Child Support Gets Revamp

Sweeping changes, plus new director announced

Single parents who have had to wait on delinquent child support payments should benefit from stepped-up enforcement, state Department of Human Resources officials announced today.

Secretary Ted Dallas said he is bringing in a new director to improve collection of child support payments. Joseph J. DiPrimio, the new executive director of the Child Support Enforcement Administration, said he wants to make Maryland one of the top 10 in the nation in child support collections within 18 months.

The changes come after scathing state audits this year that found the department had left more than $1.7 billion in child support uncollected. The audit found the department often failed to pursue available collection tools such as garnishing wages, seizing bank accounts and suspending occupational licenses.

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