Lansing - The Department of Human Services' Office of Child Support, in coordination with the Friends of the Court in 31 northern counties and Ottawa County in western Michigan, will begin disbursing some child support payments through a debit card beginning May 25. A new law requires all child support payments to be electronically disbursed via direct deposit into a personal checking/savings account or to a debit card, unless recipients meet hardship exception criteria.

Customers who currently receive paper checks in these counties have received information in the mail and were given the choice of direct deposit to their checking/savings account or to debit card. Paper child support checks will no longer be sent out to customers unless they meet the hardships exceptions described in the law.

Before implementation of the law about 30 percent of child support recipients in the state had their payments directly deposited into their personal checking or savings account. Customers currently participating in direct deposit are not required to switch to the debit card.

The new VISA debit cards, which will be issued at no cost to the customer, can be used like any other bank or credit union debit card at millions of locations that accept VISA debit cards - without incurring any fees. Customers can also get cash back with purchases from any of over 29,000 Interlink merchants in Michigan - again without fees. Customers choosing to access debit card funds using an automated teller machine (ATM) will be subject to ATM fees.

In states with electronic disbursement already in place, about two-thirds choose direct deposit to checking/savings and one-third choose direct deposit to debit cards.

Attached to this press release is an overview of electronic disbursement and a statewide implementation schedule which lists the 32 counties that will transfer to electronic disbursement during May.