Colorado child support program helps collection.

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo.--The Routt County Child Support Enforcement Program has a few new collection tools in its arsenal, but without an enforcement case, payments aren't going to come in on their own.

Assisted by computer programs and automated payment systems, local child support technicians are able to use state-wide and nationwide systems to locate, contact and ultimately collect money from delinquent parents.

The Child Support Enforcement Program, run through the Department of Human Services, collected $1,545,536 from January to the end of November 2008 in Routt County.

That number is a slight decrease from 2007, partly because more long-term cases were paid off because of the new tools. That collection represents 466 cases from the end of November 2008.

One of the biggest changes in how money is collected came from a Colorado law, enacted in October 2006, allowing child support technicians to garnish tax refunds and money from the national stimulus payment.

The first step is to create an application with the Child Support Enforcement Program, either through their web site, http://www.childsupport.state.co.us/do/home/index, or at the program's office. There is a $20 charge for the application. Once that is filed, the technicians get to work.

After paternity is established and a collection order is made, the parents must make monthly support payments.

The child support technicians have access to federal case registry and access to the state department of new hires. Employers in Colorado are required to report new, contract or full-time employees hired, making it easier for Poole and other technicians to find parents and collect garnishment.

Remedies for delinquent payments include wage withholding, driver's license suspension, recreational license suspension, professional and occupational license suspension, seizure of bank accounts, intercepting IRS and state tax refunds, offset to worker's compensation and unemployment benefits, Department of Corrections liens, interception of lottery and gambling winnings, and vendor payments for work done with the state of Colorado, Poole wrote.

If all else fails, the technicians also can take the case to court.