Well there’s no denying there’s differences in how difficult a government makes it administratively, and judging from the article Atlanta’s government is doing a really bad job.
That being said, as an adult you’re always going to have to do some administration. If you have children, you’ll have to do even more. It’s questionable if it’s a good idea to keep all of your family’s documents in a backpack you carry around, but when you do lose them, it’s up to you to get them back asap. It’s not easy. It’s not fun. But it’s something that would spur any responsible adult to drop everything and get back in order. 3,5 years?
And the article is fair to mention some other elephants in the room as well. Keeping your kids from school for two years. Ignoring calls, voicemails and emails. Never notifying the school but one day just putting your kids on a bus ‘to see what happens’. That’s completely irresponsible.
And if you’re unable to bear even the responsibility to keep your administration in order, on a fundamental level one should question whether it’s such a great idea to have four kids. If you didn’t finish school, don’t have a steady job, could easily lose your home… After having your first kid with really burdensome special needs, how difficult of a life do you think you’ll have with three more? You’re going to have to be top tier parents to turn that into a success story, otherwise you’re just setting these little kids up to fail. No amount of government assistance can ever make up for bad parents.