“This morning, I asked Commissioner Robert Doar to join me on my weekly radio show so I could congratulate him and the men and women who work in the Human Resources Administration’s Office of Child Support Enforcement on the award they won from New York State for increasing child support collections by $50 million in 2008. That’s $50 million more – largely from fathers – going directly to pay parents’ obligations to their children. Overall, we’ve achieved a 37 percent increase in collections since the beginning of our Administration.

“We got these results by using every tool they have under the law to collect money and give it to the children to whom it’s owed. We’ve gone to employers and garnished salaries, suspended drivers licenses, denied parents passports, gone after lottery winnings and other settlements, seized assets and bank accounts, and intercepted tax refunds. 

“This isn’t just about fundamental fairness – child support is an important way to keep families off cash assistance. But the bottom line is if you are a parent, there are responsibilities that come with being a parent. And if you’re a father or a mother you have a responsibility and we’re going to make sure that you fulfill your responsibility the best you can.

“Congratulations again to Robert and the Office of Child Support Enforcement.”