Professional Parent

Professional Parent – Status can be claimed and pay received for having and raising a child. If someone was collecting pay as a professional parent, and he or she had a child in college, that individual kept the status until that child was finished with college, or turned twenty-four. Professional Parents earned a retirement stipend. Other mentions. Fraud could be reported to the Professional Parent Service, which was apparently by county.

In Desperation in Death, Eve described Jewell Gregg as using her daughter as a meal ticket - “nothing more than a way to pull in a monthly check without doing anything for it. She abused a program set up for parents so they can opt to stay home full-time, so they can have that choice. Or because the job they can get won’t cover child care. It was a damn good day for her when [her daughter] took off. Now she could get the check and not have the annoyance of the kid.” Eve had her arrested on defrauding the government.

Professional Parents mentioned in the In Death series include (in order of appearance/mention):

• Anna Whitney in Glory in Death, who had raised her children well, choosing the profession of mother over a teaching career. It wasn’t the state salary for full-time parents that had swayed her. It had been the thrill of being in on each and every stage of her children’s childhood development.
• Senator George Pearly’s mother in Rapture in Death, who was an MT with time off as a professional parent
• Eileen Brennen in Vengeance in Death
• Julia Rowan Peterman was a retired professional mother in Loyalty in Death Her sister-in-law, Monica Rowan, also collected a retired mother’s pension.
• Carly Landsdowne’s mother in Witness in Death “filed as professional mother from 2036 until 2056, the full twenty years allotted per child.”
• Patsy Kohli in Judgment in Death, which was one of the reasons Taj Kohli was moonlighting as a bouncer at Purgatory: “He’d never have been working there if not for me. I didn’t want to go back to work after Jilly was born. I wanted to stay home. The money, the professional mother’s salary was so much less that--”
• Sylvia Dukes in Purity in Death
• Thomas Breen in Imitation in Death “collected partial professional father pay from the government as primary at-home parent while his wife earned a substantial salary as a VP and managing editor of a fashion rag called Outre.” In addition, “his father went the professional father route.”
• Also in Imitation in Death, Carmichael Smith’s mother, Suzanne, “opted for professional parent status, right up until his eighteenth birthday.”
• Elisa Maplewood in Visions in Death was a professional mother until her daughter, Vonnie, turned two.
• Carleen Steeple in Visions in Death tried “the professional mother route” until she realized she needed something to do and discovered crafts.
• Grant Swisher’s former assistant in Survivor in Death, who opted for professional mother status about a month after having her baby.
• Keelie Swisher in Survivor in Death did “the professional mother gig for a year” for each of her two children before returning to work.
• Minnie Cable in Survivor in Death had temporary professional mother status, requiring regular visits from CPS to confirm she was staying off the funk and keeping her place clean and her children well cared for.
• Roxanne Turnbill in Survivor in Death after her brother-in-law, Roger Kirkendall, abducted her and threatened her life when she was pregnant, giving up her career as an exec at one of the top communication companies in New York and moving to Nebraska.
• Avril Icove in Origin in Death took professional mother status after the birth of her first child, but continued to paint, primarily portraits, but donated “the proceeds to the Icove Foundation, thereby keeping her professional mother status.”
• Trudy Lombard in Memory in Death, who applied for professional mother status after the birth of her son, and worked part-time, reporting an income just under the legal limit to retain that status. She had applied for, tested for, and been approved for foster parenting. She had applied and been granted the retention of full pro-mom status under the fostering waiver. She stopped fostering children after her professional mother status elapsed, when Bobby graduated from college.
• Allika Straffo in Innocent in Death carried professional mother status from the time her first child, Rayleen, was born until the death of her son, Trevor. “Though she wasn’t pursuing a career, or even a paying hobby outside the home, Allika had let that status lapse.”
• Suzanne Custer in Strangers in Death
• One of Billy Crocker’s children in Salvation in Death
• Teresa Franco in Salvation in Death for Lino Martinez; she returned to outside work when Lino turned fifteen and then for the first two years of her son David’s life.
• Leah Burke in Ritual in Death for the first five years of her daughter’s life.
• Bria Collins in Ritual in Death
• Cleo Grady’s mother, Lissa Grady, in Promises in Death
• Illya Schooner in Kindred in Death
