El Paso County Sheriff Cracks Down On Parents Who Fail To Pay Child Support

Sheriff Jimmy Apodaca arrests 32 parents in countywide sweep

April 10, 2008 -- EL PASO – El Paso County Sheriff Jimmy Apodaca has arrested 32 local parents who violated court orders requiring them to pay child support. The countywide sweep, which is being conducted in conjunction with Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott’s Child Support Division, targets parents who are wanted by authorities for failing to pay their court-ordered child support.

In addition to the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office, other participants in the initiative include Pct. 1 Constable Robert P. White; Pct. 2 Constable Rick Gammon; Pct. 5 Constable Manny Lopez; and representatives from the U.S. Marshal’s Lone Star Fugitive Task Force. Investigators with the Attorney General’s Child Support Division aided Sheriff Apodaca by providing logistical assistance to locate missing parents.

“Parents have a moral and legal obligation to make regular child support payments,” Attorney General Abbott said. “By collecting child support, we are ensuring young Texans have the resources they need to grow healthy and strong. We are grateful to Sheriff Jimmy Apodaca and his fellow law enforcement officers for their commitment to Texas children.”

The sweep represents an intense effort by the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office to track down parents who are wanted for contempt of court as a result of their failure to pay child support in cases handled by the Texas Office of the Attorney General. This week’s operation kicked off at 5 a.m. Wednesday when Sheriff Apodaca dispatched teams of deputies to arrest the noncompliant parents before they had a chance to leave their homes for the day.

Delinquent parents arrested in the roundup face up to six months in jail. Cash bonds parents post to get out of jail are paid to the custodial parents and children who are owed back child support.

Parents who have outstanding warrants can avoid the embarrassment of arrest at their home or work by turning themselves in voluntarily to the El Paso County Detention Center located at 601 East Overland. Parents without warrants who have fallen behind on their child support payments should immediately contact the Attorney General’s Child Support Division at 1-800-252-8014 to make payment arrangements.

Under state and federal law, the Office of the Attorney General is obligated to assist families who request child support services, as well as families who currently receive or have received public assistance. Services offered by the Child Support Division include locating absent parents; establishing paternity for children born to unmarried parents; establishing, enforcing, and modifying child and medical support orders; and collecting and distributing child support payments.

Statewide, child support collected by the Office of the Attorney General exceeded $2.3 billion for the state fiscal year that ended Aug. 31, 2007. El Paso County parents received $91 million of that amount.

Source: Texas Attorney General

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