By Staff
CASSOPOLIS – Aggressive child support efforts by the Cass County Prosecutor's Office resulted in as much as $636,588 in taxpayer savings for 2008, Prosecutor Victor Fitz announced Tuesday.
Each child support order requires that the parents – not the state – pay for various financial needs during the minority of a child.
In January 2008, with state and local budgets tightening around the country, the Cass County Prosecutor's Office looked for ways to do its part in lightening the deficit.
Investigation techniques were modified, resulting in significantly more cases being opened during the year.
Fitz and his staff set a goal of at least 300 child support orders in 2008. The previous known high had been 210 orders.
The strategy paid off.
Fitz's child support staff secured 304 child support orders – a 43-percent increase over 2007 totals.
Fitz said, "Parents are responsible for the financial needs of their children – not taxpayers. And when parents become invested, everyone benefits."
In terms of actual dollars, the 2008 total resulted in orders requiring parents to reimburse taxpayers $636,588.
The financial total for the orders in 2007 was $448,200.
Fitz indicated that he was pleased with this $188,388 increase from 2007 to 2008.
Last year is also believed to be the first time that the Prosecutor's Office has topped the 300 mark for child support orders.
"My child support investigator, Terri McCraner, has been pursuing these cases in Cass County for 20 years. While compiled records only go back to 1998, she cannot recall Cass County ever topping the 2006 mark of 210, let alone the 300 barrier," Fitz said.
"McCraner and her assistant, Jennifer Enders, worked hard with the Friend of the Court and Judge Dobrich's Family Court to secure this significant total," he added. "We will abide in our efforts to lighten the burden of taxpayers."
Fitz also noted that due to the challenging economic times in Michigan, the monetary amount of individual orders have seen a downward trend in recent years.
As persons earn a lower income, the state-established tables for child support orders decrease the order amounts.
"The bottom line is that kids need to be taken care of by parents. But the schedules take into consideration reductions in income," Fitz said.
Fitz noted, "The Cass County Prosecutor's Office, the Friend of the Court and Family Court have a strong, decade-long legacy of cooperation and success. My office has simply built on that existing foundation. We are pleased to continue the work."