The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR), Bureau for Child Support Enforcement (BCSE), which serves 80,000 children and families statewide by establishing paternity, child support, and enforcing support, collected $164 million for West Virginia’s child support program in the 2021 fiscal year.
Ninety-seven percent of support collected was sent directly to children and families, with the remaining 3% of funds retained to reimburse public assistance dollars. For many families, this support is a significant part of their budget to provide shelter, food and amenities for the children.
Sixty-nine percent of court-ordered child support collected was achieved through income withholding by the BCSE which requires employers to withhold support directly from an employee’s paycheck.
“West Virginia’s child support program is one of the most cost-effective government programs, as it collects $4.84 for every $1.00 spent,” said Garrett Jacobs, Commissioner of DHHR’s Bureau for Child Support Enforcement. “The BSCE program has the third highest caseload of all state programs serving children.”
Nationally, child support programs serve 13.8 million families, lifting 750,000 families out of poverty nationwide.
For more information on BCSE resources and statistics, visit https://www.acf.hhs.gov/css.