When a company hires a new employee, Kansas law requires that the worker's name be reported to the state. That's so the state can deduct child support payments from the worker's paycheck. A new educational campaign in Kansas is aimed at getting more employers to comply with that law.
Trisha Thomas, with the Kansas Department for Children and Families, says when employers don’t report new hires, court-ordered child support payments can be interrupted, discontinued or delayed. She says state agencies will be using TV, radio and print ads to educate employers.
“I don’t think that people are just not doing it because they don’t want to, they just don’t know about it. Starting with ‘let’s educate them first’ is a good way,” says Trisha Thomas.
Thomas says Kansas state government doesn’t have a way to identify or punish employers who aren’t complying with the law. More than 70 percent of child support collected in Kansas comes from direct paycheck withdrawals.