NORWICH – With August being Child Support Awareness Month in New York State, the Chenango County Department of Social Services is getting word out about the impact child support enforcement has on the stability of both families and the local economy.

Locally, the child support unit of the Chenango County Department of Social Services collected more than $5 million through the course of 2014. And with more than $2 million collected to date for 2015, it’s on track to seeing similar figures by year’s end.

“It’s a usual number for our small county,” said Trudy Huggins, Child Support Supervisor for Chenango County DSS. “We usually collect $5 million or more every year. So far, we’re in line with that same amount.”

According to the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, nearly one million children benefit from the state’s child support program which provides custodial parents of all income levels with assistance in obtaining financial support and medical insurance coverage for thier children. The program helps by locating noncustodial parents, establishing paternity, establishing support orders, and collecting and distributing child support payments.

In Chenango County, the child support unit handled more than 1,200 petitions in 2014 and attended more than 1,100 court hearings. Year to date, more 580 petitions have been filed, and the unit has attended 554 court hearings.

Noncustodial parents who fail to pay child support face a number of consequences per state law. Collection methods include intercepting unemployment insurance benefits, offsetting federal tax refunds, offsetting state tax refunds, suspending a driver’s license, seizing lottery winnings, denying passports, seizing bank accounts, and seizing assets through specialized enforcement with the help of the state Department of Taxation and Finance.