Monday, January 18, 2010
EFFECTIVENESS OF PASSPORT DENIAL PROGRAM IN COLLECTING CHILD SUPPORT ARREARAGES
According to an article titled "Paid in Time for the Holidays" in the December 2009 issue of The Child Support Report from the Federal Office of Child Support Enforcement:
Bells aren’t the only thing jingling this holiday season—12 families will have extra coins in their pockets. But this is no holiday happenstance; it’s the result of collections from noncustodial parents whose passports have been denied through the Federal Passport Denial program. The payments are attributed to either overseas employment opportunities or leisure travel plans for the noncustodial parents.
- California $106,584: Collected inheritance; used to help the oldest child in medical school and the youngest child buy a car
- Puerto Rico $91,050: New employment opportunity; custodial parent was able to purchase a home for the family
- New York $71, 636: Caribbean vacation
- Nebraska $59,008: Employment in the Middle East
- New York $50,422: Employment in Indonesia
- Texas $41,900: Job opportunity overseas
- Michigan $37,000: Professional athlete with competition in London
- New Jersey $33,617: Middle East vacation
- Tennessee $30,000: Employment in Canada
- Virginia $26,549: Business travel to Middle East
- Ohio $20,966: Taking a cruise; ecstatic custodial parent contacted her local child support agency to verify the validity of the payment
- llinois $14,600: Professional athlete in Japan needed pages added to his passport
Since 1998 the passport denial program has collected over $183 million in voluntarily reported lump-sum payments.
Although the Passport Denial Program is no panacea to the national child support arrearage problem, a program that has resulted in the collection of $183 Million and has uncovered untold numbers of child support scofflaws"--is better than a punch in the nose. So those who think that the person who owes them back child support is traveling on a U. S. passport may want to contact Rebecca Hamil at (202) 205-5612 for assistance.
Labels: Child Support Collection, Passport Denial Program, Welfare Reform
