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Richland County child support office reports improving arrears collections, hires Spanish-speaking clerk
Summary
Child Support Director Melanie updated the committee on performance through June 30, saying paternity and court-order establishments meet benchmarks, current support collections are near the 80% target, arrears collection is improving, and a new part-time Spanish-speaking clerical assistant was hired.
Melanie, Richland County’s child support director, told the Community and Health Services standing committee that performance measures for April through June show progress on several fronts and that staffing changes aim to improve access for Spanish-speaking participants.
Melanie said the office’s paternity establishments and court-order establishments are “meeting or exceeding the benchmark.” She reported current support collection at 75.72% as of June 30 with a goal of 80% by Sept. 30 and noted that the statewide average for current support is about 74.57%. On arrears collection she said the county is making gains and is currently 18th in the state out of 72 counties and tribal agencies; she cited the statewide arrears average of 63.88%.
On staffing, Melanie announced the hire of Jacqueline Hill, a part-time clerical assistant budgeted for 15–20 hours per week in a non-benefit position. Melanie said Jacqueline “is actually, a certified Spanish interpreter,” and that the hire should help the office serve more Hispanic-speaking participants.
Melanie also summarized budget and reimbursement timing: fiscal reports were through June 30 and the office received a second-quarter payment of $56,823.05 on July 31 that is not reflected in the June snapshot; she said reimbursements are claimed monthly but paid quarterly. She described a recent tri-annual state review that produced recommendations and some noncompliance findings; Melanie said she has already fixed about half the findings and will receive the written reviewer’s report in a month.
Melanie highlighted upcoming training and conferences for staff and noted August is Child Support Awareness Month; she cited national 2024 figures the office provided: “12,200,000 children were served by the child support program and nationally $29,500,000,000 was collected by child support agencies.”
The committee had no further questions and accepted the update as informational.
