New Website Will Help Track Down Irresponsible Parents Not Paying Support

QUEEN’S PARK – The McGuinty government has launched www.goodparentspay.com, a new website that will help track down parents who are not paying their court-ordered support, Minister of Community and Social Services Madeleine Meilleur announced today.     

“Children should not suffer because of a parent who refuses to live up to his or her financial responsibilities,” said Meilleur.  “Good parents pay child support.  For those who don’t, we want to make things very clear: we will find you and we will make sure your children get the support they deserve.” 

The new website, run by the Family Responsibility Office (FRO), feature pictures and other information about defaulting support payors.  The site allows people to submit information about these individuals anonymously to the FRO.

“We are thrilled that this government is taking the necessary steps to ensure that more children receive the support to which they are entitled.  We all have to work together when it comes to our children's welfare,” said Renate Diorio of Families Against Deadbeats.

The FRO is also reporting defaulting support payors to professional and occupational organizations beginning with The Law Society of Upper Canada and the Ontario Motor Vehicle Industry Council. These new powers are the latest measures introduced to increase enforcement by the McGuinty government to help children get the support they deserve.  Other measures include increasing the FRO’s powers to demand personal information about payors in order to locate them and the Credit Bureau Initiative which has collected more than $330 million since January 2004.   

This is the latest example of how the McGuinty government is strengthening Ontario by strengthening Ontario’s families.  Other initiatives include:

• Creating the Youth Challenge Fund, which could potentially provide up to $45 million for community-led programs targeted to young people in underserved GTA communities
• Helping the vulnerable by investing over $120 million more to help special needs children and their families, including an additional $10 million in our last Budget for Children’s Treatment Centres
• Investing about $276 million to strengthen community-based services, including nearly $70 million to create new places to live for adults with a developmental disability who will be moving into the community, and $206 million for additional community services and infrastructure.