Jan. 23, 2008

Parents struggling to make ends meet have found more than $450,000 in unclaimed child support since March 2007 by searching the Department of Human Services online databases.

The DHS Office of Child Support offers access to a searchable database of child support funds collected and owed to custodial parents as part of its Web site. Anyone who receives or pays child support can search for unclaimed funds by entering a name and the last four digits of a social security number. Funds are unclaimed most often when parents move and fail to notify the friend of the court of the new address.

"We dedicate staff to finding individuals who have the largest amounts of unclaimed funds owed but we haven't located everyone," said Marilyn Stephen, director of the Office of Child Support. "This simple tool allows parents to search for a match themselves. In 2007, using all tools and resources available, the Office of Child Support and the friends of the court distributed more than $3 million in unclaimed funds."

The Web site is just a part of the child support program strategy to get children the funds they are owed. Just before the holiday season, the Office of Child Support sent more than $183,000 to one family after locating a monetary asset owned by the parent who owed child support. Another parent used the searchable Web site and located more than $36,000.

Since the Web site was made available, 940 parents have found funds owed to them.

"Distributing child support is one of the best ways that government can keep children out of poverty," DHS Director Ismael Ahmed said. "We do everything we can to make sure families get the child support owed to them."

For additional information on the Michigan child support program go to www.michigan.gov/childsupport or www.michigan.gov/dhs