TX Attorney General’s Child Support Division Recognized As Best In Nation
Are you going through a divorce and experiencing anxiety about child support issues? According to a news release from the Houston Memorial Examiner, the National Child Support Enforcement Association (NCSEA) recently recognized the Texas Attorney General’s Child Support Division as the best in the nation.
While it’s important to have child support oversight, it’s essential to have an experienced Dallas family law attorney on your side when you’re going through a divorce and seeking child support. At the Law Offices of Orsinger, Nelson, Downing, and Anderson, L.L.P., we aggressively negotiate child support issues. While child support isn’t usually a negotiable obligation in Texas, our Texas divorce lawyers can help you to understand your rights and obligations as a parent.
Texas Excellence in Child Support Enforcement
Given that the Texas Attorney General just received an award for child support collections in our state, it’s important to know what kinds of child support you’re obligated to provide as a parent. The NCSEA “Outstanding Program Award” takes into account a number of different factors, including:
- Total child support collections ($3.6 billion in fiscal year 2013)
- Number of collections per full-time employees (average of $1.35 million per employee, compared with a national average of only $560,000 per employee)
- Cost effectiveness (collecting $11.61 for each dollar spent, compared with the national average of only $5.47 for every dollar spent)
In each of the categories, the Texas Child Support Division was ranked first in the nation. To be sure, it collected more than $3.6 billion in child support for the fiscal year ending in September 2013. And over the course of the last seven years, the Child Support Division collected “more child support than any other state in the nation.” Since 2002, it has obtained more than $31 billion. Between 2012 and 2013, the collection rose by $226 million—that’s nearly three-quarters of the national increase in child support collections that year. Indeed, the collection growth in Texas has been particularly salient in the years since the financial crisis began.
This isn’t the first time that the Texas program has been recognized by the NCSEA. Back in 2007, it received the NCSEA Outstanding Program Award for the first time, and Attorney General Abbott received a related award back in 2005 for his commitment to “more effective child support enforcement.”
How the NCSEA Promotes Child Support Effectiveness
A divorce doesn’t mean that parental rights cease. To be sure, parents maintain obligations when it comes to their children, including financial obligations. The NCSEA provides assistance to advocates, agencies, and legal professionals across the country when it comes to child support matters. It also focuses on advocacy and outreach, providing public awareness about child support issues and parental obligations.
With regular web-talks and training programs for professionals, the NCSEA helps to make sure professionals involved in handling child support issues are up to date on current issues. At the same time, its awards help to recognize regions where child support effectiveness is especially strong, as is the case in Texas.
Contact an Experienced Texas Child Support Lawyer
When you’re facing divorce and you have children, you’ll need an experienced advocate who can advise you on complex child support matters. Contact an experienced Texas child support lawyer today to learn more. You can reach us by calling 855-516-2641 for our Dallas offices or 888-806-1987 for our San Antonio offices.