• Felicity VanWitt, Winston Dudley IV’s ex-fiancée, worked as a psychologist until her first child, then took professional mother status until the year before Indulgence in Death, when her youngest child started school.
• Renee Oberman’s mother, Violet Oberman, took six years as a professional mother after Renee was born, “then found employment as a sales manager in a women’s upscale boutique until retirement” before Treachery in Death
• In Delusion in Death, Dr. Mira suggested looking “for someone whose mother or mother figure was quiescent, a professional mother with no outside career, or a low-level job. Whose father figure was dominant, ambitious, very likely ruthless in his career.” Audrey Callaway, the killer’s mother, was indeed a professional mother, homeschooling Lewis until the age of fourteen.
• Jim Arnold’s “wife had recently given up her professional parent stipend to go back to work as a paralegal” in Calculated in Death
• Zoe Younger told Eve in Apprentice in Death she “took two years as a professional mother,” but wanted to work despite Reginald Mackie’s wishes for them to try for a son. “Still, I took another six months, and another six working only part-time.”
• According to Officer Vince Patroni, Mackie’s second wife, Susann Prinz Mackie, “was going the professional mother’s route. In fact, she really wanted to quit her job and start nesting or whatever. But he said they needed her income over the next few months so they could get a bigger place.”
• Blaine DeLano told Eve and Peabody in Dark in Death, “while I was content being a professional mother, I did begin to feel the squeeze with the limitations of my social activities, my outlets. I accepted that Craig was a very old-fashioned, traditional man, and he provided for us. I accepted that he wanted a son and didn’t interact as much as I expected or would have liked with the girls. I accepted that he wanted things done a certain way, and his response when I didn’t reach that level was subtle insults, coldness. I accepted.” However, she wrote a book in secret, and after she presented it to Craig, divorced him due to his negative reaction.
• Jefferson’s current wife, Mattie Jefferson, was a seemingly content professional mother, and bore him a son, Craig, Jr., although her husband was dismissive of the career choice and Mattie’s contact with his daughters. She sent them Christmas presents, reminding him, “You said it was fine as long as I paid for them myself.” Craig agreed, saying, “If you want to throw your... ‘professional mother’ salary away.”
• Rachel Fassley in Vendetta in Death, who was an office manager until her child was born, then had professional mother status, then back to being an office manager at a different office for three months, before returning to professional mother status. It turned out that one of the owners of the travel agency she went to work for after her son started school tried to rape her, so she quit and, fearing she wouldn’t be believed about why she left, took the safer route.
• Linus Brinkman’s ex-wife, Sherri Brinkman, had been a VP of marketing with the company he co-founded, Lodestar Corporation, for twenty-six years -- with two breaks for professional mother status, until the divorce before Vendetta in Death. Screwing her over in the divorce qualified him for Lady Justice’s hit list, although he was saved before death.
• Ariel Byrd’s neighbor in Faithless in Death, Hettie Brownstone, “filed for professional mother status for the first six months, but...” Eve said, “You need to work.” Hettie said, “I do. I want her to know I’m supporting us, using what I have to teach.”
• Marcia Piper in Faithless in Death, had professional mother status and three children with Lawrence Piper.
• Idina Frank in Faithless in Death, had professional mother status and four children with her husband.
• Wendell Phiffer’s mother, Lydia Phiffer, in Faithless in Death for her six children with her husband.
• Jewell Gregg in Desperation in Death (see above)
• Tessa Long’s wife, Mai Li, in Encore in Death, who was the mother of sixteen-year-old twin daughters.
• Cassidy Bryer in Payback in Death, who had been a photographer, and was now a professional mother with two children, ages four and two, who volunteered at Another Chance, helping improve interview skills for Chancers.
• Ella Rosen in Payback in Death became a professional parent on the birth of her son, Brice Noy, and remained so until her husband’s death.
• Arlene Fromer in Random in Death, “maintained professional mother status until two years ago when she went back to work as an event planner.”
• Sharlene Wilson in Passions in Death, although her former manager, Greg Barney, was not pleased with her continuing to work part-time, saying “she’d make more as a professional mother, and how much better off her kids would be if she stayed home,” until he forced her out by reducing her hours, hiring another part-timer (a man, naturally), and undermining her in little ways. Barney told Eve Wilson’s “professional mother stipend would have been more than her monthly pay from On Trend, where she worked, essentially, a handful of hours a week.” Eve pointed out, “especially after you hired another part-time -- male -- employee and cut her hours.”

