Va. sues Texas collection agency over child support payments

I don't think anyone has a problem paying this company, or others like it, if they are actually doing the work and collecting the payments themselves. In my experience, and from what I've read from others, the issue is with the fact that they don't really do any of the work but yet they intercept your payment from the state agency (who did all the work) and deduct their extremely high fee before forwarding what's left on to the children. That's not fair. They're essentially being paid for nothing.
There certainly should be private companies like this available to the public as an alternative to the state agencies but they should be regulated more effectively and kept within strict guidelines.

First, for the Family Law Attorney - private child support collection or enforcement agencies are not illegal, nor should they be. Child support, as you well know, is an obligation. Private child support enforcement agencies are licensed and bonded in Texas by the Texas Department of Banking.

If you are in fact a Family Law Attorney, then you would know about UIFSA - Uniform Interstate Family Support Act. Once a child support order has been issued, anyone can issue a wage withholding order.

For those who bemoan that the private sector charges fees for their services, get realistic. It costs a lot of money to chase after deadbeats and collect money from them. Someone has to pay those costs. The person that is owed the child support believes that it is in the best interests of the child to make that expenditure. Given that the government quite often is unable or unwilling to get results for the parent, they should be able to avail themselves of other options. Lawyers are notoriously ineffective in collecting child support (or any money at all for that matter) as they can only take someone to court. They can not force people to pay the way that private agencies can.

I guess the state needs to look in their own back yard to see what the real problem is. I have on a number of times called to report a dead beat dad whom owes over 80,000 in child support, when I did get someone to talk to they acted as if they did not care.Now that the parents have some one that really will fight to get what is owed, the state is trying to stop them.Well then what they need to do is look at the ones running the office of DCSC and fix the major problem with in..We need to remember who the support is for not the dead beat but the KIDS.Fight for them.

they provide a great service to custodial parents owed child support, unlike Virginia and other states that let bureaucrats handle the collection, or non collection which is usually the case. Believe me, SupporKids do more than send out a few letters, they have to locate the non custodial parent most of the time and they actually call them for payment. Ask any state worker how many calls they make to find someone or talk to them on the phone....zero, zip, none! I personally collected $10000 for a mom which saved her home from foreclosure. I'd rather have a private company working for me any day as opposed to a state worker only interested in keeping their job and how long it is until 5pm rolls around.

What the Texas Company is doing seems grossly illegal. Most parents can't afford to pay more than what the state code formula determines; so, it seems like this private company is stealing millions from money that should go to increase the children's standard of living. All for sending out letters with their address on it. It is unfair to expect either the payor's to pay for their "fee" or the payee's to pay. I thought you needed a judge's signature on an order before taking money from people's paycheck. Someone needs to go to prison on this one.

My mother is a single mother that raised 2 girls w/ little or no help from the fathers. They were both put on child support but one of them was living in West Va and he was ordered to pay almost 500.00 a month! The other that lived in VA was ordered to pay 250.00 a month. The one in VA still owes my mother back child support in the sum of over 5,000.00 and my sister is 25 years old now!!! He has dodged the bullet for all those years and the state of VA has basically done nothing! When my mother would call to see when she would be recieving the child support, she'd have to leave a message and "maybe" get a call back in 1-2 weeks. She worked full time and raised us on her own with what little help she got from the child support checks....basically from one father! The VA system is a JOKE and they know it! I bet they get their checks but to hell with the rest of the families that need the money. Try raising a teenager on 250.00 a month or even worse 50.00 a month? That is what VA wanted her to do!! POWER TO TEXAS HEADHUNTERS!!!!!!!

I am in agreement with Rose. I have a 19yo and 16yo. 12 years ago a judge set child support at 65 dollars a week with myself being responsible for health and dental. 13,000. later nothing is being done. Whenever the letter is sent to my ex he quits his job. My ex moved to another state for 1 month and notified DCSE who then informed that state of child support orders. Now the ex is back in Va and the DCSE in Va. Beach is "looking into it" its been 9 months. The ex was even picked up and placed in jail for driving on a suspended license, in Va beach (for not paying support)DCSE was contacted and low and behold "they are looking into it" needless to say he has already been to court and the charges where dismissed. I have recently found out his address and contacted DCSE with all of the information 2 months ago and have heard nothing.I would rather go with a company that is going to at lease get me something verses "Looking into it"

I should have typed "are" not "or" in my subject. My bad!

The $608M sounds quite impressive, but this high number includes the parents that pay their child support without hesitation and make sure the child support gets paid. If you want to see just how hard it is to deal with DCSE, try calling them. My children's father is over $60K in the rears and has not paid a dime in over ten years. At one point we (my family) tracked him down and found out where he lived. This information was turned over to VA DCSE. They blew it by sending him a letter and he quit his job and moved. Every time I call I get the recording and seldom get a return call. When I do get to talk to a person all I hear are empty promises. The courts are being laughed at by these deadbeats and DCSE. Notice how in the article it doesn't say how much it cost to operate DCSE. If that were released, we'd probably find out that SupportKids' should replace DCSE. That would result in a more effective and efficient operation. DCSE has a proven record of being an ineffective joke. I guess the state filed the lawsuit on behalf of the deadbeat parents, so they can continue to not support their kids.

While the planet is busy dying, it seems there is no end to predation. What better place than Texas, the death penalty capital of the world I might add, and the state that sponsored a stolen election and the Bush Family genocide of Iraq, than to find a Texas Corporation, Support Kids elbowing it way onto the plate ( along with the State Attorney General ) that eats children and sadly, mostly thier fathers?

While the child needs a shelter, clothes, etc, there is no excuse for the current fact that half the nations kids are being raised in single parent FEMALE headed households. Why? Is it because their fathers abandoned them in droves? Asking myself about me I say no way. It has been the the Feds and the State and the facilitation of the State to subvert and destroy relationship and access by the mothers of my daughters, that I might have with my children. They are surviving without their father because of State government sucking up to the Fed for kickback dollars off the heads of these kids and dads.

Before any money is discussed in this country the message should be "look we are going to offer this child 50% of the time to its father and there will be no discussion of mone

Sounds like the state is proud of itself for collecting a measly $25 per wk average for the children of VA. Sounds more like they should be ashamed of themselves. $25 per wk hardly pays for school lunches anymore. You definetly can not feed a child for $25 wk. Looks to me, like the state should be getting tougher on enforcing child support. Maybe they should be modeling their efforts after more successful programs, such as the Washington County MD dept of Social Services. You either pay or drive without a license, go for a pay check and find it gone, or you may get to play with your fellow inmates. Do what it takes to take care of your kids! PAY UP men and women of VA.

I'm currently getting 0%. My exwife moved back to the Netherlands and I haven't seen a dime since. In theory it should be fairly easy to get it as the Netherlands is a signer of the Hauge Convention, but DCSE claims that she cannot be found even though Holland, the country, is the size of Tidewater and she is working which means she should be very easy to find. I would be a little upset if I had to make do with 66% of what I am due but it would be better than nothing. I beleive in the Texas cases or any other, the money should go to the colletion agency FIRST and only the money that makes it to DCSE should be credited. Make the deadbeats pay for having it collected if they don't want to sent it voluntarily. I also think the name of the company in this case is a little ironic. It's name should be "34%ofyourmoneyisours" or "We'lldoit4afeeifVAwon't".