083010 Commissioners proclaim August Child Support Awareness Month
With the impressive numbers her agency put up last year, Wayne County Child Support Agency Director Deborah Watkins had a lot to celebrate when the Wayne County Commissioners proclaimed August as Child Support Awareness Month.Through increased efficiencies, in 2009 Watkins' agency collected over $16.3 million and earned the distinction of being named the Most Improved Support Order Establishment by the State Office of Child Support.
The agency was so efficient that it collected $10.37 for every dollar it spent in 2009, more than double the national average.
According to Watkins those statistics would not be possible without the local agencies and elected officials including Job and Family Services, Children Services, the Sheriff's Office and the courts who work in partnership to get much needed dollars into the hands of the families it serves.
"It is a team effort. If we didn't have the support of any one of them we couldn't do our job," said Watkins.
"An efficient and effective child support program helps to improve children's' well being, helps thousands of families stay off public assistance and prevents courts from becoming overburdened with over 7000 cases each year," said Watkins adding "the value the Child Support Agency brings to Wayne County, its children and its families is immeasurable."
The challenge Watkins faces is keeping that momentum up in the face of what will likely be a significant cut to the agency's funding.
According to Watkins, the agency receives no funding from the county but rather funds its $1.8 million budget through a combination of state and federal dollars.
Waktins noted that the agency currently receives approximately $183,000 from the state's general fund, which can be used as the local match to draw down $2 in federal funds for every $1 of state funding.
The agency also receives incentive funding passed down from the state to local child support agencies. These funds are awarded to the state by the federal government based on the state's overall performance.
Ohio currently receives approximately $29 million in incentive funds, which it in turn distributes to individual counties based on the amount of child support they collect. Wayne County's share of those funds is approximately $222,000.
Until the passage of the Deficit Reduction Act, counties could use their incentive funds as the local match to receive an additional $2 from the federal government for each $1 it spent, effectively doubling the amount of the incentive.
While the Deficit Reduction Act eliminated the local match capability, the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act restored the counties' ability to use those funds as the local match through September 30, 2010.
According to Watkins, without action by Congress to extend that date, the agency stands to lose $517,000 in federal government funding alone, a figure which represents half of the agency's salary budget
And that's on top of funding reductions proposed by the state.
According to Watkins, the State Office of Child Support has proposed retaining 10 percent of the $29 million in incentive funding it receives from the federal government to pursue information automation projects, thus reducing the amount of incentive dollars it passes on to the counties. That cut alone will result in over $88,000 in lost funding to the agency.
The state also plans to distribute incentive dollars to the counties differently next year, which will result in the loss of an additional $5800 to Wayne County, the impact of which is doubled because the lost funds won't be available for matching funds.
That may not be the end of the reductions for the agency.
With the state's economy still lagging, the agency could take another hit in the upcoming biennial budget.