Ohio Child Support Enforcement Agency

Agency chief leaving after 31 years

When Maricarol Torsok took a job as a child support enforcement officer she had no intention of staying.

"I can remember in my early days saying this is not what I want to do," Ms. Torsok said. "I didn't decorate my office or anything."

Last week, her office walls were again barren, but on her desk, floor, and filing cabinets sat boxes and folders packed full of mementos from a 31-year career in which she climbed the ranks to become one of the longest-tenured child support enforcement directors in the state.

This month is Ms. Torsok's last with the organization.

"The agency needs to go in a different direction and so do I," she said. Budget cuts and a change in the state pension system played a role too, she said.

When she took that job as an enforcement officer, her second out of college, the Child Support Enforcement Agency didn't even exist, at least not in title.

It was called the Bureau of Support, and, as Ms. Torsok tells it, the bureau wasn't the greatest place.

"When I started in 1980, we were awful. It was a terrible agency," she said. "We didn't collect a lot of money, and that was [a problem] statewide and nationwide. It just wasn't on anyone's radar. Through the years we've evolved."

In 1988, the Ohio Legislature required each county to create a child support enforcement agency.

Two years later, Ms. Torsok, at 33, took over the reins when the director left for Franklin County.

During her career, the agency has switched from hand accounting to computers, has moved twice, and started the so-called deadbeat dad campaign, when men were made a spectacle by being marched across the street in shackles.

Now, she said, the agency is a family service organization that works to strike a balance between what's realistic and what's necessary.

"For some people the hard-nose approach works. For a lot of people that's just not the way you want to go. Our cases don't end in a month or a year. Our cases end when the child turns 18 or graduates from high school and the case is paid in full."

To illustrate her point, Ms. Torsok mentioned a case in which a man is set to make his last payment next month. At age 91.

"He's paying back support, and we're taking money from his Social Security check. So these cases don't just end. If I get off on the wrong foot with you on Day One, 15 years from now when you're still paying, how likely are you to view the agency in a positive way?

Layoffs at child support agencies in Ohio could affect families ...

Child support agencies throughout Ohio are struggling financially and may be forced to make some serious cuts due to a lack of state and federal funding. Agencies throughout the state may have to cut as many as 25 percent to 50 percent of their employees according to the Ohio Child Support Enforcement Agency Directors' Association.

Ohio's Child Support Enforcement Agency handles thousands of child support and paternity cases throughout the state. Typically, Summit County workers collect nearly $90 million in child support and establish paternity in 4,000 cases each year. Establishing paternity is important for unwed mothers so that they can receive child support from the fathers. Establishing paternity is also important for unwed fathers so that they can seek custody of their children.

However, last week Summit County laid off 15 child support enforcement workers. Although the county believes the cuts will save the agency $1.4 million, the cuts also mean that Ohio families could lose millions.

In addition to employees losing their jobs, many Ohio parents may lose out on their child support payments, and the process for establishing paternity for mothers and fathers may be prolonged. According to the Federal Office of Child Support Enforcement, the cut in jobs throughout the state means that fewer cases will be worked and could cost families an estimated $137 million in uncollected child support payments.

The cuts will most likely burden Ohio residents as employees try to keep up with open cases as well as new cases. The Child Support Enforcement Agency has seen an increased demand in services since the economy crashed. Parents are seeking child support from non-paying parents, and paying parents are seeking to reduce their payments due to unemployment and financial hardship.

How to file for divorce in Ohio

Anderson's 2000-2 Ohio criminal law handbook, for offenses committed on or after July 1, 1996

Congressional Record, V. 153, Pt. 6, March 26, 2007 to April 17, 2007

Prenuptial Agreements in Ohio

Child support guidelines, interpretation and application