BALTIMORE (Feb. 23, 2009) – With a little tenacity and help from Florida law enforcement officials, Maryland’s Child Support Enforcement Administration has successfully collected $5,000 in back child support payments from the Florida man who recently gained national notoriety for finding the remains of a Florida toddler who had been missing for months.
The man had stopped paying his child support in October of 2006 and his past-due amount had grown to more than $10,000. The funds will be sent immediately to the man’s ex-wife who had custody of their child. He has agreed to repay the rest of the child support he owes by having his wages garnished by his employer on a bi-weekly basis.
Child support staff in the Charles County Department of Social Services began investigating the matter after learning that the man had recently been given reward monies. State law permits child support enforcement staff to use several means to track down money and get it to parents who care for children including: garnishing bank accounts, revoking driver’s licenses and passports, intercepting lottery winnings and withholding professional licenses.
“I think this is an example of how our hard-working state employees can have an immense impact on the lives of children and families,” said Department of Human Resources Secretary Brenda Donald. “Clearly, we will do whatever possible to make sure child support monies get into the right hands to ease the financial burden of custodial parents.”
In the last fiscal year, Maryland’s Child Support Enforcement Administration collected and distributed a record $510 million and made nearly 2.3 million payments.
The Child Support Enforcement Administration serves Maryland families by establishing paternity, establishing court ordered support, enforcing court orders, and collecting and distributing child support payments to their rightful owners. It is a government administration within the Maryland Department of Human Resources – the state’s social services provider.