An angry mother forced to pay out of her own pocket to have a private bailiff serve a summons has secured a court date in Family Court to hear from her ex-husband.This comes after a court order to pay $2,000, two years ago, that remains unpaid on a child maintenance bill in arrears to the tune of $67,222.07.When contacted yesterday, Bethanne Thomas said she had yet to hear from any court officials on why she was told court bailiffs would not serve papers on her ex-husband.In an exclusive interview she took exception to the fact that she was hauled before the courts for her debts while her children’s father’s court ordered payments were allowed to go unchecked.In any case she said it was against her better judgement to pay a private server to ultimately bring her ex-husband back before Family Court.She was notified yesterday that the papers were served and a hearing has been set down in Family Court on Friday morning.Meanwhile, child rights advocate Sheelagh Cooper said the story of “women being routinely threatened with imprisonment for bills that amount to far less than they are owed in child support is all too familiar”.The founder of the Coalition for the Protection of Children said: “We see these cases on a daily basis because women come to us hoping that we can help them either to get their child support through the courts or assist in pleading their cases to spare them from going to prison for unpaid bills.“Of course the situation is made worse by the high unemployment rate among this age group and many of the fathers who do come before the courts make the case that they are unemployed and therefore unable to pay.“We have seen cases in which arrears have been eliminated or very significantly reduced by the Family Court,” said Ms Cooper.Asked for solutions, she admitted that the situation is “complicated”.“At the end of the day the most important thing a father can offer his children is his time, his love, his support and his guidance.“And one does not want to alienate him from his children because of his inability to pay child support.“We are strong proponents of preserving that important relationship.”She noted that the coalition has a successful track record on family mediation that brings “parents who are in dispute over custody, access or child support together to find creative ways of addressing the issues”.But she said: “There’s a huge difference between an inability to pay and a complete abdication of one’s responsibilities and that is where we need to be more diligent in supporting women through the courts with proper follow through,” said Ms Cooper.“Obviously no one is served when the father goes to prison for non-payment of child support and certainly not when mothers go to prison for unpaid bills.“We have to be much more creative in the way we address this problem,” she said.To heighten public awareness of the issues the coalition financed a film by producer Lucinda Spurling in 2011.The film featured 16 Bermudian women living below the poverty line in Bermuda.‘Poverty in Paradise: The Price We Pay’, premiered in April 2011 to highlight the plight of single mothers, including a woman who went to prison for medical bills while the father owed her $70,000.The documentary delivered first-hand accounts of the impact of poverty in Bermuda and also featured a single mother who slept in caves while pregnant because she could not afford rent.The film explored the causes and consequences of the widening gap between the rich and poor in Bermuda and the daily struggles of families to provide for their children.Said Ms Cooper: “As we suggested in our documentary one ought to consider refusing the renewal of passports, or even refusing travel for delinquent dads as a beginning.“We have noted that a significant portion of the unpaid bills that women often are taken to court for are either hospital bills for childbirth or other medical bills associated with specialised medical care for their children.“In both cases these bills seem always to be solely in the mother’s name right from the outset.“Perhaps these bills ought to be in both the mother’s and the father’s name so they bear equal responsibility for something that they clearly should be sharing,” she said.“The issues are complex and require some creative and sensitive solutions, which is not what we’re seeing in reality.“In the meantime potential parents ought to consider before having children together whether each of them are read and capable of caring for and providing for the children they produce.”Due to the continued serial abuse by a small minority of commentators, The Royal Gazette has taken the decision to not allow any comments on this story. This is in large part due to legal ramifications which have arisen in the past.