“About 14,000 Clermont County children depend on child support,” said Judy Eschmann, Director of Clermont County’s Job and Family Services Department, which includes the Child Support Enforcement division. “It’s the second largest source of income for single-parent families, and is crucial to the well-being of children.”
One of the most frequent reasons for not paying child support is lack of a job, said Eschmann. Success through Employment, which began in 2007 at the onset of the Great Recession, was designed to address that problem. In the last four years the program has connected 132 of 278 individuals to jobs where they have been employed for at least 90 days, a placement rate of 47%.
“Instead of going to prison, we help individuals find employment,” said employment specialist Ann Kruse, who works at the Clermont County Ohio Means Jobs Center, where STEP is located. Having the program at the jobs center and not at the county courthouse makes a difference, said Kruse.
“When an individual comes in to see us, they see the professional setting, and that we are focused on getting them a job,” she noted.
The program, which is partially funded through an $82,000 Community Correction Act grant from the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, will enroll about 66 people this year, all referred from Adult Probation.
“We have phenomenal support from judges,” said Kruse. “They know how important it is to get these offenders into jobs so that they can support their children.”
“This is not a cookie cutter program,” she added. “It’s tailored for each person.”
Kruse and her colleague Elizabeth Moran work intensely with their customers; if the parent is lacking a high school diploma or GED, Kruse and Moran can refer the parent to a GED program at the jobs center. They coach parents in workplace behaviors. They help them create a resume. The OhioMeansJobs center offers interview clothes closets for both men and women. Most importantly, Kruse and Moran work constantly with employers to find jobs that might be suitable for their customers.
Child support fact sheet
• 1 in 3 children are affected by this program and annual collections average $2 billion.
• Over 40% of the children in Ohio are born out of wedlock – over 55,000 paternities established in FFY12.
• Child support is the second largest source of income for single parent families, making up 39% of their total income.
• Ohio’s General Revenue Fund retained $26.8 million in child support collections & $7.7 million in medical collections in FFY12.
• The Child Support program collects $7.31 for every dollar expended. This is 40% higher than the national average. For every $4 expended on child support, $5 is saved in other programs. In fact, if a County CSEA establishes an order for a family on OWF, the family will leave OWF almost twice as fast as if no order is established.
• Child support collections lower poverty by 25%
Clermont County’s Child Support Program (2013)
• 4,083 children are in the program and collections average 37 million ($36,978,762 actual) per year
• 199 Paternities established
• 477 Modifications completed
• Enforcement actions taken: Averaged 2,000 judicial civil contempt filings, 403 FIDM, 327 DL suspensions calendar year 2013. In addition, as of 2013 year end there were 555 criminal nonsupport cases of which 223 were probation, 189 were diversion and 143 were miscellaneous (pending indictment, warrants).