Year-End Figures Push Child Support Collected to More Than $22 Million, Reports Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox

14 January 2006

LANSING, Mich., Jan. 10 -- Attorney General Mike Cox announced today that his Child Support Division has collected more than $11.6 million in 2005. Since creating the Child Support Division in 2003, the division has collected $22,046,379.07 for 2,132 Michigan children and has arrested more than 1,600 non-paying, non-custodial parents across Michigan and across the nation.

"Our focus is Michigan's children. My office will go anywhere to track down parents who have the ability to pay, but choose not to pay," said Cox. "The $11.6 million collected this year demonstrates my office's hard work and determination in ensuring that Michigan's children receive the support they are entitled to and need."

When Cox created the Child Support Division in April 2003, it was the first of its kind in the nation. In Michigan, unpaid child support had reached epidemic levels with more than $8 billion owed. Since its inception, the division has seen impressive results as it fights for arrearages on behalf of Michigan's children.

The collection of child support is a cooperative effort, with the Attorney General's office working together with the Office of Child Support in the Department of Human Services. The Child Support Division has also created cooperative prosecution agreements with most of the prosecuting attorneys in Michigan.

National Recognition

The success of Michigan's program has received national attention. In February 2004, the Association for Children for Enforcement of Support (ACES), the largest child-support organization in the nation, presented Attorney General Mike Cox with its Golden Hearts Award.

The division has reviewed more than 3,200 cases since its inception and is pursuing more than 2,500 open investigations and cases statewide. Since it was created, the division has made more than 1,600 arrests of non-paying, non- custodial parents and helped more than 2,132 children receive child support payments. In addition, the Child Support Division has issued more than 2,228 warrants charging more than $100,818,422.91 in child support.

Separately, Cox formed the PayKids Foundation, a nonprofit corporation funded by corporate sponsors, to help address the epidemic of unpaid child support in Michigan through a public awareness campaign.

The PayKids initiative includes the placement of billboards across the state that feature messages such as "Pay child support on time or do time," to put non-paying, non-custodial parents on notice and to highlight the issue to the public. The effort also involves the promotion of the PAYKIDS.COM website and 866-PAY-KIDS, a toll-free number to assist those children and custodial parents who need help.

Source: prnewswire

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