Other mentions:

• Hetta Finestein was watching a talk show with a topic of higher state salaries for professional mothers when Eve stopped by her apartment to arrest her for murdering her husband, Joseph Finestein, in Naked in Death.
• Cicely Towers “was a strong, vocal supporter of professional motherhood, of family rights” in Glory in Death.
• When Eve had her badge taken in Conspiracy in Death, Roarke told her “retiring makes you a perfect candidate for professional motherhood” to add to her misery and jolt her out of her depression and into anger
• In Loyalty in Death, Monica Rowan claimed that “the government gave me a pittance for my trouble. A damn cop made more than a professional mother back then.”
• Douglas Skinner in Interlude in Death “preached about the sanctity of marriage, as long as it was heterosexual, but disavowed the government stipend for professional mothers. Motherhood, the gospel according to Skinner stated, was a God-given duty, and payment in its own right.”
• Gerald Stevenson told Eve in Portrait in Death “My mother was an amazing woman. Pure and kind. She raised me on her own. She couldn’t afford to be a professional mother, but she never neglected me.”
• Tina Cobb wanted to get married and be a professional mother, according to the information Trueheart got from her sister, Essie, in Remember When
• Caro Ewing had planned to be a professional mother, so she let her secretarial skills rust until her divorce, when she was forced to go back to work, eventually becoming Roarke’s admin; she explained this to Eve in Divided in Death.
• Cleo Grady told Eve in Promises in Death that Amaryllis Coltraine wanted to marry and become a professional mother.
• Denzel and Marta Dickenson “opted not to be professional parents,” according to Judge Gennifer Yung in Calculated in Death, who told Eve, “They both love their work, and so they’re fulfilled in that area, and devote their non-work time to each other and the family.”
• During Senator Mira’s “last term he went hard after professional parenthood, had all these figures on what it would save the government to gut the law, and how his wife was honored to be a stay-at-home mother when their children came along, and never took a dime of government money for it,” according to Peabody in Brotherhood in Death. Eve asked, “Did anyone point out his wife was rolling in it, and I bet my ass and yours had a staff?” Peabody replied, “Yeah, that sort of thing, and the fact that the Professional Parent Act is about as popular as they get, is why his numbers tanked. The pundits figure he opted not to run because he couldn’t win.”
• In Vendetta in Death, Peabody said the famous actress, Eloise Callahan, used her clout to help spearhead the Professional Parents Act.
• The prenup agreement between Gwen Huffman and Merit Caine in Faithless in Death specified that “if they have children, he agrees to pay ten K a month, per child, in addition to all educational and medical expenses for each child until they reach the age of twenty-one or graduate from college, whichever is later. If she chooses professional parent status with said children, he agrees to pay her an additional five, per month, per child, until they reach that same marker.”
• The pattern with the Natural Order members in Faithless in Death was for the women to marry in their early to mid-twenties, have “a child inside the first year to year and a half, then professional mother status or some sort of work connected to the group.”
• Eve told Becca DiNuzio in Passions in Death about her friend group: “You’re a diverse, interesting group. We’ve talked to all of you now. Artists, managers, execs, businesswomen, professional mothers, medicals, chefs, a stripper with a family who owns restaurants and real estate.”
• Greg Barney’s template in Passions in Death was described as: “He’ll want to be married around thirty, and to a white woman, or at least not obviously mixed race. He’ll expect to have a child within two or three years, and for the woman to take leave from her work and serve as professional mother for at least the first five years after that.”

• YANNI
  • According to Witness in Death, one can file and claim professional parent status for twenty years per child. However, according to Memory in Death, if someone was collecting pay as a professional parent, and he or she had a child in college, that individual kept the status until that child was finished with college, or turned twenty-four.

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