Prosecutor Walsh committed to supporting children and fighting for families
AKRON, Ohio (Thursday, January 11, 2024) – Summit County Prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walsh announced today that her Summit County Child Support Enforcement Agency (CSEA) has reached a major milestone. CSEA has collected over $60 million from criminal non-support cases since the Criminal Non-Support Unit was created in 2001.
“Especially during these uncertain times, this is a major milestone for the children of Summit County. This money is desperately needed for Summit County families who need it to put clothes on their children and food on their table,” said Prosecutor Walsh. “I am proud of my Criminal Non-Support Unit which continues to fight for families and hold parents accountable who refuse to support their children.”
The Criminal Non-Support Unit, a division of CSEA, prosecutes parents who are in default of their child support obligation and have not made a payment in more than six months. Prosecution is a last resort for a parent who has been offered employment assistance or enrollment in Family Support Matters, a child support non-payment diversion program. Prosecution is also a last resort after Child Support Case Workers make numerous attempts to work out payment arrangements, help non-paying parents apply for waivers, or use other enforcement tools – such as civil contempt, driver’s license suspension, income withholding, liens and tax offsets.
Prosecutor Walsh adds, “the efforts of Summit County’s Criminal Non-Support Unit prove aggressive prosecution works. We always want to work with a family or a parent before a case ever gets to the point of felony prosecution for non-payment of child support. If you are a parent who is required to pay support and recent changes in your life make it difficult to make those payments, please contact the Child Support Enforcement Agency by phone or through the state portal, explain your circumstances and let us help you remove the barriers to non-payment. Don’t wait until it is too late.”
About Summit County CSEA
The Summit County Child Support Enforcement Agency collects nearly $70 million annually and handles nearly 40,000 child support cases. Each year it establishes paternity or support orders for more than 3,500 children. Since its inception in 2001, the Criminal Non-Support program has collected more than $60 million through its aggressive prosecution of individuals neglecting to pay child support. You can learn more about CSEA on its website: https://prosecutor.summitoh.net/division/Child-Support-Enforcement-Agency.html.
