LANSING – Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced Wednesday that the Department’s child support unit collected a total of $6.5 million in back child support payments in just the first quarter of 2019. 

The first-quarter collections are up more than $1 million from that of 2018. Of the amount received, more than $5 million was returned to custodial parents and the state received about $1.3 million. 

Since the inception of the unit in 2003, the team has collected more than $273 million on behalf of 19,000-plus Michigan children. The largest single collection to date is more than $460,000 from a pediatric neurosurgeon in 2005.

Failing to pay child support is a felony in Michigan and the Attorney General’s Office regularly pursues parents across the nation to collect payment on Michigan-enforceable support orders.

Criminal Failure-To-Pay Child Support cases are handled by the Attorney General’s Child Support Unit within the Financial Crimes Division. Its goal is to ensure parents pay their obligations to families owed. 

“Our office has an obligation to take action on behalf of Michigan’s children when one of their parents fails to meet their parental responsibilities,” Nessel said. “I am so incredibly proud of our Child Support Unit and everyone who has contributed to this work to ensure the kids we fight for are properly supported.”

Custodial parents who have experienced a history of non-payment and are owed significant back child support can file a complaint online with the Michigan Attorney General’s Office or call 517-335-7560.