County : Child-Support Amnesty Gets Off to Slow Start

An amnesty program for parents delinquent in child-support payments got off to a slow start Monday, but officials are confident things will pick up soon.

“We were not exactly inundated,” said Deputy Dist. Atty. Richard Fulton, coordinator of the program that is being run in conjunction with similar operations in five other counties.

Fulton said there were about 10 calls to a hot line at (714) 834-4600 and several persons made inquiries at the district attorney’s family support office.

“Even after he or she hears about the program, they’ll have to sit down and decide where they are going to get the money,” Fulton said. “It’s going to be a building factor.”

The two-month amnesty period is aimed at getting an estimated delinquent 12,000 parents caught up on child-support payments. Parents who don’t take advantage of the program could be caught up in a major sweep planned by the district attorney’s office after the Aug. 16 deadline, Fulton said.