September 15, 2015 - The Texas Attorney General’s Office Child Support Division set a record by collecting more than $3.9 billion in child support for the state fiscal year that ended Aug. 31. The $3.9 billion in collections benefitted 943,000 families and topped the previous year’s record by $186 million.
"The efficient and effective collection of child support is of benefit both to Texas families and to Texas taxpayers, helping provide security for children and ensuring that noncustodial parents support their children – not the state," Attorney General Ken Paxton said. "Our state is blessed by the dedication of the hard-working men and women of our Child Support Division, who once again have raised the bar when it comes to protecting the financial well-being of Texas children."
“By ensuring that parents financially support their children – rather than taxpayer-funded public assistance programs – the Child Support Division saved taxpayers an estimated $1.76 billion in state fiscal year 2014, as child support payments reduced the need for TANF, food stamps and Medicaid,” said Deputy Director for Child Support Mara Friesen.
The Texas Attorney General’s Child Support Division ranks first nationally in the amount of child support collected, a position it has held for the past eight years. Texas also ranks first in collections per child support employee and cost effectiveness. According to the federal government’s latest annual report, collections per Texas child support employee averaged $1.4 million in Fiscal Year 2014, compared to the national average of $565,000 per employee. In addition, by collecting $11.34 for every dollar spent, Texas is first in cost effectiveness, besting the national cost effectiveness ratio of $5.25 by 216 percent.
The $3.9 billion collected in state fiscal year 2015 helped more than 240,000 families who once received Temporary Assistance for Needy Families maintain their self-sufficiency without public assistance.
Under state and federal law, the Office of the Attorney General can assist families who request child support services and must serve families who currently receive or have received public assistance. Services offered by the Child Support Division include locating absent parents; establishing paternity for children born to unmarried parents; establishing, enforcing and modifying child and medical support orders; and collecting and distributing child support payments.
The Attorney General’s Child Support Division is the most successful and cost-effective program in the nation. The division currently administers 1.5 million child support cases, serving 1.7 million children. The division collects $11.34 for every $1 spent to operate the program and collected $3.7 billion in child support in Federal FY 2014.
