The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) today issued checks to former welfare recipients who were owed child support arrearage payments. ODJFS mailed checks totaling $1.14 million to about 8,300 cases, representing arrearage payments owed to former Ohio Works First recipients for the period between Oct. 1, 2000 and Jan. 31, 2001.

"Today's mailing of arrearage checks gets $1.14 million in child support payments to the families and children entitled to them," said Governor Bob Taft. "I am pleased that we are making progress in correcting the system."

ODJFS will issue a second round of checks at the end of next week to cover arrearages owed to families for February 2001. Further programming changes to the Support Enforcement Tracking System (SETS) to enable the correct processing of arrearages are expected to be in place in September 2001.

Until then, the department will issue checks weekly to cover arrearages received between March and September 2001 for families who entered and left the Ohio Works First program before March 2001. SETS is programmed to correctly handle arrearage payments to families who entered the Ohio Works First cash assistance program on or after March 1.

"Meeting the federal mandates of a statewide child support computer system and a central disbursement account have brought many unfortunate delays and errors," said ODJFS Interim Director Jo Ann Davidson. "Getting this money to families is an important step toward correcting problems with the state's child support system. We will continue to do our best to see that the system provides the service our customers expect and deserve."

A team of state and county staff and advocates will work to determine how to fulfill the administration's decision to exercise the option to return arrearages due to families who entered and left cash assistance between October 1997 and September 2000.

Child support is a priority issue of a targeted management review team appointed by Governor Bob Taft to assess specific areas of the department. Former Franklin County Administrator Jeff Cabot is leading the team's review of child support.

- 30 -

For more information contact ODJFS Communications, (614) 466-6650.