Knox County Job and Family Services reported to the Board of Commissioners during its August 21 meeting that the county's child support collection rate of 76 percent exceeded the state of Ohio's goal of 70 percent.
"I did some adding and have our numbers for seven months in for 2025. So, as of July 31st, we have collected $4,303,965.67 for children in Knox County to help them financially," Dareth Lowe, Child Support Services administrator/hearing officer, said, according to a YouTube video of the commissioners' meeting.
According to the video, Lowe said that the Seek Work program has 427 active cases. For the first seven months of 2025, the Job and Family Services office collected $529,699 for child support through this program. If Knox County Job and Family Services or a court orders a parent who is unable to make payments due to unemployment to participate, the parent must actively seek work. The participant is tracked until sufficient funds are earned to make regular payments.
The video also revealed that Knox County has 3,140 open cases for child support. Individual cases may involve more than one child if it is the same mother and father.
Lowe noted that difficulty in making child support payments may stem from a parent's past record, which can hinder employment opportunities. Additionally, she mentioned that the increasing cost of living may contribute to these difficulties.
"I have sworn for years, just my selfish, humble opinion, that when we put a non-paying spouse for support in jail, I don't know what it accomplishes other than now nobody's getting any money and we're paying again for somebody who isn't paying support," Commissioner Barry Lester said.
