News from New York State Office of Temporary & Disability Assistance

For more information contact: Michael Hayes or Anthony Farmer, 518-474-9516

Governor Spitzer Announces New State ProgramTo Improve Access To Child Support Payments

Debit Cards Promote Efficiency, Security and Cost Savings

ALBANY, NY (10/03/2007; 1322)(readMedia)-- Governor Eliot Spitzer this week announced a new program that will help custodial parents in New York City more easily access child support payments. The program implements a debit card system to improve efficiency and cost effectiveness while also enhancing security.

The State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA), the agency that oversees the collection of child support in New York State, is implementing this customer service program by issuing approximately 67,000 debit cards to custodial parents over a six-week period that began on October 1.

“By helping parents more easily access vital child support payments, we are helping promote greater economic security for New York families,” said Governor Spitzer. “The use of debit cards for child support payments will promote a more reliable, cost-effective and secure way of accessing these funds.”

Since the beginning of 2005, OTDA has been enrolling custodial parents in the debit card system on a voluntary basis. This year, the agency began the move to a completely electronic system when 155,000 debit cards were sent to parents in Upstate counties and on Long Island.

OTDA Commissioner David Hansell said: “This transition period has been enormously successful and the benefits of the program are clear. Parents no longer need to wait for child support checks to arrive in the mail, clear their bank, or pay onerous fees at check cashing services.”

The debit cards can be used to make purchases, obtain cash back with purchases, or at any bank teller where MasterCard is accepted at no cost to the cardholder. The cards may also be used to withdraw child support payments from automated teller machines (ATMs). There is a 90-cent transaction fee for all ATM withdrawals, but users can avoid additional surcharges imposed by banks by using the card at participating ATMs.

Earlier this year, OTDA sent letters to child support recipients still receiving paper checks informing them of the impending move to debit cards. The letter advises recipients that they may choose to receive payments through direct deposit to their bank accounts or continue receiving paper checks by submitting a hardship letter.

The move to electronic payments will result in significant savings to the state, as the cost of processing an electronic payment is about six cents compared to the 67 cents it costs to process and mail a check.

This year, OTDA’s Child Support Enforcement has collected more than $1 billion in court ordered child support, and the state is on pace to exceed last year’s record collections.

Additional information is available at www.newyorkchildsupport.com.

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