In more than sixty percent of the child custody cases in Staten Island, a borough of New York City, the noncustodial parent does not pay their court-ordered child support. Sixty percent.

In many of these cases, the custodial parent and children are pushed into poverty and draw on public assistance and services.

But the City is now beginning to crack down on deadbeat parents by

1. garnishing wages
2. suspending driver’s licenses and business and professional licenses
3. blocking passports and
4. seizing lottery winnings, unrelated court settlements, and other accounts and assets, as well as tax refunds

Some of these enforcement measures can be implemented administratively by the Office of Child Support Enforcement without further court orders, after the initial support order.

As a result, last year, the state collected $1.7 billion in child support, a 6.4% increase over the previous year.

Read more in this Staten Island Advance article: Epidemic of child support deadbeats.