Attorney General Bill Schuette today announced that the Attorney General's Child Support Division has secured more than $120 million in child support owed to more than 10,000 Michigan children.
"If you have the ability to pay child support and refuse to fulfill that responsibility, we will hold you accountable," said Schuette. "It's a privilege to help more than 10,000 children and their parents when they need it most."
Schuette's Child Support Division has collected more than $120,841,450.51, according to the most recent statistics available. A total of 10,150 children have received child support funds owed to them since the Attorney General's Child Support Division was launched in 2003. The largest payment received, to date, was $250,000 in a 2004 case arising from Kent County. Since its launch, the office has averaged approximately 900 warrants and 770 arrests per year.
Schuette noted the Child Support Division focuses on those parents who have an ability to pay, but refuse to do so. Michigan is the only state to make failure to pay child support a four-year felony. Schuette said his office focuses on non-custodial parents resuming regular child support payments, not jail time. As a result, Michigan kids are paid what they are owed and subsequently receive consistent support into the future. Oftentimes the recognition of potential criminal prosecution is enough to encourage a non-custodial parent to act before setting foot in a courtroom.
