WICHITA - New system delays many checks for child support

By Jennifer Comes Roy The Wichita Eagle

Linda Billinger says the "smooth transition" of child support and alimony payments through the new Kansas Payment Center must have happened for everyone but her. On Aug. 13, when Billinger received word that child support would be coming through the center and not the county court clerk, she was assured there wouldn't be a delay in receiving her money. It's now October, and there's still no August check.

"My child support used to come all the way from Goodland, Kansas, and I could set my watch by when it arrived," Billinger said. "It would be mailed on a Friday, and I'd get it Monday."

Late checks aren't the only problem. People who call the center either can't get through or can't get a straight answer about when they can expect payment.

State officials concede they're receiving many calls about child support at the center's toll-free number. But Janet Schalansky, secretary of the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services, said Sedgwick County's problems are unique.

"In Sedgwick County, some bad notices have gone out, and there's also delays in payment," she said. "Right now it's about a two- or three-day delay.

"This is unfortunate, but I think we feel very comfortable that this won't happen in subsequent months. The system's working right; it's just slow."

In the meantime, Schalansky said, be patient. The toll-free number, (877) 572-5722, may be busy a lot, but keep trying. Or access the Web site, www.kspaycenter.com.

A centralized child support system was required of every U.S. state and territory as part of the nation's welfare reform initiative. The systems were to be up and running by either Oct. 1 of 1998 or 1999. Kansas lost $1.3 million in funding because it could not meet the 1999 deadline.

The centralized center in each state would simplify life for employers, which otherwise have to send wage withholdings for child support to hundreds of different counties or states. It's also believed such centers would track nonpaying parents more efficiently.

Other states -- notably North Carolina, Tennessee and Illinois -- had similar problems getting their centers up and running. Illinois and North Carolina officials stepped forward to issue checks to families whose payments were not getting through.

"It took them not more than a couple of months for each of those states to get those initial issues resolved," said Michael Karfin, spokesman for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

"For most of the country, it is working," he said. "This is one feature that is going to pay off for families for years to come in getting reliable child support."

In Kansas, Tier Technologies, the company under contract to develop the system, has brought employees to Topeka from other states to address the backlog.

Billinger's neighbor, Denise Mitchell, usually gets two checks every month, but that was then.

"The last child support check I got was Sept. 11," Mitchell said. "As of Monday, we'll be two checks behind."

Her daughter Tylena, 8, has suffered from the delay, Mitchell said. And the longer Mitchell waits, the angrier she gets.

"I wonder if KGE would appreciate it if I called them and said, 'I can't pay you because I'm using the money I would have used to pay you to pay for groceries instead,' " she said.

Mitchell's ex-husband, Victor, has had child support deducted from his pay, and has shown his check stubs to Denise to prove it. He worries that there's no record the payments were made by him.

"When you're working and trying real hard to take care of things for your daughter," he said, "it raises pretty serious questions about what's really going on."

http://web.wichitaeagle.com/content/wichitaeagle/2000/10/06/localnews/childsuppt1006_txt.htm

-- Doris (reaper@pacifier.com), October 06, 2000