Texas Border Business
AUSTIN – Attorney General Ken Paxton today announced that the Office of the Attorney General’s Child Support Division set a new record by collecting more than $4.8 billion in child support for the state fiscal year 2020. The Child Support Division serves over 1.6 million children and surpassed the previous year’s record by ten percent. Texas currently leads the nation in total child support collections – more than 27 other states and territories combined.
“I am immensely proud of the hard work and dedication of our Child Support Division to improve the lives of Texas children and ensure that families receive the support they need and deserve,” said Attorney General Paxton. “This success is particularly remarkable in light of the challenges the division faced as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the closure of physical offices. The Division’s performance improves each year and, as such, continues to benefit children across the state.”
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Child Support Division successfully transitioned to a virtual service delivery model. Since mid-March, the Division has leveraged technology to build efficient new administrative and legal processes that kept child support cases moving forward and created live chat capabilities that have become a preferred method of contact for many of the families the division serves.
Serving one in four Texas children, the Child Support Division handles over 1.5 million cases annually and collects $11.68 for children for every $1 spent to operate the program. While physical offices currently remain closed to the public except for limited services by appointment, services may also be obtained via email, phone, videoconference, and the program’s new chat function. For more information about the attorney general’s office and the child support services it offers, visit https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/child-support.
