Support payments drop amid recession

February 22, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

COLUMBUS (AP) — Collections for child support have dropped about $15 million over the past year as Ohio parents struggle to make payments amid the recession, and officials expect numbers to get lower as unemployment benefits run out.

Last month, more than $13 million of the state’s child support was taken from unemployment checks, an amount that could take a hit when thousands of unemployed workers are expected to lose benefits in coming weeks without an extension by Congress.

“It’s a huge concern,” said Jeff Aldridge, deputy director of the state office of child support. “If there is no further extension, those people will roll off unemployment and will have no money to make support payments.”