COUNTY LAUNCHES CHILD SUPPORT TIP LINE

December 12, 2013 (San Diego)--Know someone failing to pay court-ordered child support? You can now report them online - anonymously.

The Department of Child Support Services recently launched an online tip line. You can tell Child Support where a person works or lives, and a caseworker will follow up and take the appropriate action, which could include wage garnishing or serving another court order.

The tip line is not intended for custodial parents to report non-payment, as they would be faster served by directly contacting their case worker.

“Basically, it’s a vehicle for people in the community who may be aware of someone who owes child support and has the means but is not paying,” said John Rosenthal, community relations manager for the Department of Child Support Services.  “It’s another tool to help us provide medical and financial support to children.”

The overarching goal is to increase child support payments to help families be self-sufficient. The department collected more than $178 million in child support payments last year.

While the department’s main goal is to collect and distribute child support, Rosenthal stresses it works with both parents to reach a child support order that accurately reflects the current income and custody situation for both parents in the case.

Case workers make numerous efforts to work with a non-custodial parent who owes money, he said. For instance if a non-custodial parent is unemployed, a case worker can refer them to community resources such as Workforce and San Diego Dads Corps.

A button to the online tip line is at sandiegochildsupport.org. Click on it, fill it in and submit.

“It’s just one more way that we can try to make it easier for the community to communicate with our office,” Rosenthal said.