Kudos to Oldham County Attorney John Fendley was honored as Kentucky's top child support contracting official for the fourth consecutive year.
The state government press release is reprinted below in its entirety. Thanks to Mike Stevens of the Kentucky Law Blog for sending this over.
"The Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services honored child support contracting officials from 27 counties last month for top performance and significant improvement during the past year.
For the fourth consecutive year, Oldham County Attorney John Fendley was honored as the state’s top child support contracting official.
Magoffin County, led by special prosecutor Steve Fox, received the award for greatest improvement statewide.
The Division of Child Support, within the cabinet’s Department for Community Based Services (DCBS), administers child support enforcement jointly with local contractors. The division rated the performance of contractors in all 120 Kentucky counties during the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2006. In most instances, the Kentucky Division of Child Support contracts with a county attorney to administer its work, but in some cases a special prosecutor can be appointed.
Awards were presented for counties that made significant improvement in paternity establishment, child support establishment, child support collections and arrearage collections and for overall performance in all categories.
“In a year with many challenges, you have kept the focus of this program on Kentucky’s children,” DCBS Commissioner Tom Emberton Jr. told the officials. “As you continue to improve services, department staff will continue to support you with every available resource we have.”
Fendley and Oldham counties lead the state once again. Other top performers, in rank order, are as follows:
• County Attorney Jennifer Hutchison-Corbin, Adair County
• County Attorney Dale Morris, Larue County
• Special Prosecutor Stephen Dallas, Owen County
• County Attorney William Hagenbuch, Allen County
• Special Prosecutor Stephen Dallas, Boone County
• County Attorney Steve O’Connor, Morgan County
• County Attorney Hamilton Simms, Washington County
• County Attorney H.B. Quinn, Trigg County
• Assistant County Attorney Jeffery Dean, Pendleton County
• Special Prosecutor Stephen Dallas, Harrison County
• County Attorney Clint Prow, Webster County
Magoffin County, led by Special Prosecutor Mike Fox, jumped 48 spots from 87th in 2005 to 39th in 2006 in all categories combined. Magoffin increased its paternity establishment ratio by 8.57 percent, order establishment by 11.93 percent, current support collections by 4.14 percent and arrearage collections by 4.53 percent.
Carter County Attorney Fox, who was appointed special prosecutor for Magoffin County, said he had reservations about taking on Magoffin County’s child support program about five years ago when it was “at the bottom of the barrel in terms of performance. But there was no place to go but up.”
Fox’s team has worked hard to make people understand that paying child support is an obligation, he said. He’s also learned he gets greater cooperation by “being consistent and being fair.”
In a rural community, Fox said, “people know what is happening with other cases. When they have faith that you are doing the right thing, they are more willing to comply.”
Other awards went to counties showing significant improvement in paternity establishment, child support establishment, child support collections and arrearage collections in 2006. Those winners are as follows:
• Owsley County, County Attorney Henley McIntosh – Increased paternity establishment ratio by 12.61 percent. Owsley County also showed significant improvement in child support establishment, with an increase of 10.86 percent.
• Bell County, County Attorney Neil Ward -- Increased child support establishment by 10.85 percent.
• Meade County, County Attorney Darren Sipes – Increased child support establishment by 11.69 percent.
• Warren County, County Attorney Amy Milliken – Increased child support establishment by 12.59 percent.
• Calloway County, County Attorney David Harrington – Increased child support establishment by 12.05 percent.
• Bracken County, Special Prosecutor John Price – Increased child support establishment by 12.8 percent.
• Garrard County, County Attorney Jeff Moss – Increased child support establishment by 10.01 percent.
• Woodford County, County Attorney Alan George -- Increased child support collections by 5.33 percent.
• Bullitt County, Special Prosecutor Stephen Dallas -- Increased child support collections by 5.09 percent.
• Robertson County, Special Prosecutor John Price – Increased child support collections by 8.31 percent. Robertson County also increased arrearage collections by 5.88 percent.
• Ballard County, County Attorney Mike Stacey -- Increased child support collections by 5.51 percent.
• Martin County, County Attorney Kennis Maynard -- increased child support collections by 6.53 percent.
• Metcalfe County, County Attorney Sharon Bowles Howard -- Increased child support collections by 6.97 percent.
• Webster County, County Attorney Clint Prow -- Increased arrearage collections by 8.03 percent.
• Letcher County, County Attorney Harold Bolling -- Increased arrearage collections by 5.47 percent."
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