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Child Support Office Reports $78 Million Collected Last Year, Serves About 28,000 Families
Summary
DHHS officials told the finance committee the Bureau of Child Support served about 28,000 families last year, collected roughly $78 million for families and recovered $4.8 million for TANF; staff described incentive funding and performance measures tied to federal awards.
The Bureau of Child Support told the House Finance Committee on March 3 that it served roughly 28,000 families in the most recent year and collected about $78 million that was distributed to families.
"Approximately 28,000 families are served annually. This last year, we collected 78,000,000," Karen Hebert said during the Division of Economic Stability briefing. Hebert said the collections are private funds returned to custodial parents and noted that part of collections is retained by the state to offset TANF expenditures when families receiving TANF benefit from child support collections.
Hebert told the committee the bureau recovered about $4.8 million for TANF maintenance‑of‑effort last year. The department also described that the bureau receives federal incentive funding tied to performance metrics; Nathan White said incentive funding typically amounts to around $2 million a year but that actual award levels depend on performance and the size of collections.
Why it matters: Child support collections are an important component of family income stabilization and reduce the demand for cash assistance programs. The bureau works with the court system to establish orders and with employers and other partners to enforce payments; staff also provide supportive services when a paying parent needs help finding employment.
Staffing and operations: Hebert said a majority of child‑support staff work in district offices as child support officers or case technicians who meet with clients and pursue collections and enforcement. The department noted that performance measures and the dollar value of court orders both influence collections, and that aggregate collection totals can vary year to year for that reason.
Ending: Committee members asked questions about staffing levels, trends in caseload and collections over the last decade, and how the bureau pursues incentive funding tied to performance.
