Child support bucks stop with DHS

By By Lynette Wilson / staff writer
July 31, 2002
Natacha Powell says she has put off buying groceries, paying bills and hasn't taken her children shopping for school supplies or clothing.
Powell, a Meridian mom, said her monthly $273 child support check is more than two weeks late. And it's not because her husband is delinquent in making payments; it's because the state agency responsible for distributing the money is understaffed and woefully behind.
Alsee McDaniel, director of the Mississippi Department of Human Services Child Support Enforcement Division, said he couldn't respond to Powell's specific case, but that the state's budget shortfall and the fact that the agency is understaffed has caused some delay in disbursing child support payments.
Powell said her ex-husband gets paid the first of the month and sends his payment to the central receiving and disbursement center in Jackson. She used to receive her payment by the seventh day of the month, even though it wasn't due her until the fifteenth. As of today, she still has not received July's check.
Powell said she's contacted her case worker, but was told there are other mothers who haven't received a check in over a month.
Powell said she makes $10 an hour purchasing medical supplies and resources for Queen City Nursing Center. She has two children, a daughter, 10, and a son, 8. She said she tries to budget, but that longer delays are making it harder.
McDaniel said the department's 562 employees handle between 320,000-325,000 child support cases. The agency has 52 unfilled positions, some resulting from the Mississippi's budget shortfall and some due to people leaving the job.
The child support enforcement office took a $274,000 hit in the state's fiscal year 2003 general fund budget compared with 2002. The Legislature appropriated $4,285,255 for the fiscal year, which began July 1, compared with $4,559,255 last year.
WHAT TO DO
If you haven't received your child support check, the Mississippi Department of Human Services Child Support Enforcement Division suggests you contact your local case worker and not the department directly because a high call volume will only lead to longer delays.
Emergency situations are handled on a case-by-case basis.
Source: Alsee McDaniel, director, Mississippi Department of Human Services Child Support Enforcement Division.