MIKE RUPERT
More than 400 parents of D.C. children showed up over the final weekend of an amnesty campaign to get current on their delinquent child support, city officials said Tuesday.
The two-week campaign, which ended Saturday, brought in more than $200,000, said Traci Hughes, spokeswoman for the D.C. Office of the Attorney General.
Benidia Rice, director of the D.C. Child Support Enforcement Division, said that while the program resulted in a financial boost for District children, it's about more than just money.
"The fact that hundreds of parents have stepped up to pay support means that more kids are assured of having both parents actively involved in their lives," Rice said in a statement. "These parents now know that the child support agency is not a barrier from seeing their kids because they are behind on their child support payments."
The Child Support Amnesty Program 2005 was a tri-jurisdictional effort involving the District of Columbia, Arlington County and the entire state of Maryland.
Arlene Krohmal, Arlington district manager for Virginia's Division of Child Support Enforcement, said 80 parents paid a total of $64,000 over the two-week period. Krohmal said parents paid an average of 7.4 percent of what they owed. Parents pledged another $1.6 million in future payments, she said.
Maryland Department of Human Resources spokeswoman Paula Tolson said the state was still putting together the final figures Tuesday, but estimated that more than 2,500 parents made immediate payments of more than $500,000.
Rice said parents who didn't take part in the amnesty offering will be tracked down.
"We take nonpayment of child support very seriously," Rice said. "Our office will exhaust every legal means to make certain that kids are financially supported."
Rice said her department has the authority to revoke driver's licenses, garnish wages and impose tax liens. The Metropolitan Police Department can also arrest parents for skipping out on paying court-ordered child support payments.
Amnesty Program
- District: Traci Hughes,
202-727-3400
- Arlington: Arlene Krohmal, 703-845-4204
n Maryland: Paula Tolson,
410-767-7758
