[DEC. 30, 2005]
CHICAGO -- Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich announced Dec.
27 that child support collections resulting from state-gathered
employment records have increased by nearly 57 percent in the last
year as a result of his New Hire Initiative, and child support
collections overall have grown by just over 10 percent. Over the
past two years, Blagojevich has launched a series of new child
support initiatives that have resulted in record-breaking
collections that will help
provide 386,000 Illinois parents with the money they need to care
for their children.
"Raising a child takes
love, patience, understanding -- and money," the governor said.
"Every year, it gets more expensive to provide for a child, and
every year even more parents are raising their children alone. After
years of problems and unacceptable results in the state's child
support collection efforts, we have taken major steps during the
past two and a half years to turn the system around, and our efforts
are paying off. We are continuing to find new, innovative ways to
enforce child support law, and as a result, more children are
getting the financial support they deserve."
The governor's New Hire Initiative made it easier for employers
to comply with the Illinois Department of Employment Security's New
Hire Directory by establishing a toll-free line, easy-to-understand
marketing materials and on-site training at employer sites and
association meetings, which assisted in the employer education
process. New Hire collections have increased by nearly 57 percent
compared with 2004. In 2004, New Hire collections reached just over
$16.1 million, and in 2005 New Hire collections jumped to over $25
million. In 2004, monthly New Hire average collections were $1.5
million, and in 2005 the monthly average rose to $2.3 million.
Child support collections from the state overall have grown by
just over 10 percent to over $1.011 billion, compared with 2004
collections that totaled $918.8 million. Collections in 2005
surpassed the national average by 3 percent, and more than $100
million of the $1 billion collected went to parents whose child
support was severely overdue.
"Child support enforcement in Illinois has been completely
transformed under this administration," said Barry Maram, director
of the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services, which
was formerly known as Public Aid. "As a result, the families we
serve are receiving the payments their children deserve regularly,
and delinquent parents are being held accountable."
In the mid-1990s, the Illinois Department of Public Aid's Child
Support Enforcement Division's performance fell steeply, causing
hardship for thousands of Illinois parents. In fact, in 2000,
Illinois faced the serious threat of federal penalties for poor
child support enforcement. Since Blagojevich was elected in 2002,
his administration has worked to turn Illinois' record around to
help struggling single parents meet their families' needs.
Child support is the second-largest income source for low-income
families who qualify for the program. In 2003, more than 846,735
children in Illinois were owed child support payments totaling about
$3 billion, with a collection rate of 28 percent. Today, the
collection rate is 32 percent, with 741,787 children's support being
enforced by the Department of Healthcare and Family Services.
To help more working parents provide for their children,
Blagojevich launched a number of additional new programs that led to
this year's record-breaking collections including:
The Illinois-Iowa Joint Child
Support Enforcement Office -- In October, Blagojevich announced
that Illinois joined forces with the state of Iowa to increase
enforcement of child support laws through the opening of a new,
jointly staffed child support enforcement office in Rock Island.
This is the second interstate child support office in the
country. Located close to the state line, the new facility will
have one full-time employee from each state who will work
together to ensure improved interstate information sharing,
faster collection of court-ordered child support and more
efficient enforcement of child support laws.
The Deadbeat Parent website --
In November 2003, Blagojevich launched the Deadbeat Parent
website,
www.ilchildsupport.com/deadbeats, which identified parents
who owe more than $5,000 in child support payments, resulting in
the collection of nearly $180,000 in back payments in the first
two years of operation. In addition, the Department of
Healthcare and Family Services received federal certification of
the Key Information Delivery System, the main computer for the
child support process.
The Sheridan Rehabilitation
Project -- The Sheridan Rehabilitation Project within the
Illinois Department of Corrections helps ex-offenders access
jobs and training programs so that they can meet their child
support obligations. According to the Center for Law and Social
Policy, roughly one-quarter of U.S. inmates have open child
support cases. Incarcerated noncustodial parents owe in the
range of $225 to $313 per month in child support. On average,
parents owe more than $10,000 in arrears when they got to prison
and leave prison owing $23,000 or more.
In addition, the governor signed five pieces of child
support legislation last summer.
Simplified child support interest
calculations --
Senate Bill 452, starting Jan. 1, will help Illinois
families receiving child support get their share of interest
payments before the state receives any interest payments, as a
result of a new law simplifying the calculation and distribution
of interest from unpaid child support. Prior to this new law, it
was unclear how interest should be distributed to families
receiving child support in Illinois. The simplifications will
result in more money going to Illinois families receiving child
support. Additionally, the process is simpler and easier for
both parents to understand.
Making the child support process
more efficient --
House Bill 785 makes child support collection more efficient
by updating the process to reflect current practices. The law is
effective Jan. 1.
Adding interest to unpaid alimony
--
Senate Bill 95, an initiative of the Illinois State Bar
Association, provides that any new or existing order including
any unallocated maintenance obligation (alimony) shall accrue
simple interest at the rate of 9 percent per annum, just as
child support obligations. This law is effective Jan. 1.
Improving ability to legally
serve notices on noncustodial parents --
Senate Bill 955 improves the department's ability to legally
serve notices on noncustodial parents. This law went into effect
in July.
Making payments easier through
currency exchanges --
House Bill 783 allows a noncustodial parent to give certain
information to a currency exchange so that their child support
payments can be made there, giving the noncustodial parent more
access to places where they can make payments.
This law went into effect in July.
These initiatives and resulting success earned the Division of
Child Support Enforcement an $8 million federal bonus award for
meeting federal child support indicators, the largest incentive ever
received by Illinois under a performance-based system.
