Ore. child support modification program ends

Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum said Friday she has issued a declaration ending a program that allowed hundreds of parents to lower or otherwise modify their child support payments during the state’s economic slowdown.

Rosenblum cited Oregon’s slow but steady economic recovery in halting the program. The “Recession Response Project” allowed more than 1,200 qualifying families to more quickly get their child support obligations modified.

The program was created on May 6, 2009, when unemployment in Oregon had topped 12 percent.

Facing joblessness, under-employment and pay cuts, Oregon parents struggled to make their promised child support payments. The program allowed six-month modifications of a parent’s basic child-support obligations if one or both parents suffered loss of income due to the recession.

Requests for modifications have significantly declined over the last year as the economy rebounded. Only 144 orders have been entered this year.

The Division of Child Support is the largest within the Oregon Department of Justice. Its 578 employees, with the help of the staffers from 26 District Attorney offices, helped collect and distribute more than $350 million to 237,000 families last year.