• 12
  • February
    2012

On Jan. 30, 2012, the Maryland Department of Human Resources announced that it collected nearly $400,000 in overdue child support from a "single non-custodial parent."

The department says the delinquent child support collection is the largest such payment of its kind in the state's history.

Officials for the department say the payment demonstrates the progress the state is making toward improving its child support collection record. In December 2011, the department announced it wants to be one of the top 10 states for child support collection within 18 months. To achieve those goals, a new executive director was hired and the department instituted numerous changes.

The head of the Department of Human Resources says the agency is "leaving no stone unturned" in its effort to collect child support due to Maryland children.

The key to the $400,000 collection was increasing cooperation with other states. In December 2010, Maryland officials began working with officials in the state where the delinquent parent lives.

In June 2011, several of the individual's private bank accounts were frozen. The state seized enough funds to cover the overdue payments in December 2011.

The department's efforts also included using enforcement tools more effectively. The state is garnishing wages and bank accounts more frequently. It is also suspending professional licenses for parents who owe child support.

Additionally, the department is working to adopt best practices and streamline its operations. It hopes to be able to distribute child support payments more quickly, and increase the amount of support it collects.

According to the department's spokesperson, it is already seeing results. It has currently collected $2 million more in fiscal year 2012 than it had at the same point in fiscal year 2011.

Source: Maryland Department of Human Resources, "Department of Human Resources Announces Largest Child Support Collection in Maryland History," Jan. 30, 2012