A proposed $3.9 million judgment has been entered in an action filed against the Hawai'i Child Support Enforcement Agency on behalf of certain persons who allege that they received less in child-support payments than they expected between 1996 and the end of 2002. The action alleges that millions of dollars in undistributed child-support money resulted from checks being returned because of bad addresses and checks that were sent by the agency but never cashed. Claims must be filed by November 23, 2003, to be considered valid.

The action was filed on behalf of Anne Kemp, a divorced mother who had a court order to have child-support payments deducted from her ex-husband's paycheck, as is the case in most divorce cases where child support is ordered. Kemp allegedly found that although the support payments were being deducted from her former husband's paycheck, the Child Support Enforcement Agency was not passing the money on to her within 48 hours as required by state and federal law. When Kemp tried to straighten out the matter, she alleged that she was met with what seemed at the time to be indifference, if not ineptitude, and an unresponsive agency.

The judgment defines three separate subclasses of persons who might not have received their support payments: (1) All persons who, within two years prior to August 28, 1998, were entitled to receive child support payments through the Hawai'i Child Support Enforcement Agency; (2) all persons who, more than two years before August 28, 1998, were subject to a legal disability, were entitled to receive child support payments through the Hawai'i Child Support Enforcement Agency, and whose legal disability ceased one year prior to August 28, 1998, and (3) all persons who were, after May 17, 1999, entitled to receive child support payments through the Hawai'i Child Support Enforcement Agency and who did not or will not receive their payments within the time limits set by state law without legal justification.

Persons who are eligible to file a claim should send a letter addressed to the Child Support Enforcement Agency Class Action Claims, P.O. Box 1950, Honolulu, HI 96805-1950. Or they may visit the agency's offices on the four major islands. People who write to or visit the agency to file claims should be able to provide the name of the person to whom the support payment was due, that person's social security number, a current mailing address and, if possible, the personal identification number assigned by the agency to the particular case and the case number.

The Child Support Enforcement Agency has offices on all four major islands: the O'ahu office is at 601 Kamokila Boulevard, #251 in Kapolei; the Maui office is at 35 Lunalilo Street, Suite 201 in Wailuku; the office on the Big Island is at Waiakea Shopping Center, 88 Kanoelehua Avenue, Room 202 in Hilo; and the Kauai office is at 4180 Rice Street, Suite 104, in Lihue. The agency has set up a special telephone number to assist person who have questions about the judgment: (808) 692-7140.

The judgment will not be effective until the court grants it final approval. The court has scheduled a hearing on the matter for October 7, 2003.