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| Ohio changes tactics to collect child support |
| By marionstar.com - Jessica Alaimo |
| Published: 09/16/2011 |
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A non-custodial parent will be able to continually pay just half of his or her child support obligations with no risk of losing driving, recreational or professional licenses, starting Oct. 1. From Jan. 1 to Aug. 31 of this year, 100,533 parents lost a drivers' license, 83 lost a professional license, and 997 lost a recreational license for failure to pay child support, according to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. A parent could have more than one license suspended. Those who lost their drivers' licenses between Sept. 30, 2010, and Aug. 31, 2011, collectively paid just 19 percent of their child support obligations, according to the department. This change is one of three the General Assembly made this year to child support enforcement. The changes were enacted as part of the state budget. The Child Support Enforcement Agency can now tell the state Bureau of Motor Vehicles to remove a prior suspension for failure to pay from someone's driving record. And, in the recent sentencing reform passed, the law suggests that judges sentence defaulters to probation or community service instead of jail. There are 341 inmates in Ohio prisons for failure to pay child support, according to the Ohio Department of Corrections. Jeffrey Aldridge, deputy director of the child support office at the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, said license suspension is a discretionary tool used by judges. Someone who habitually pays only 50 percent after the law takes effect could be hit with other sanctions, Aldridge said. Those include a hit on their credit report, getting a bank account seized or being held in contempt of court. Sanctions are determined on a case-by-case basis. Most of those who end up losing a license are those who haven't paid in years, said David Fleischman, program services chief at the state's Office of Child Support, a division of the Department of Job and Family Services. "The idea was to give counties the ability to allow obligors to be responsive to the notices before someone takes action," Aldridge said. Fleischman said the federal government requires states to allow judges to take away the licenses of those who default. Over the years, the state has expedited the reinstatement process, Fleischman said. Those who lost their licenses because of default can state their case that they need their license for work or participate in a job training program. Read More. |
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