Macomb County looks to address massive past-due child support cases
MACOMB COUNTY, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) - The Macomb County Sheriff's Department recently conducted a sweep and arrested 25 individuals who owed more than $1 million in back child support.
Macomb County Prosecutor Peter Lucido said this week that more has to be done to try to avoid having to collect back child support in this manner.
"We are in a situation of our crisis. I'm gonna say that now," Lucido said.
Lucido said collecting past-due child support has become a major issue.
"We're not making any progress with collection, as well as we're not making any progress with tapping into the parent who owes that dollar to those children when they're young," Lucido said.
The goal, according to Lucido, is to avoid sweeps like the one conducted by the Sheriff's Department because what that means is that kids are going too long without getting the financial support they need.
READ: Macomb County prosecutor plans back child support arrest sweep
Additionally, it's a burden on taxpayers if the sheriff's department is tasked with the collection.
There are issues related to children not getting the financial support they need at a young age.
"If our children aren't getting what they deserve, whether they're young, we're gonna have a problem when they get older. Studies have been done on this, there is statistical data on it. When we take care of our children, show them the pathway, and take good care of them, making sure they have food on the table, we got a better chance of outcomes," Lucido said.
Next week, the Macomb County Board of Commissioners is holding a special meeting to discuss the best ways to ensure the county addresses tens of millions of dollars in back-due child support - something Lucido said is long overdue and necessary.
"It's a blessing in Macomb County our board of commissioners made the statement that we stand with the prosecutor and we are there to make sure that our children are getting the things that they need," he said.