RELEASE: October 29, 2001

Previous Screen

Some parents who receive child support may experience two- to five-day delays in their payments because the Family Support Payment Center had to re-route its mail to bypass the post office in Hamilton.

In addition, some mail received at the Hamilton post office on October 18 has not been released.

The state, which administers 343,311 child support cases, collected and distributed $768.2 million to parents in federal Fiscal Year 2001, which ended Sept. 30. It is estimated that about 8,000 checks are affected by the delays in the mailing process.

Any parent who expected a support payment five or more days ago but did not receive it should call the Child Support hotline at 1-877-NJKIDS-1. A customer service representative will begin researching the case to see if the payment was received and a check issued to the custodial parent. Parents who receive their child support through direct deposit should double-check their account balances to be sure they received their latest payments.

The state will work with relief agencies to facilitate cash assistance or other support services for low-income parents who need immediate assistance.

Child support payments in New Jersey are processed by the Family Support Payment Center in Trenton, which is operated by Tier Technologies Inc., a private contractor hired by the state Department of Human Services, Division of Family Development (DFD).