Using the Wisconsin Statute that allows for the pursuit of unpaid child support by "any appropriate remedy," the Milwaukee County Child Support Agency began seizing money from inmate accounts at the Milwaukee County Jail beginning on January 1, 1999. Since Milwaukee is a large urban area a steady stream of inmates pass through the county jail. Numerous inmates are arrested with a significant amount of cash on their person. Sometimes this money is catalogued as evidence and at other times it is placed in a safekeeping account to be returned to the inmate upon their release. The agency established a working relationship with the jail cashiers, who manage the safekeeping accounts. The cashiers call the agency every time an inmate enters the jail with a specified minimum amount of cash or check made payable to them. The agency runs the inmate's name in the child support computer. Approximately one-quarter of the referrals are a match for someone who is delinquent in child support.

Once a match is found, a motion is filed which freezes the inmate's account and sets a hearing date at which the inmate will have an opportunity to object to the application of the money to his child support arrears. The motion must be signed by a court commissioner or judge. A pager number was provided to the jail cashiers so that seizures could be accomplished in the evenings and on weekends. The after- hours duty judge signs the motions during these times.

In the last several months, efforts were expanded to state correctional facilities. A list of inmates is obtained with their dates of birth and account balances. A motion is filed for each inmate with a minimum specified amount of cash in his or her account. Due to the implementation of a statewide child support system in 1996, referrals to other counties in the State are made when a delinquent payer in another county is found with cash.

An additional use of information received on inmates is the pursuit of inmates, with or without cash, for contempt. This is a great opportunity to get hard to serve delinquent payers served. This of course only works when the inmate will be incarcerated for a short term and released prior to or soon after their contempt hearing.

The project was far more successful than predicted. In the year and a half since its inception, approximately $300,000 in child support arrears has been collected. One motion started as a seizure of a $2,000 state correctional facility account. During the hearing, the inmate testified that the account was being funded by payments out of a trust fund set up for the inmate from his mother's estate. Further investigation through the account manager at the state correctional facility led to the discovery of a savings account outside of the facility containing over $35,000, all funded by the trust fund. Total collections from the inmate exceeded $27,000. Two custodial parents were paid the entire amount of the arrears and interest due them after waiting over a decade for their child support. In another case, an inmate brought a bank deposit slip to court to show that he was on the way to the bank to make a deposit for his employer. After running the employer's name in the child support system, over $10,000 was seized from the employer's savings account for his own delinquent cases.

No additional funding is needed to implement this project. Only the time of a child support attorney and a court docket is needed to accomplish this.

The cashier or account manager should be able to verify the amount of money that was in the inmate’s possession at the time of arrest. Many times friends and family members bring money to the inmate for posting bail or for spending at the canteen. If money is seized which is traceable to an uninvolved person, the Court might give it back to them. It is also important when working with state correctional inmates, that you do not grab accounts that contain too little. Inmates in state correctional facilities may have been incarcerated for a substantial period of time and will need money to get re-established in society. In Wisconsin, state law requires inmates to have a release account into which a certain percentage of their inmate pay is placed until the account balance is $500.

Keep track of the inmate and have him available at the hearing if he is still incarcerated. This was accomplished by speakerphone in Milwaukee County. Establish a comfortable working relationship with the cashiers at the various facilities. Let them know their calls are always welcome so that they are comfortable making referrals any time of day.

Attorney Rhonda Gorden Director of Child Support Enforcement for Ozaukee County/Asst. Corporation Counsel at 262-284-8404 or <rgorden@co.ozaukee.wi.us>.

The mailing address is:

A copy of the motion used by Milwaukee County will be e-mailed to you upon request.