The Child Support Enforcement Office tracks down those who are not paying.

By Josh Mitchell/Informer Publisher

There are hundreds of cases in Marion County in which fathers either refuse to pay their child support or do not have the means.

A list of Marion County residents owing past due child support has been obtained by the Marion County Informer through a public records request filed with the Mississippi Department of Human Services.

To see the list of residents who owe past due child support click the link: Nonpayment of Child Support

The document lists the name of the non-custodial parent (the parent who owes child support) as well as the total arrears, or past due amount, they owe.

There are 705 individuals in Marion County who owe a total of $3.127 million in past due child support. Some Marion County residents are behind only a few hundred dollars while some are behind by more than $100,000. One Marion County resident, William Bolles, owes $230,775.22.

In many cases, the parents who are behind in their payments cannot be located, and may no longer live in Marion County or Mississippi. However, Child Support Enforcement never gives up trying to find them. The ultimate goal is to help the children by getting the payments, said Debbie Grant, director of Child Support Enforcement for Region V, which includes Marion County.

“I like to think we’re improving the lives of Mississippi children by what we do,” said Grant, adding it is the child that suffers when payment is not made. “If someone is not living up to their responsibility, we try to locate them and see that they do.”

This poster showing Mississippi's Top Ten Most Wanted for failing to pay child support is in the Foxworth Post Office.

Grant thinks her agency has been successful in locating more non-payers than in years past. For instance, this March in Marion County there was $201,377 in child support collected compared to $89,377 collected in April 1995.

There are a total of 3,507 child support cases in Marion County, and Sheriff Berkley Hall said delinquent payments are likely to increase with the economic downturn.  Nonetheless there are few excuses for not paying child support, Hall said.

“If you have a kid, you ought to take care of him,” the sheriff stated. “Undoubtedly, you should be able to pay something.”

But the truth is that there are “a lot of dead beat dads,” Hall said, adding, “I can’t imagine anyone not wanting to take care of a child. I’ve seen people as far behind as $80,000.”

Once someone has stopped paying child support, the first step is for a petition to be filed in Chancery Court citing the parent for contempt. A summons must then be served to the parent in person by a sheriff’s deputy or process server ordering them to appear in court.

In Marion County, Chancery Court Judge Sebe Dale Jr. hears child support cases, and he said nonpayment is, “a big problem in the entire United States, not just Marion County.”

Once the parent is served with a summons, he goes before Judge Dale who listens to the circumstances surrounding the non-payment of child support. Sometimes there can be a legitimate reason why a parent is not paying child support, such as being laid off, while in other cases the person is simply lazy. Those who are not making any effort could be put in jail until they decide they want to go to work, Dale said.

Grant with Child Support Enforcement has seen some judges who have no sympathy for those who lose their jobs. The judge may ask how the parent was able to afford cigarettes or new shoes but not pay child support. She said some judges will tell the parent to find any means of paying child support, even picking up cans.

Child support payments must be made until the child turns 21, and past due amounts must continue to be paid after that. Wages are automatically withheld from the parent’s paycheck, and any income tax returns are automatically transferred to child support. Driver’s licenses can be suspended for nonpayment as well.

Many times a mother will get food stamps but not collect child support, which means the taxpayers are carrying the burden when the father should be. Child support payments vary based on income but generally they are 14 percent of a paycheck for one child; 20 percent for two; 22 percent for three; and 24 percent for four.