County and state officials blame the economy, high unemployment and parents’ inability to pay the amounts mandated by the courts for many of the defaults. Officials also cite difficulties establishing proper wage withholding processes with some parents’ employers.
Incarceration also prevents some parents from making child support payments, while others simply refuse to pay child support, officials said.
Montgomery County currently has 10 men, all with two or more children, whose child support cases are more than $100,000 in arrears. One man owes nearly $225,000, including spousal support. State law prohibits the county from identifying the men.
Custodial parents are more likely to seek public assistance when the other parent is not paying child support. That leads to higher costs for taxpayers, said Robert Gruhl, director of the county’s child support enforcement.
As of Aug. 31, Montgomery County had 59,300 child support cases and 29,743 of those cases were in default, meaning the parent was behind in his or her payments.
“I wouldn’t necessarily say that number is unusual. It’s higher than we would like it to be,” Gruhl said.
Meanwhile, the amount of money Montgomery County has collected from court-ordered child support has dropped to $101.5 million last year from $107.2 million in 2008.
“The impact of the economic recession has devastated our ability to collect at previously attained levels from years past,” Gruhl said. That translates into “less spending power by (custodial parents), thereby potentially eroding the tax base and potentially causing a reduction in local sales tax revenue collections, etc.,” Gruhl said. “Less collection means the state of Ohio might potentially earn less in federal incentive dollars for these efforts.”
Those behind in their child support payments can have their driver’s and professional licenses suspended. They also can be charged with a crime. Gruhl said county officials thoroughly review each individual’s case before seeking license suspensions or criminal charges.
A parent is more likely to have a license suspended or be charged with a crime if he or she has not responded to repeated inquiries by the county. The county also considers whether the parent appears at court hearings, Gruhl said. “We do everything we can to get (parents) to work with us,” he said. But “often times we are talking about individuals who are willfully neglecting their child support obligations.”
A new law that took effect Wednesday makes local child support enforcement agencies wait more than three months instead of one to have a parent’s driver’s or professional license suspended. The new law is meant to make license suspensions and reinstatements more consistent in all of Ohio’s 88 counties.
Under the new law, county support agencies must wait 90 days once an individual is in default for 90 days. The law then “tacks on another 14 days for individuals to respond to the last-chance letter,” Gruhl said.
“We (are accustomed to being able) to suspend a license after 30 days,” he added. “The minimum time that we can suspend a license now is 104 days.”
Gruhl said the delay gives non-custodial parents “a lot more time to make a payment or come into compliance with their obligation.”
However, once the license is suspended, the parent must pay the full amount owed before the license can be reinstated, said Ben Johnson, spokesman for the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. As of Aug. 31, Montgomery County had 10,426 driver’s licenses in suspended status for non-payment of child support. As of July 31, the county had collected $306,709 as a result of those license suspensions, excluding collections for March and April.
“I think what people need to understand is that they have an obligation to support their children,” said Gruhl, adding he hopes the new law prompts parents to contact the county about establishing a payment plan.
Charles Jones of Dayton said it took him a few months to get his license reinstated after it was suspended for defaulting on child support. He called the law a hindrance.
“If you take someone’s license, then you make it hard for them to even cash their check to pay their support,” said Jones, who is currently paying child support. David Tigner of Dayton said it took him just less than three years to get his driver’s license reinstated. One thing that helped him was that he became the custodial parent of his children. Now he’s paying back child support for the time he was not the custodial parent.
Tigner was glad to hear about the changes the new law brings.“The economy is bad and jobs are not as (plentiful) as they used to be. So, when they suspend your license (and) you do get a job, then how are you going to get there?” Tigner said. “I just feel it’s unfair in the end.”
Those wanting to contact Montgomery County Child Support can call 225-4600 or talk online to a specialist from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Friday at www.mcohio.org/childsupport.
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