DHS collects $19,000 in child support from oil spill fund

After the claims fund was established to reimburse those who lost income to the April 2010 spill, Oklahoma Child Support Services officials researched ways to stake a claim on money owed to parents who were behind on their child support payments.

“We wanted to ensure children still received support even though their primary income source had been disrupted,” Director Gary Dart said.

Fund administrators initially balked at checking an electronic list of parents who owed child support in Oklahoma before paying claims, so state officials changed their tactics.

They figured out a way to determine which parents were most likely to have a connection to BP, compiling a list of almost 22,000 noncustodial parents.

DHS spokesman Jeff Wagner said the list is composed of parents who had reported earning money in the Gulf region.

“It was primarily a ZIP code match,” he said.

In November, child support officials issued a subpoena in each case, enough to make a stack nearly six feet tall. It took five boxes to mail them all.

Officials at the Gulf Coast Claims Facility contacted DHS after receiving those subpoenas. They wanted to know how to set up an electronic data match for Oklahoma and other states.

Fund administrators accepted the electronic list in February and DHS began receiving checks in a handful of cases last month.

To date, the agency has received $18,986.57 in back child support from the spill fund.