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Debit cards a popular way to receive child support

Last July, Georgia became the second state in the nation to replace paper child support checks with debit cards and direct deposit, about six months after Iowa had adopted a similar system. By the end of 2004, Georgia families had received $153 million through the new debit cards offered by the Georgia Department of Human Resources' Office of Child Support Enforcement.

About 70 percent of all child support payments made were deposited into debit card accounts during January. The remaining payments to custodial parents were deposited directly to parents' bank accounts, an option offered by OCSE before the debit cards became available. Over three quarters of custodial parents who have a debit card have received payments through the card. OCSE sent debit cards to all custodial parents they serve who did not choose direct deposit by last June. The parents can also apply for direct deposit at any time.

"The new system is much faster and more secure than the old paper checks," said OCSE Director Robert Riddle. "Payments reach the debit card accounts within two days, while the checks took three to ten days to reach children's homes. In the year before we started offering debit cards, 13,700 checks were reported lost or stolen, or returned because the parent had moved with no forwarding address. Staff who used to spend time reissuing the checks can now serve other customer needs."

Most parents may have chosen the debit cards because they don't have a bank account, but users tell OCSE staff that they like the card for a variety of reasons. Project Manager Nora Akins says some parents say they use the debit card accounts for money management:

"I can keep my child support separate from the rest of the family money."

"I can use the account as a savings account."

"I let my son know how much he can spend by checking the balance."

"They also tell us they feel their money is safe, and they don't have to worry about losing a check," said Akins. "One lady who now lives in India was so proud that she can use a debit card there that she sent us photos of her child to show what she spends the money on."

The card, known as EPPICard MasterCard, can be used for a purchase, and in many cases a cash withdrawal, at any business that accepts MasterCard debit cards, and for a withdrawal at any MasterCard bank and at any ATM with a MasterCard, Maestro or Cirrus logo. Parents pay no fees to use the card except for withdrawals from an ATM or at certain retailers. Users choose a Personal Identification Number. Parents can track their child support payments through OCSE's confidential customer service interactive Web page or by calling the OCSE hotline, and they can find out the balance in their debit card account by calling the vendor that manages the debit card system. This spring, OCSE plans to link up the two systems so that parents receiving child support will be able to make just one call for both payment and balance information.