SC still lacks enforcement system, 24 years later

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina still lacks a system for tracking deadbeat dads and moms online, nearly a quarter-century after federal law required it.

South Carolina has long been the only state that has not complied with a 1988 law requiring a centralized computer system to enforce child support payments. The state has been paying fines since missing the government’s 1997 deadline.

The Greenville News reports (http://grnol.co/TV0OCb) the system is expected to cost taxpayers $116 million by the time it’s in pace next summer. But lawmakers say they’ve heard promised start dates before.

The latest contract dispute, with Hewlett Packard, was resolved this year. The Department of Social Services says the state’s total bill for penalties will be $66 million.

The state’s share of the project’s $151 million cost is $50 million.

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Information from: The Greenville News, http://www.greenvillenews.com