Alabama Sees Decline in Child Support Payments

Hard economic times have made it difficult for many single parents in Alabama to collect child support payments.  In Madison County and Huntsville County alone, more than 10,000 child support cases have yet to be collected.

The Alabama Department of Human Resources said it's seeing a lag in child support payments, likely due to the fact that many single parents have lost their jobs. Furthermore, the current economic climate has made it difficult for single parents to collect from deadbeat ex-spouses.

According to Mary Jo Dennison, Assistant Director of Finance for the DHR, there are parents in Alabama who owe around $50,000 or $60,000. Part of the problem she says is that it can be difficult to locate these parents.  She also says that sometimes the non-custodial parent will take a job that pays cash under the table, so there is no way to monitor their income.

There are also some cases in which non-custodial parents were making payments until they lost their jobs. Now they are unable to continue making payments due to lack of income.

According to the DHR, the decrease seen in child support payments isn't significant now, but it could change for the worse if the economy doesn't pick up.

"We are going to have more and more people who can't meet their court-ordered obligation," said Dennison.

There are still a number of tools the agency is prepared to use to collect payments, including confiscating tax refunds, wage assignments, and suspending driver's licenses.

For more information about child support laws, click here to find a family law attorney near you.