OH - Millions in child support diverted By Mike Rutledge, Post staff reporter

The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services - the target of hundreds of complaints since it took over the processing of child support checks last year - now must give an official explanation for the diversion of an estimated $10 million in payments into its own coffers.

But Department Director Jacqueline Romer-Sensky called the $10 million figure a ''very rough estimate.''

And the national leader of a child-support advocacy group estimates the figure could be much higher.

Geraldine Jensen of Toledo, founder of the Association for Children for Enforcement of Support, said if only a sixth of Ohio's 901,000 support cases were overcharged $500 apiece in recent years, that could mean a $75 million error.

''Even if it's half that - say, $30 million - that's a lot of pairs of tennis shoes, that's a lot of bowls of cereal,'' Ms. Jensen said.

When the state started its $200 million Support Enforcement Tracking System computer, officia ls knowingly programmed in a 1988 law rather than the 1996 federal law that replaced it, a Job and Family Ser vices spokesman confirmed this week.

The 1996 law reduced the amount of money the state could divert from support checks - but the state kept taking the larger amounts. The state diverted the money to reimburse itself for any welfare payments it made to parents.

Ms. Jensen said Judy Cowell, who oversees the child support office at the Jobs and Family Services department

, promised her and another ACES official the problem would be corrected by Feb. 1. It wasn't, she said.

A department official then told her ''it may be fixed by April.'' A verbal promise is not good enough, said Ms. Jensen, whose organization has taken steps toward suing the state: ''We want them to agree in writing to fix this thing, and with time constraints.''

After months of complaints from officials across Ohio - particularly Hamilton County, where Gov. Bob Taft used to be a county commissioner - the issue grabbed Taft's attention this week. In a terse me mo his office released to the media, Taft requested a report by Monday from Ms. Romer-Sensky about the incorre ct deductions into state coffers.

Taft's memo directed Ms. Romer-Sensky to:

Explain why the SETS computer system was incorrectly programmed ''and make appro priate changes immediately.''

Explain ''whether we can identify underpayments to parents and remedy them.''

Taft, however, has not publicly commented on a host of other child-support payment delays and errors. Neither he nor his office has responded to Post questions about when the problems will be fixed, and how he rates state government's performance in delivering child support payments.

Ohio Senate Democrats, meanwhile, called Thursday for legislative hearings in which Ms. Romer -Sensky can explain the problems. They cited reports by The Post and other Ohio publications in issuing thei r call.

Ms. Romer-Sensky, in testimony about her department's budget, told lawmakers Thursday: ''I kno w many of you are concerned about problems being experienced with the recent conversion to child support payme nt central and SETS. I share your concern.''

She said federal mandates caused the problems, but, ''it is ODJFS' responsibility to make t he new system work. We fully understand that each check supports the needs of a child.''

Hamilton County Department of Human Services Director Don Thomas in December sent Ms. Romer-S ensky a 15-item list of the biggest problems his agency and parents were facing. Only three of those hav e been solved, county officials said.

Among those remaining unsolved are:

Misposting f child support checks.

Employers having trouble stopping payments on checks.

Duplicate deposits to customers' accounts, followed by unannounced withdrawals , which have caused some parents to bounce checks.

Incorrect reporting of people who have paid on time to the Internal Revenue Serv ice, Ohio Department of Taxation and credit bureaus.

Sending of warning letters to people who are not behind in their payments.

County officials statewide have said problems have multiplied since state government in Octo ber implemented a federal directive to a ''payment central'' system that directs all payments to a s tate contractor for processing and mailing.

http://www.cincypost.com/2001/feb/10/child021001.html

-- Doris (nocents@bellsouth.net), February 11, 2001