CHILD SUPPORT: OWE IT, PAY IT!

Deadbeat dads (and moms) get little tolerance in Cameron and Potter counties.

Statistics issued by the Pa. Dept. of Public Welfare show that Cameron County led the state in percentage of child support collected during 2007. Potter County ranked eighth statewide.

In Cameron, fathers and mothers owed $706,372 in child support, of which $629,153 was collected. Cameron County also collected about $115,000 of the $205,000 in overdue child support payments.

Together, the collections, with those back payments, were 105 percent of the amount owed in 2007, the highest figure in Pennsylvania and far above the statewide average of 95.5 percent.

In Potter County, collections totaled $1,758,000 in 2007 on $2,085,000 in obligations. Potter also collected $343,000 of the $1.18 million in overdue payments, for an overall collection figure of 100.1 percent in 2007.

The statistics are a tribute to the Domestic Relations departments, as well as the Courts of Common Pleas, in both counties.

Pennsylvania ranks first among all 50 states in percentage of child support collected.