TALLAHASSEE - Collections of delinquent child-support payments in Seminole County have increased by one-third during the past year as a crackdown on deadbeat dads increases.

Statewide, collections have nearly tripled through aggressive enforcement, including the use of "wanted posters," Gov. Bob Martinez announced Tuesday. "Child support can mean the difference between a square meal or going hungry, between a decent home or substandard housing, between a happy childhood and one of bitterness."-Gov. Bob Martinez

Maryanne Morse, clerk of Seminole County courts, said property liens has proven to be the most effective way of getting fathers to begin paying their support payments.

"People just don't want a lien placed on their property," Morse said.

Morse said as of June 30 of this year, $14.5 million in child support payments were collected in the county. By June 30, 1989, $11.2 million payments had been collected.

The Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services increased collections of child support to $211 million in the fiscal year that ended June 30. The figure compares to $81 million in collections the year before Martinez took office.

Those efforts did more than provide money for children, Martinez said during a news conference.

"It also relieves the state of having to make the payments for the support of that child that the parent ought to be making," he said.

Martinez said the crackdown has helped move 6,000 families off public assistance.

"Child support can mean the difference between a square meal or going hungry, the difference between a decent home or substandard housing, the difference between a happy childhood or one of bitterness," Martinez said.

Officials attributed the improvement to tougher enforcement, including plastering the pictures of flagrant child support deadbeats on "Most Wanted" posters across the state.

Fourteen people so listed have been found turned themselves in to settle their arrears, officials said.

The state has also been airing public service announcements advertising the toll free hotline for reporting child support arrears, 1-800-622-KIDS.

The state collected nearly $94 million by attaching wages, $22 million from federal income tax checks, $1,8 million from unemployment compensation checks and $120,000 in Florida Lottery winnings last year.

The state has also been reporting deadbeats to credit agencies, jeopardizing their ability to borrow money, and attaching liens to homes, cars, and other personal property to prevent their sale, said Bob Johnson, chief of enforcement for HRS.

Parents who can afford to pay child support but refuse face jail terms, Johnson said.

TALLAHASSEE - Collections of delinquent child-support payments in Seminole County have increased by one-third during the past year as a crackdown on deadbeat dads increases.

Statewide, collections have nearly tripled through aggressive enforcement, including the use of "wanted posters," Gov. Bob Martinez announced Tuesday. "Child support can mean the difference between a square meal or going hungry, between a decent home or substandard housing, between a happy childhood and one of bitterness."-Gov. Bob Martinez

Maryanne Morse, clerk of Seminole County courts, said property liens has proven to be the most effective way of getting fathers to begin paying their support payments.

"People just don't want a lien placed on their property," Morse said.

Morse said as of June 30 of this year, $14.5 million in child support payments were collected in the county. By June 30, 1989, $11.2 million payments had been collected.

The Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services increased collections of child support to $211 million in the fiscal year that ended June 30. The figure compares to $81 million in collections the year before Martinez took office.

Those efforts did more than provide money for children, Martinez said during a news conference.

"It also relieves the state of having to make the payments for the support of that child that the parent ought to be making," he said.

Martinez said the crackdown has helped move 6,000 families off public assistance.

"Child support can mean the difference between a square meal or going hungry, the difference between a decent home or substandard housing, the difference between a happy childhood or one of bitterness," Martinez said.

Officials attributed the improvement to tougher enforcement, including plastering the pictures of flagrant child support deadbeats on "Most Wanted" posters across the state.

Fourteen people so listed have been found turned themselves in to settle their arrears, officials said.

The state has also been airing public service announcements advertising the toll free hotline for reporting child support arrears, 1-800-622-KIDS.

The state collected nearly $94 million by attaching wages, $22 million from federal income tax checks, $1,8 million from unemployment compensation checks and $120,000 in Florida Lottery winnings last year.

The state has also been reporting deadbeats to credit agencies, jeopardizing their ability to borrow money, and attaching liens to homes, cars, and other personal property to prevent their sale, said Bob Johnson, chief of enforcement for HRS.

Parents who can afford to pay child support but refuse face jail terms, Johnson said.