LANSING - Governor Jennifer M. Granholm has declared October 2005 Child Support Month in Michigan. This is the 19th consecutive year the state has observed Child Support Month in October.

"We want to recognize the efforts of the state's high performing child support workers, and the vast majority of parents who take responsibility and pay their child support," Granholm said. "Michigan ranked fourth highest in the nation for collections in fiscal year 2004 and Michigan parents paid the $1.4 billion that was collected. We won't be satisfied until all children get all of the support to which they are entitled, and we will pursue those who can pay but do not."

The high performance has continued in fiscal year 2005. The Department of Human Services' (DHS) Office of Child Support reports that in the first three quarters of 2005 collections have topped $1 billion. The federal government has also notified the state that Michigan will be eligible for federal performance incentive dollars for 2004. The amount Michigan receives will be determined by how many other states qualify for the incentives. The amount received in 2004 for the previous year's performance was $27 million and this money was reinvested in the child support program.

"The DHS workers, friends of the court and prosecutors of this state deserve an enormous amount of credit," said Marilyn Stephen, director of the Office of Child Support. "And so do the vast majority of parents who are taking responsibility for their children. In fiscal year 2004, 595,729 children were owed support and 444,766 – or 75 percent – received support. We won’t rest until that number is 100 percent."

In the first nine months of 2005, $960 million was paid to families in Michigan, $18 million was distributed to cover medical costs for children and $74 million was collected to reimburse federal and state governments for public assistance provided to families.