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Ramsey County proclaims August 2025 Child Support Awareness Month; officials highlight program changes and collection figures
Summary
The Ramsey County Board recognized August 2025 as Child Support Awareness Month. County Attorney John Choi and Child Support Division Director Trish Slopamer marked the program's 50th anniversary, highlighted partnerships, and cited program statistics including service to nearly 23,000 children and about $40 million collected.
The Ramsey County Board of Commissioners on Aug. 5 proclaimed August 2025 as Child Support Awareness Month and recognized staff in the county attorney’s Child Support Services Division for work on family-centered, equitable services.
County Attorney John Choi said Ramsey County’s program has been a national example for innovations that emphasize equity and family-centered practice. He noted partnerships with community organizations such as Ujama Place and The Father’s Project and introduced Child Support Division Director Trish Slopamer to discuss recent initiatives.
Slopamer, who said she has worked in child support for 28 years, described the program’s evolution away from an AFDC-reimbursement model to one that directs support to families. She cited program statistics included in the proclamation: Ramsey County’s child support staff serve nearly 23,000 children and their parents, and the division collected nearly $40,000,000 in child support payments. The proclamation also states that about 60% of parents on the Ramsey County caseload are former recipients of public assistance and that 97% of collected child support goes directly to families rather than to reimburse the government.
The board’s proclamation also highlighted Ramsey County Child Support’s participation in the Safe Access for Victims’ Economic Security program and support for policies such as arrears forgiveness and stopping interest charging on child support debt to reduce barriers to payment.
County officials said staff presented several examples of outreach and service changes in recent years and introduced division employees who attended the meeting. Trish Slopamer and others emphasized that the program uses both enforcement tools and family-centered approaches to increase payments while seeking to reduce harms that perpetuate debt.
Several commissioners thanked staff for the work. No formal roll-call vote was recorded for the proclamation; commissioners acknowledged the presentation and joined staff for a ceremonial photograph.
