Custodial Parents See Progress in 2002 Toward Greater Child Support Enforcement Options
National Coalition for Child Support Options Encouraged by Recent Actions in Support of Custodial Parents

For Immediate Release
January 22, 2002

Houston, TX ---- The National Coalition for Child Support Options (NCCSO) announced today that in 2002 important steps were taken to increase the number of enforcement options available to custodial parents looking for help. A report on private enforcement agencies by the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) and the recent issuance of guidelines by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Office of Child Support Enforcement (OSCE) top the list of the year’s successes.

"Our successes in 2002 demonstrate the power of a united voice. More than 5,000 custodial parents across the country have joined the NCCSO and new members sign up everyday," said NCCSO President Susan Williams.

In March, 2002, the GAO released its findings from a study of the practices of both government and private child support enforcement agencies. The GAO found that private agencies work the toughest child support cases, including inter-state cases, with great success. According to the study, thousands of parents are turning to private agencies when the government has been unable to assist them.

In December, HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson announced the issuance of a number of new guidelines to state child support program administrators nationwide asking them to work in cooperation with private enforcement agencies in an effort to more effectively address the growing problem of uncollected child support.

"When government enforcement agencies are closing the door on one out of two custodial parents, they have a responsibility to ensure that there is another door open someplace else," said Williams. "Parents need multiple, effective enforcement options."

The NCCSO has been calling for greater cooperation between government and private child support enforcement agencies. A handful of state child support agencies have been interfering with custodial parents’ rights to get help from private agencies -- even when the state agency has been unable to assist them.

The federal guidelines distributed by Secretary Thompson referred to the GAO report on private child support agencies and cited the findings that private agencies are equipped to handle some of the toughest cases. The guidelines demonstrated HHS' position that custodial parents are best served when more resources are available to them.

"I applaud Secretary Thompson and HHS for taking a strong stand that recognizes the important role of private child support enforcement and the rights of parents using these agencies to help them collect their child support," said Williams. "I would have never received a penny of my child support if I hadn’t turned to a private firm. The bottom line is, the more options available, the more families get help."

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The National Coalition for Child Support Options (NCCSO) is a coalition of more than 3,000 parents, concerned citizens, community and business leaders, attorneys and members of the child support enforcement community who have joined to fight the national epidemic of unpaid child support.

NCCSO advocates enforcement options so that custodial parents have several resources available to them when seeking child support collection assistance. NCCSO membersdo this by reaching out to the media, decision-makers and the general public to educate them about threats to the existence of these options and choices.

For more information, please visit the web site www.childsupportoptions.org or call 1-866-244-1946.