County Collects $55 Million From Deadbeat Dads Program

The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office announced Monday that more than $55 million in child support payments have been collected from delinquent fathers through a 2-year-old program run by the state Franchise Tax Board.

The program, which is used by 24 counties, allows state tax collectors to garnish up to 50% of a delinquent parent’s wages or take over checking and savings accounts until all back child support payments are made.

Notices sent to delinquent parents also inform them that liens against any real and personal property can be filed by the tax board if they don’t begin making payments within 10 days after notification.

During its two-year existence, the program has collected more than $70 million statewide, said state tax board director Ann Barkley.

“This is one of many tools the state has to collect payment on child support,” she said.

What motivated the tax board to participate in collection efforts, Barkley said, was the fact that more than $40 million is currently being collected by single mothers in the state who otherwise might get welfare.

“We realized this was no longer a social problem but a fiscal one too,” she said.