Officials: Casino intercept program nets $806,000 in child suppo - KPLC 7 News, Lake Charles, Louisiana

The Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services is reporting that the department has intercepted more than $806,000 in casino winnings from 599 "non-custodial parents" for child support arrears.

State officials laid out the collections in a Tuesday news release.

Officials said that the department works with custodial and non-custodial parents to ensure that both parents fulfill their obligations to provide financial, medical and emotional support to their children.

"The casino intercept initiative has been a very successful tool for us in collecting overdue support," said DCFS Secretary Suzy Sonnier.

Collections from the 18 participating casinos in the program, according to the department, are:

Officials said a pilot program was launched in September 2011 at Hollywood Casino in Baton Rouge.

The first intercept was reportedly made only two days later from a non-custodial father in the amount of $1,995.40.

"In our work to assist families who rely on court ordered child support to provide for their children, DCFS uses every avenue available, like casino intercepts, to collect the more than $1.2 billion owed by non-custodial parents statewide," Sonnier said.

Former state Senator Nick Gautreaux introduced the legislation in the 2010 session to collect child support from winnings of more than $1,200 at Louisiana casinos.

Other states with similar laws include Mississippi, Indiana, New Jersey, New Mexico, Colorado and West Virginia.

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