"It's all about the kids" What a crock of spew. They say
this in every story. It's for the children even though mom
gets the money and does whatever she wants with it. If
they wanted to help the kids, they wouldn't remove the
father in the first place. Money for a parent. What a
system you Lefties have devised. I hope you're proud.
http://wcco.com/local/child.support.parents.2.598799.html
MN Program Helps Parents Catch Up On Child Support
CHASKA, Minn. (AP) ― When Chad Brown lost his
construction job two years ago, he fell thousands of
dollars behind on his child support payments for his
teenage son.
The Carver County attorney's office could have sent him to
jail for not making the monthly $600 payments. But
instead, county officials helped him find a job. They also
fixed his car, paid his union dues, and bought him boots
and winter clothing so he could work.
"They helped me out a lot," said Brown, 33, who is now
catching up on his payments.
Brown's dilemma was a familiar one to many of the 250,000
parents in Minnesota who must make child-support payments
every month. But he's one of scores of parents who benefit
each year from Carver County's innovative approach to
collecting child support.
Other parents who fall behind might qualify for training,
such as resume-writing and computer classes. Some receive
gas cards, bus passes or even have a county-paid cab take
them to work.
Carver County handles more than 2,000 child support cases
a year and spends about $1.4 million a year on its
collections efforts, but upgrading struggling parents'
skills or finding them jobs doesn't cost extra because
those people are helped through established county
programs for which they are eligible.
"It's all about the kids," said Diane Alsleben, the
county's child support supervisor. "The more money we
bring in, the better their lives will be."
Carver County is the state's most effective in collecting
child-support payments. It recently was ranked No. 1 by
the Minnesota Department of Human Services for the second
year in a row.
The county is one of the richest in the state, which often
leads to higher child-support awards, but state officials
said that only partly explains its success. Instead, they
point to the county's willingness to try innovative
approaches to collection.
About 50 to 60 people a year are helped in this way,
saving the county thousands of additional dollars because
parents stay out of jail and their families stay off
welfare rolls.
"The idea is to keep collecting," said Jennifer Stanfield,
who runs the collections efforts for the county attorney's
office. "Rather than automatically hitting them
financially or automatically sending them to jail, we give
them the opportunity to (pay)."
While Carver County is willing to work with parents,
Stanfield said, it's also is increasingly pursuing
criminal charges against deadbeats, including one father
who was $112,000 in arrears.
"We don't do it with every case," she said. "It's just one
more hammer that we have."
this in every story. It's for the children even though mom
gets the money and does whatever she wants with it. If
they wanted to help the kids, they wouldn't remove the
father in the first place. Money for a parent. What a
system you Lefties have devised. I hope you're proud.
http://wcco.com/local/child.support.parents.2.598799.html
MN Program Helps Parents Catch Up On Child Support
CHASKA, Minn. (AP) ― When Chad Brown lost his
construction job two years ago, he fell thousands of
dollars behind on his child support payments for his
teenage son.
The Carver County attorney's office could have sent him to
jail for not making the monthly $600 payments. But
instead, county officials helped him find a job. They also
fixed his car, paid his union dues, and bought him boots
and winter clothing so he could work.
"They helped me out a lot," said Brown, 33, who is now
catching up on his payments.
Brown's dilemma was a familiar one to many of the 250,000
parents in Minnesota who must make child-support payments
every month. But he's one of scores of parents who benefit
each year from Carver County's innovative approach to
collecting child support.
Other parents who fall behind might qualify for training,
such as resume-writing and computer classes. Some receive
gas cards, bus passes or even have a county-paid cab take
them to work.
Carver County handles more than 2,000 child support cases
a year and spends about $1.4 million a year on its
collections efforts, but upgrading struggling parents'
skills or finding them jobs doesn't cost extra because
those people are helped through established county
programs for which they are eligible.
"It's all about the kids," said Diane Alsleben, the
county's child support supervisor. "The more money we
bring in, the better their lives will be."
Carver County is the state's most effective in collecting
child-support payments. It recently was ranked No. 1 by
the Minnesota Department of Human Services for the second
year in a row.
The county is one of the richest in the state, which often
leads to higher child-support awards, but state officials
said that only partly explains its success. Instead, they
point to the county's willingness to try innovative
approaches to collection.
About 50 to 60 people a year are helped in this way,
saving the county thousands of additional dollars because
parents stay out of jail and their families stay off
welfare rolls.
"The idea is to keep collecting," said Jennifer Stanfield,
who runs the collections efforts for the county attorney's
office. "Rather than automatically hitting them
financially or automatically sending them to jail, we give
them the opportunity to (pay)."
While Carver County is willing to work with parents,
Stanfield said, it's also is increasingly pursuing
criminal charges against deadbeats, including one father
who was $112,000 in arrears.
"We don't do it with every case," she said. "It's just one
more hammer that we have."
