August is Child Support Awareness month in Ohio and the Ohio child support program impacts more children in the state than any other public program, except public education.
Morrow County Child Support Attorney/Administrator, Shayne Oehlhof said one in three children is affected by the program.
Oehlhof gave the statistics for Morrow County child support payments and cases at a Commissioners meeting last week. The Morrow County Office of Child Support has an average of 1,875 cases and collects approximately $4,258,177 per year.
The child support program ensures parents financially support their children when they are living apart. There were 252 court hearings last year and paternity was established for 18 children. 612 people had their drivers licenses suspended for failure to pay child support.
The program provides many important services, which include collecting child support for families, establishing the legal relationship between children and their parents, enforcing court orders and health insurance coverage.
Ohio establishes paternity for more than 56,000 children born to unmarried parents each year. With nearly 954,000 cases, Ohio collects $1.89 billion dollars per year on average. Child support is a growing source of income for single parent families, making up 39 percent of their total income. Employers collect nearly $1.4 billion in child support payments each year.
Director of Morrow County Job and Family Services, Don Wake said that there has been a recent name change that went into effect for the Morrow County Child Support Enforcement Agency. It is now known as the Morrow County Office of Child Support. The change was enacted to shift the focus to supporting families and to emphasize a more collaborative attitude with those responsible for paying child support.
Morrow County Commissioner, Dennis Leader thanked Wake and Oehlhof for their work on behalf of children and families.
“Here in Morrow County we take care of children,” Leader said.
