LOS ANGELES COUNTY : Child-Support Collection Program Nets $5.6 Million

A new program to collect delinquent child support payments has pulled in $5.1 million in Los Angeles County, and $5.6 million overall, after three months, according to figures released Wednesday.

The Franchise Tax Board’s Child Support Collection Program is on its way to reaching its first-year goal of collecting $14 million in delinquent child support payments statewide, State Controller Gray Davis said. The program collected the $5.6 million between Dec. 1 and Feb. 28, Davis said.

“This program is surpassing all expectations,” Davis said. “The results have been extraordinary. Deadbeat parents who owe child support are being forced to live up to their responsibilities, and thousands of California children are living better.”

The board more than doubled its child support collections in February, compared with the two previous months, by sending out levies to attach wages and bank accounts. The program collected $1.8 million from December to January by sending out payment notices alone, Davis said.

The program is a two-year pilot project involving six counties, including Los Angeles, Santa Clara and Ventura. Prosecutors in the counties can send a combined total of 200,000 cases at a time to the FTB. The board acts as a “collector of last resort,” accepting only cases that are more than 30 days in arrears, Davis said.