Child Support Collection Agency to Defend State Charges in Court

A Texas-based child support collection agency will defend its business practices in a Virginia court Monday as it asks a judge to dismiss a lawsuit brought by the state.

In February, the state of Virginia filed a suit against SupportKids, Inc., a collection firm that handles the state’s hard-to-collect child support cases (“Virginia Sues Child Support Collector,” Feb. 12). Virginia is claiming that SupportKids’ practice of receiving payment from delinquent parents, subtracting their fees, and then remitting the remaining money to parents violates state law.

But SupportKids said that their practices have been approved by the 46 other states it works for and the Virginia lawsuit is based on a misunderstanding of its policies. It is asking the court Monday to dismiss the suit.

Bryon Sehlke, chief executive officer of SupportKids, told the Austin-American Statesman that his firm handles cases that states normally can’t, typically involving out-of-state noncustodial parents and large backloads of uncollected child support.

"Our expertise is working those hard cases," he told the paper. "That’s our experience, that’s our knowledge base and that’s what we do on a daily basis."

In February, Nick Young, director of Virginia’s division of child support enforcement, told insideARM the state has been attempting to resolve its problems with Supportkids for five years. “Noncustodial parents are supposed to pay the state child support office. If the money is redirected to Texas, we may not know the parent has paid. Then we go after that person,” said Young.

While other states have approved SupportKids’ methods, some will be watching the case very closely. The Statesman noted that Florida’s Attorney General’s office is currently reviewing SupportKids and may pursue action depending on the outcome of the Virginia case.