Parents who have active bench warrants for child support arrearages will have one week to turn themselves in without the threat of arrest and to make arrangements to pay. The Montgomery County Domestic Relations and Sheriff’s Offices announced the collaborative amnesty program  during a press conference at the Montgomery County Courthouse.

“Child support is a critical source of income for many families. Our ultimate goal is to try and create financial stability by reducing barriers to paying child support,” said Domestic Relations Office Director Gary Kline. “Governor Wolf proclaimed August as Child Support Awareness Month, so we are using the amnesty to bring awareness to noncustodial parents about the importance of making court-ordered support payments.”

[uam_ad id=”54865″]

Parents can have their warrants vacated by turning themselves in during the amnesty period to the Domestic Relations Office, 425 Swede Street, Norristown, PA   19404, from 8:30 a.m., on August 27, 2018, to 4:00 p.m., on August 31, 2018. The program does not apply to defendants who are detained by agencies other than the MCSO during the amnesty week.

Letters went out on August 21, 2018, to more than 230 delinquent parents instructing them to report to the DRO, or face a range of consequences.

“We strongly encourage parents to take advantage of this program to help their kids and get on with their lives,” said Domestic Relations Office Compliance Manager Rebecca Colantuno.

The last amnesty program, implemented in 2013, yielded more than 6.5% of the arrearages owed which helped keep defendants in good standing with the DRO and custodial parents.

Montgomery County DRO has an approximate 90 percent compliance rate – the third highest in the Commonwealth.

“We will aggressively pursue these parents after the amnesty period, after which they could be subject to wage and tax refund garnishment, suspended licenses and passports, arrest, and jail time,” said Sheriff Sean P. Kilkenny. “I hope that even the smallest amount of support can help kids get off to a good start as they head back to school.”

A list of the Sheriff’s Office “Most Wanted” is available here<http://www.montcopa.org/417/Wanted-Persons>. Anonymous tips regarding wanted individuals may be reported by either calling the Sheriff’s Office TIP LINE at 610-278-3340, or by filling out the online “Submit a Tip<http://www.montcopa.org/FormCenter/Sheriffs-Department-8/Submit-a-Tip-45>” form, or by sending an email to sheriffwarrant@montcopa.org. Residents may also submit tips by posting messages on either Facebook<https://www.facebook.com/montcosheriff/>, Twitter<https://twitter.com/MontCoPASheriff> or, Instagram<https://www.instagram.com/montcopasheriff/>.

Residents may also submit tips through the MontcoPASheriff mobile phone app which is available in iTunes and GooglePlay stores.

[uam_ad id=”54875″]