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Counties praised for child support efforts; Kalkaska, Kent, Leelanau, Ottawa, Tuscola win awards
October 07, 2016
For Immediate Release: Oct. 7, 2016
LANSING, Mich. – County child support agencies that have done the best job of collecting support and establishing paternity won awards from the state’s Office of Child Support.
Kalkaska, Kent, Leelanau, Ottawa and Tuscola counties are receiving recognition today from the Office of Child Support within the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.
“We are proud of the hard work that all our counties perform daily,” said MDHHS Office of Child Support Director Erin Frisch. “Once each year, we recognize those counties that have delivered exceptional performance in the child support program. These awards demonstrate our commitment to and delivery on ensuring children are supported. It is one thing to exceed goals and it is another to know that when you do, children and families are benefitting from that accomplishment.”
Child support program leadership sets annual goals for program performance based on federal requirements for earned incentive dollars to the states. The counties honored exceeded those goals based on preliminary fiscal year end measures.
Kalkaska County, for example, obtained orders in 87 percent of cases, collected on 83 percent of cases with debt, collected 75 percent of current support owed, and achieved 105 percent of the goal for establishing paternity. The percentage can be higher than 100 percent if more children have paternity established in the time period than the total number of children needing paternity for that same time period.
Counties are categorized by size of the child support caseload. The Office of Child Support awards the highest performing extra-small, small, medium, large and urban counties.
Michigan’s child support system ensures families receive the financial support they deserve, while focusing on a holistic approach to serving them. More than 800,000 families receiving child support services from Michigan. Total statewide collections exceed $1.3 billion annually.
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