One of the interesting things I found on the Missouri State Auditor website was a report that the Department of Family Services’ totals regarding the amounts owed for child support are “often inaccurate.” In 79 of 244 cases that were reviewed, the auditor found overstatements from $1 to $455,000 and understatements from $10 to $55,000. (That 79 of 244 is 32% of the cases.)
Given that child support is a big deal for single parents who need it this is an area where accuracy is vital. It also appears the auditor has found ambiguity in state law that needs to be corrected:
“Although state law and division policy set forth criteria to terminate judicial support orders, state law has not clearly identified who shall terminate those orders when support is no longer due. The division has taken the position that circuit court clerks have this responsibility. However, court clerks are no longer responsible for IV-D cases and opinions differ on who has that responsibility.”
Hopefully this report will be brought to the attention of our state legislators so what the auditor discovered can be corrected. Anything to make this process smoother for both the custodial and non-custodial parents would be better for the children.
