Child support and Spousal support show increases in St. Joseph County

St. Joseph County’s Friend of the Court had a successful year in 2015 in terms of child support it collected over the 12-month period.
During Tuesday’s county commission meeting, director Bill Thistlethwaite gave the department’s annual report and said a good measure for the department’s success was based on a financial incentive given to well-performing agencies.
He said the federal government pays an incentive based on the performance in five categories in terms of child support, establishment and collection, and last year the office generated $145,000 in incentives from the government.
Meanwhile, total collections in 2015 were up for the fourth consecutive year.
Between child support and spousal support, the department in 2015 netted more than $10.1 million, an increase of $127,000 compared to 2014.
It had a caseload last year of 4,890, a decrease from 5,115 in 2014. Also, the number of arrests for non-support dropped last year, from 103 in 2014 to 99 in 2015.