Vargas

J.Appellant, Joseph L. Vargas II, is the father of three minor children living with their mother in Oregon. The children’s mother receives public assistance from Oregon’s Department of Human Resources (DHR). On July 24, 1995, DHR filed a uniform support petition in the Merced County Superior Court seeking reimbursement from appellant for child support.

Appellant was incarcerated on July 18, 1996, for crimes not disclosed in the record. Around that time he was served with a notice to appear and an order to show cause for the petition filed by DHR. He filed an answer on September 25, 1996, declaring he had no means of earning income while incarcerated and requested the court to order child support in the amount of $0.

At the December 6, 1996, hearing, appellant informed the court he was beginning a four-year sentence at the California Rehabilitation Center, an institution that does not provide employment opportunities. The People countered that child support orders should not be premised upon a current ability to pay, but rather an ability to pay over time. Furthermore, the People asserted, justice requires that appellant take financial responsibility for his…