Maryland Aiming to Increase Child-Support Collections

March 01, 2012

Maryland Aiming to Increase Child-Support Collections

In December of 2011, Maryland's Department of Human Services announced that, as part of the state's push to reform social-service departments across the state, the DHS would focus on improving child-support collection through the Child Support Enforcement Administration. The secretary of Maryland's DHS, Ted Dallas, noted that Maryland has the highest per-capita income of any state in the U.S. and asserted that there is no reason that the state should not also lead the country in child-support collection. State officials hope the changes will improve child-support collections in Maryland.

Child Support in Maryland

The Child Support Enforcement Administration handles child-support programs in Maryland. The Administration helps both custodial and non-custodial parents in such matters as establishing paternity and child-support orders, collecting child-support payment and distributing payments the Administration has collected.

According to DHS records, there are more than 238,000 child-support cases in Maryland. In 64.7 percent of those cases, a parent receives at least part of the amount they are owed. These statistics show that there is room for improvement in Maryland's collection efforts, as many parents do not receive the full amount they are due and many do not receive any money at all.

Support Enforcement Tactics

The secretary of Maryland's DHS stated that the goal of the child-support collection reform is to make Maryland one of the top 10 states in the country for child-support collection within the next 18 months. Some of the ways that the state intends to achieve that goal are:
-Increasing the use of penalties such as wage garnishment, bank account leveraging and suspension of professional licenses for those who fail to pay child support
-Streamlining the Child Support Enforcement Administration's practices so it collects more support payments and distributes the money to the recipient parents more quickly
-Creating a Child Support Advisory Committee made up of parents, child advocates and others who have an interest in child-support enforcement to suggests changes to improve the child-support enforcement system

Consult an Attorney

Collecting money with a child-support order can be a confusing process. It may seem too overwhelming to try to get the money a parent needs to raise a child without help. Maryland's DHS can offer some assistance, but parents should consider consulting an attorney for help collecting back child support. An experienced family law attorney can help a parent file a lien, attachment or levy on the non-paying parent's property or bring a motion to have the court find the non-paying parent in contempt of court.

If you are having child-support issues, talk to an experienced attorney who can discuss your situation and advise you of your options.

Article provided by Law Offices of Corrie A. Boulay, LLC
Visit us at http://www.md-familylawyers.com