Child Support Cases Increase in St. Joseph County

by Leanne Tokars (ltokars@wsbt.com)

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Child Support Cases Increase in St. Joseph County

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By WSBT News1

Story Created: Sep 25, 2007 at 4:28 PM EST

Story Updated: Sep 28, 2007 at 6:56 AM EST

(WSBT) A magistrate ordered Roseland Town Council member David Snyder to spend 45 days in jail for not making child support payments. He got out of jail after paying more than $20,000 in back support.

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Since then, WSBT has gotten several e-mails from people about his case.

“Most people do pay their child support obligation. Unfortunately for those people who aren't paying their child support obligation, there needs to be an enforcement measure and that's taken by prosecutors,” said St. Joseph County Prosecutor Michael Dvorak.

The St. Joseph County Prosecutor’s office has 22,680 open child support cases. It’s a 22 percent increase over the last 2½ years, and only about half are getting regular child support payments.

“I think there's just a myriad of reasons,” commented Deputy Prosecutor Micki Machowiak, who works with child support cases.

Those reasons include an increase in children born out of wedlock and loss of jobs, and it’s not just a problem here.

On Indiana's “Most Wanted” list for child support offenders you'll find a father who owes his four children more than $53,000, and another who owes more than $36,000. Click on the link in the Related Content box to go to that website.

The list also includes David Ross McKissic. He’s from St. Joseph County and owes more than $93,000 in support.

Plus, if a parent loses their job or comes under some hard times and can’t make their payments, Machowiak says there are options.

“If the obligation is too high for the obligator to pay, he or she can ask the court to modify that child support order to reflect the current financial circumstances of the party,” explained Machowiak.

She also says the prosecutor’s office offers training programs to help parents find work, because without child support, many times it's the children who suffer.

The Elkhart County Prosecutor’s office says it’s seeing a similar increase in its child support cases.

Berrien County’s Prosecutor’s office reports more than 22,000 child support cases, up about 15 percent over the last three years. They blame the economy and socioeconomic factors.

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