|
More than $100 million
Secured in 2006-2007 Fiscal Year
The Clark County
District Attorney’s Office Family Support Division
collected more than $104.2 million in child support
during the 2006-2007 fiscal year.
The money came from
50,110 parents who altogether owed child support for
75,038 children.
The amount collected
was 10 percent more than the previous year and a 45
percent jump since District Attorney David Roger was
first elected in 2002.
“This is a significant
improvement and I applaud and thank the staff for their
hard work and dedication,” Roger said. “Too often these
children are living in households that struggle
financially. It is incumbent upon all of us to do
whatever we can to make sure they receive all they are
owed. I am proud that my office has been able to play a
role in helping these families.”
Approximately $99.2
million of the total collected went to parents and
guardians who have custody of the children. The
remaining $5 million went to the state to reimburse
public assistance money that was previously provided to
the custodial parents and guardians.
During the previous
fiscal year, the office collected $95.1 million in child
support payments.
The increase in the
amount collected was thanks largely to additional
staffing and a reorganization of the office that put
more resources into tracking down delinquent parents and
establishing paternity, which made more households
eligible for child support.
During the past four
years, the Clark County Commissioners have approved 38
new positions for the DA’s Office Family Support
Division.
The Family Support
Division increased efforts to locate, arrest and take to
court those parents who were substantially behind in
their child support payments and were skipping court
hearings. As a result, nearly $500,000 in cash was
collected in the courtrooms.
The division also
streamlined some court procedures, which got more
paternity and child support cases into court.
As a
result, this past fiscal year also saw a significant
jump in the percentage of babies born out of wedlock
whose paternities were confirmed. During the 2006-2007
fiscal year, which ended June 30, Clark County
established paternity for 5,631 children, moving the
State of Nevada from a paternity establishment rate of
67.1 percent to a rate of 80.4 percent in one year.
### |
