As the economy forces more companies to lay off employees and more employees are losing their jobs, those people who have been ordered to pay child support are having trouble making their payments. These are not people who are lazy or trying to shirk their responsibilities, but rather cannot afford to make their payments because they are not receiving any or enough income. Ask any child support agency in any county and they’ll likely tell you they’ve seen a significant increase in requests to get child support payments lowered.

The case of Michael Dierolf sheds light on this growing problem.

Dierolf was diagnosed with cancer last year. After undergoing chemotherapy and other treatments, Dierolf tried to hold on to his job as a forklift operator but was laid off in December. Since then he has been unable to make his $140-a-week payments for his two sons. Dierolf says he’s been trying his hardest get a job and collect unemployment, but so far has had no luck.

Not one to avoid his responsibilities, Dierolf met with a representative at his local child support agency to get his payments lowered and set up a repayment plan. He says as soon as he gets a job he plans to pay back the $3,000 he owes. Fortunately the representative was understanding of Dierolf’s situation, and is giving him another month or so to try and find a job.