Child support system changes August 1

Major change is ahead this summer to South Carolina’s system of collecting child support payments, and the staff at the Oconee Clerk of Court’s office will get ready with three weeks of training next month. As explained by Beverly Whitfield, clerk of court, starting August 1 all child support payments are to be mailed to one South Carolina disbursement center in Columbia. And, from there, payments are to be disbursed to custodial parents. The change is triggered by a federal law, to which South Carolina is the last to comply. No longer will the county clerk of court’s office accept payments. The clerk’s drive-thru window at the courthouse will be closed. To prepare for this change, Whitfield and her staff will undergo three weeks training starting next month. Often times, change is hard to accept, especially one of this magnitude. But Whitfield says, in the end, this will be a good change for it will help ensure a fairer distribution of the monies for the children who are deserving.