Amy Price, Child Support Enforcement Agency representative, told the Lorain County Board of Commissioners on Aug. 1 that the county’s child support program has increased collections and will again run a one‑month amnesty program timed for back to school. "Any obligor that's in default of their child support and has had their license suspended … can pay 1 month's school support and $1 towards arrears, and … we will reinstate their driver's license," Price said.

Price said the agency has 55 staff handling about 24,000 open cases and that, as of June 30, it had established paternity for 10,199 of 11,230 children born out of wedlock this year (96 percent) and established support in 17,891 of 18,740 open cases (95.88 percent). She reported $22,948,378 collected for current support (72.45 percent of current support owed) and $77,965,762 collected in arrears, numbers she said are up from the prior year.

The agency described the amnesty program as a short, targeted effort to “get an extra bump” in payments before school starts; Price and commissioners discussed its limits and trade‑offs. Commissioner Moore questioned whether the one‑month/$1 approach creates a recurring escape route for obligors; Commissioner Riddell said public shaming could harm children and urged caution. Price said license suspension and reinstatement cycles, while imperfect, remain one of the most effective enforcement tools and that the agency pursues bank intercepts and other enforcement techniques for collectible arrears.

Price also said the county is pursuing an early engagement program for fathers, beginning with available funding for father‑focused services, with the intention of expanding to mothers later. Jobs and Family Services Director Chris Cabot noted the county is working with the state on an Ohio County Fatherhood Mobilization Initiative and that the state may provide startup funding for local programming.

The board also approved an administrative amendment to a prior resolution authorizing purchase‑of‑service contracts tied to child support operations (Resolution 25244, adopted April 8, 2025) to correct the accounting classification. The amendment was moved and seconded and recorded as approved by the commissioners.

Price said the agency plans continued outreach and enforcement work, including efforts to reduce individual caseloads by adding caseworkers. "I just need to put more caseworkers on these cases so they don't have 1,300," she said.

Why it matters: The county's child support program affects thousands of families — collecting current support and arrears funds school and household needs for children across Lorain County and influences county budgets and partnerships with courts and law enforcement.

Details: The agency highlighted partnerships with the prosecutor's office, juvenile court, domestic relations court and the sheriff's office and said federal reimbursement covered approximately $1.8 million toward salaries and programming. Price gave examples of large enforcement recoveries, including a bank intercept that yielded $750,000 in arrears in one case.

Next steps: Price said staff will continue enforcement and outreach, pursue the fatherhood mobilization funding, and the commissioners encouraged the agency to return with follow‑up data on recidivism after amnesty periods and any measurable effects of early engagement efforts.