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In day, agency handles 360 child-support cases and $8,900 in payments
By Ed Meyer
Beacon Journal staff writer
Published on Saturday, Aug 23, 2008
They came from Florida and Georgia, from Cleveland and neighboring Garfield Heights.
Forty-five minutes before the doors opened Friday morning at Akron's Jerusalem Missionary Baptist Church, organizers said there were more than 40 people in line waiting to take advantage of the Summit County Child Support Enforcement Agency's first Child Support Days program.
Public turnout for the program, in which parents were offered a one-stop chance to resolve problems with their support payments in a peaceful church environment, was ''beyond our expectations,'' county Prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walsh said.
By noon, three hours after the program began, more than 220 people had visited the church to make support payments, have their driver's license reinstated or settle outstanding nonsupport warrants.
''We were certainly hopeful that a lot of people would come in,'' Walsh said, ''but when I pulled up and saw the parking lot, I said: 'OK, I hope we have enough help in here.'
''We did have to bring in quite a few additional CSEA caseworkers immediately because of the volume of people.''
The parking lot of the church at 270 E. Wilbeth Road was full by 10:30 a.m., and people arriving later had to park along the side streets.
When the program ended for the day at 3 p.m., 360 cases had been handled and $8,900 in support payments were made, a spokeswoman for the prosecutor said.
David Thombs, 41, a former Wadsworth resident now living in Fort Myers, Fla., flew into town Friday morning to take care of his outstanding warrant for nonsupport after hearing about the program from his mother.
He was able to leave with
out being arrested.
As Thombs stood before Common Pleas Judge Thomas A. Teodosio in a makeshift courtroom in a church classroom, he was represented by Akron attorney Rhonda L. Kotnik, who volunteered for the program in a role similar to a public defender.
Thombs, who said he owed about $15,000 for a child in Summit County, pleaded guilty to a felony and was sentenced to 12 months in prison with three years of probation.
But Teodosio suspended the prison sentence, dismissed the warrant, ordered two years of probation and imposed monthly wage deductions of $236 for the money Thombs owes. The judge also transferred probationary supervision to Florida's Lee County, where Thombs lives.
''This is a great program. It's been a great help to me,'' Thombs said. ''I'm getting my probation shifted down to Florida, so I should be all right as long as I keep a job and make my payments, which I want to do.
''It's very frustrating to go through this. The economy's tight. If you get out of work for awhile, it's not like you're just loafing around and don't want to pay.
''There are no good jobs to have. You get a job, you're making $6 an hour, and they want a hundred out of your paycheck.''
Other parents from outside the county were informed about the program from more than 7,000 fliers sent out by CSEA workers.
Dan Bridgeforth, 33, of Bedford Heights, said he learned about the program from one of the fliers. His driver's license was suspended for failing to make support payments, and he said he went to the church to get it reinstated.
Bridgeforth said the program ''makes sense. It's a one-stop shop, I can take care of my driver's license and everything, settle the whole spiel. So why not do it? You'd be dumb not to. You know, there's no point in hiding with something like this around.''
Carletta McReynolds, a caseworker, said she received a call from an out-of-work actor in California who fell behind on his support payments for two children here.
''He gave me his place of employment and said he was going to send in a payment today,'' McReynolds said.
She said the man told her he is now working as a guard and plans to continue making payments.
''He said he wanted to do the right thing for his kids,'' McReynolds said.
The program continues from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. today at the church.
Ed Meyer can be reached at 330-996-3784 or emeyer@thebeaconjournal.com.
They came from Florida and Georgia, from Cleveland and neighboring Garfield Heights.
Get the full article here.
Comments
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akron, oh
Posted 01:45 PM, 09/08/2008
this is no good
