Mississippi Officials Step Up Efforts to Collect More Money From Absent Parents

Published by Lawayne Childrey on 03 Aug 2009 8:41pm
childSupport_clo.jpg
listen

Mississippi child support collections soared to over 286 million dollars this past year and officials say the numbers continue to rise. MPB's Lawayne Childrey reports.

Last year the Mississippi Department of Human Services, Child Support division collected more than 80 million dollars more in child support than they did 3 years ago. A portion of that money goes to help Annella Sanders take care of her son.

“It helps him to have the supplies, the clothes the food It helps in assisting with our rent our mortgage. All aspects.”

The MDHS child support division collected millions of dollars from deadbeat parents for nearly 500 thousand Mississippi children. But according to Division Director, Wally Naylor, the current state of the economy is greatly impacting the enforcement of insurance and medical assistance for many of these children.

“Some of the absent parents are unable to afford it. You know health insurance now is so expensive. We get orders but it’s difficult to get it enforced. And ah, we are right now trying to get health insurance for children that are not on any governmental assistance and yet in a family where they can afford to provide health insurance for them.”

Enforcement methods used to collect child support for children include income withholding orders, license suspension and property liens. But even with the millions of dollars collected, Naylor says children also require emotional support.

“Children need to know that they are loved by both parents. That both parents value them and that regardless how difficult life may get for them, they they’ve got somebody standing with them. And you can’t get that since of well being and support if you don’t have a relationship with a person whose absent from your life.”

Officials say those who fail to adhere to child support orders may face incarceration. Posters of the "Ten Most Wanted" for unpaid child support are also printed and distributed throughout the state. For MPB News, I'm Lawayne Childrey.