*This is an archive page. The links are no longer being updated.
1992.09.30 :  Child Support Collections

Contact:  Larry Dye (202) 401-9215
September 30, 1992

       The Department of Health and Human Services announced
today that a record $619,683,482 has been collected for past due
child support from over 933,000 federal tax returns so far in
*This is an archive page. The links are no longer being updated.
1992.  This represents an increase of 14 percent over last year
at this time.
       "Every parent owes it to his or her child to provide
support, and we should intervene vigorously wherever a parent is
failing to meet this obligation," HHS Secretary Louis W.
Sullivan, M.D., said in citing the newly released figures.  "The
higher collections we have achieved reflect the President's
commitment to secure parental support for our children."
       The tax return collections are part of an estimated $7.8
billion in support payments for children to be obtained through
HHS' Child Support Enforcement program in FY *This is an archive page. The links are no longer being updated.
1992.  This total,
up from $7.0 billion in 1991, aids more than 5 million children.
       "Parents simply must understand the impact of non-support
on their children," Secretary Sullivan said.  "We would rather
see parents voluntarily honor their responsibility to their
children.  But we will continue to use any method available to us
to obtain what is rightfully owed to a child."    
       Since the beginning of the Federal Income Tax Refund
Offset Program in 1981, over $3.9 billion has been collected. 
Under the program, State Child Support Enforcement agencies
report names of parents who are delinquent with their support
payments and the overdue amount to the federal Office of Child
Support Enforcement.  These persons are notified in writing of
the amount which would be withheld to cover their child support
debt and of the procedures to contest if they believe the action
is in error.  Parents who have been notified of a potential
offset may have their names deleted from the list by paying the
full amount due, or at state option, by entering into an
agreement to make periodic payments.
       "Child support is a message to a child.  Payment of
support says you care, non-payment says you don't," said Jo Anne
Barnhart, assistant secretary for children and families. 
"Parents need to realize that their child support is more than a
matter of dollars and cents, it is about the well-being and the
future of their children."   
       Parents whose children receive Aid to Families with
Dependent Children and have unpaid child support of $150 or more
may have their federal income tax refunds withheld. 
Approximately 697,000 parents in this category were affected. 
Through July 1992, over $449 million was collected, an increase
of nearly $70 million or 18 percent from last year's collection. 
These collections are used to reimburse state/local governments
for the public assistance previously provided to the families. 
For non-AFDC families, an accrued debt of $500 can activate an
offset.  Approximately 236,000 families in this category
benefited this year and, over $169 million was collected on their
behalf, a jump of over $46 million or nearly 38 percent from the
same time period last year.
       The Federal Income Tax Refund Offset Program can help
identify the location, the employer and the assets of parents not
meeting their legal and moral obligation to their children so
that further enforcement action can be taken.  
       For a processing cost of only $4.65 per case, the most
recent average tax offset was $718 for non-AFDC cases.  The
average collection for AFDC cases was $645 per case.  

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