintendent has said she is sharing this information with the public to educate men about their rights and encourage them to utilise the services available to them.