The bad news is that many parents who rely on child support payments to help put food on the table and cover the basic costs of raising their children often don’t receive the assistance to which they are legally entitled. The good news, however, is that the chances of these parents recovering some or all of this money are actually much better here in Texas than anywhere else in the nation.
While this may sound like hyperbole, consider a recently released preliminary report from the federal Office of Child Support Enforcement comparing and contrasting the child support collection efforts of the 50 states for federal fiscal year 2013.
Here, the report ranked the Texas Attorney General’s Child Support Division number one for its total child support collection efforts, amount of child supported gathered per official and overall cost effectiveness.
Breaking the numbers down, the report found the following concerning the Lone Star State’s child support program in FY 2013:
- The total amount collected by officials was over $3.6 billion.
- The average amount of child supported gathered per official was $1.35 million (over twice the national average).
- The overall cost effectiveness averaged out to $11.61 being collected for every $1 spent (versus the national average of $5.47 for every $1 spent).
It is worth noting that statistics also reveal that the AG’s Child Support Division has collected has over $30 billion in child support since 2002, while collections in the state increased by $226 million between 2012 and 2013, accounting for 72 percent of the nation’s $312 million total increase.
“Thanks to the hard work and dedication of Child Support Division employees, child support collections continue to increase in the State of Texas,” said Attorney General Greg Abbott. “This success not only helps children all across the State, but it also ensures that parents financially support their children – not the taxpayers.”
This report serves to underscore just how important it is for people owed child support not to let the matter rest and, conversely, for those encountering problems with child support obligations to consider seeking a modification. In either scenario, an experienced legal professional can examine your situation, answer your questions and enforce your rights.
Source: KGNS, “Texas Attorney General’s Child Support Division leads the nation in child support collections,” June 11, 2014
