NORWICH – This week marks the start of Child Support Awareness Month in New York State, a time to promote the protection and well-being of children across The Empire State.

The impact of child support carries evident long and short-term effects in the area, explained Chenango County Department of Social Services Deputy Commissioner Daniel Auwarter.

“Assuring that parents uphold their responsibility to help provide for their child’s success and well-being is crucial to fostering positive child development, and also plays a substantial role in current and future economies,” he said.

Last year alone, Chenango County DSS processed more than $5.57 million in child support from 2,855 cases. The DSS Child Support Unit expects to surpass that amount this year with $3 million in child support already collected from the first two quarters.

“We typically collect about $5 million each year and what we are seeing this year is just a little higher than last year,” said Trudy Huggins, head of the Child Support Unit. “These figures are absolutely a good thing because money collected goes back to support families, and it shows that we are doing what we can to collect.”

A report released by DSS shows annual collections of child support have stayed relatively static over the past five years: $5.82 million collected in 2008; $5.57 million in 2009; $5.65 million in 2010; $5.64 million in 2011; and $5.57 million in 2012.