September 23, 2004

            LANSING – The PayKids program has collected more than $6,732,902.59 in back support from non-custodial parents. And, on Tuesday, captured the "most wanted" deadbeat on the PayKids Foundation website at www.paykids.com .

            "Six and a half million dollars to the children of the State of Michigan is an amazing accomplishment," said Attorney General Mike Cox while making the announcement. "We've helped thousands of children across the State of Michigan but there are still hundreds of thousands of children to help. My office will aggressively and persistently target those who can pay but who refuse to support their kids."

            Cox formed the PayKids Foundation, a nonprofit corporation funded by corporate sponsors, to help address the epidemic of unpaid child support in Michigan through a public awareness campaign. The PayKids initiative includes the placement of billboards across the state and the promotion of the PAYKIDS.COM website and 866-PAY-KIDS, a toll-free number to assist those children and custodial parents who need help.

            Joined by two parents who have worked with the Attorney General’s office to collect back child support, Cox stressed that there is more to the statistics than just numbers. "We can talk about the statistics and the numbers. We can talk about the deadbeats. But, what is really important is the lives of the individuals that these numbers represent," Cox said.

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