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"To raise a healthy and happy child, it takes
love, patience, understanding -- and money," Blagojevich said.
"Children need clothes to wear and food to eat. Every year, it gets
more expensive to provide for a child, and every year even more
parents are raising their children alone. When I was running for
governor, the child support system in our state was the worst in the
nation. But over the past two and a half years we have taken major
steps to turn the system around, and our efforts are paying off.
This year, we set a new record in child support collections, and
we're sending a clear message to deadbeat parents: If you don't pay
up, the state of Illinois is coming after you."
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.
"We are doing what needs to be done quickly and efficiently to
ensure that our most vulnerable children get the support they need
and deserve," said Barry Maram, director of the Department of
Healthcare and Family Services.
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.
Collections on cases receiving enforcement services from the
Department of Healthcare and Family Services (formerly the Illinois
Department of Public Aid) grew 8.5 percent, surpassing the national
average of 3 percent growth. More than $100 million of the $1
billion collected went to parents whose child support was severely
overdue.
To help more working parents provide for their children and
leading to this year's record-breaking $1 billion in collections,
Blagojevich launched a number of critical programs, including:
In November 2003, Gov. Blagojevich
launched a website that identifies parents who owe more than
$5,000 in child support payments, resulting in the collection of
over $172,000 in back payments in 18 months of operation. In
addition, Healthcare and Family Services received federal
certification of the Key Information Delivery System, the main
computer for the child support process.
New Hire Initiative. In Illinois, 80 percent of child
support is collected through wage withholdings, a method
facilitated by the Illinois Department of Employment Security's
New Hire Directory. This year, the Blagojevich administration made
it easier for employers to comply with the Illinois Department of
Employment Security's New Hire Directory by establishing a
toll-free line to get information and clarification about the law
and developed easy-to-understand marketing materials that assisted
in the employer education process. Healthcare and Family Services
also provided on-site training at employer sites and association
meetings.
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.
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 These initiatives and resulting success earned the Division of
Child Support Enforcement a $7 million federal bonus award for
meeting federal child support indicators, the largest incentive ever
received by Illinois under a performance-based system.
Mary Marquette, an Illinois parent who has collected child
support and was present at the bill signing, said she has benefited
from Illinois' innovative collection programs.
"The passport program is a really great tool, and more states
should adopt the program because it is fail-safe -- if the person
who owes child support wants to travel, they need to pay their child
support," she said.
To continue Illinois' recent success and further strengthen child
support enforcement, the governor signed several pieces of
legislation Thursday:
- Making the child support process more efficient:
Sponsored
by Rep. Cynthia Soto, D-Chicago, and Sen. Iris Martinez,
D-Chicago,
House Bill 785 makes child support collection more efficient
by updating the process to reflect current practices. The law is
effective Jan. 1, 2006.
Adding interest to unpaid alimony: Sponsored by Rep.
Patricia Reid Lindner, R-Sugar Grove, and Sen. Susan Garrett,
D-Highwood,
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, 2006.
- Improving ability to legally serve notices on noncustodial
parents:
Sponsored by Rep. Lovana Jones, D-Chicago, and Sen.
Kwame Raoul, D-Chicago,
Senate Bill 955 improves the department's ability to legally
serve notices on noncustodial parents. This law is effective
immediately.
- Making sure the family receives interest payments first:
Sponsored by Rep. Patricia Reid Lindner, R-Sugar Grove, and Sen.
Maggie Crotty, D-Oak Forest,
Senate Bill 452 simplifies the calculation and distribution of
interest on unpaid child support and ensures that collections of
interest are paid to the family first. This law is effective Jan.
1, 2006.
- Making payments easier through currency exchanges:
Sponsored by Rep. Cynthia Soto, D-Chicago, and Sen. Iris Martinez,
D-Chicago,
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 new legislation provides a fair and equitable way to help
ensure women receive their divorce maintenance payments on time,"
said Garrett, sponsor of Senate Bill 95.
"For many low-income families, child support payments can mean
the difference between living comfortably and falling into poverty,"
said Soto, sponsor of House Bill 785. "These new laws will help
families collect the money they need to stay afloat."
[News release from the governor's
office] |
