Supportkids Celebrates 15th Anniversary
Since 1991, the Company Has Collected Over $270 Million in Child Support for
Families Seeking Help
(Austin, Texas) -In February, 2006, Supportkids celebrates its fifteenth
anniversary. The company was founded in 1991 to address the need for more
options for families seeking help in collecting child support. Supportkids is
the nation's largest private child support enforcement company working directly
with parents.
The National Scene
Although great strides have been made, the government child support system is
still overwhelmed. Currently, government child support agencies are able to
collect on about half of their cases. More than 7 million families must find
other ways of addressing the problem, or else settle for little or no financial
help for their children. The national unpaid child support balance exceeds $102
billion, with an average of 93% of the unpaid child support going uncollected
each year.
The Idea
Supportkids' founders recognized the unfortunate fact that state child support
agencies will never have the funding or resources to collect on every case.
Beginning with five employees, who personally interviewed each prospective
client, the first office was located in the basement of a local department
store. In 1994, the company's CEO was interviewed by Katie Couric on The Today
Show about the growing national child support problem and the need for a
private sector option. Total collections in 1995 grew to $10 million, and to
meet the needs of its growing client base, Supportkids introduced its automated
"Client Line" which allows clients to get updates on their child support cases
24 hours a day.
Growth
In 1996, Supportkids launched its first Web site and acquired a leading private
child support enforcement agency. In November of that year, the company
celebrated its first $1 million collection month. Supportkids' remarkable
growth was further accelerated in 1997 with its first round of financing from
Austin Ventures.
During the next several years, Supportkids relocated to a 40,000-square-foot
facility in Southeast Austin and began advertising nationally. More
customer-oriented internal improvements followed, including implementation of
next-generation software for case management and an online application. By
2000, Supportkids' total collections grew to $75 million, and
PriceWaterhouseCoopers recognized the company with an award for being one of
the "50 Fastest Growing Private Companies."
Recognition and Contribution
In 2001, Supportkids and other leading private child support enforcement
companies recognized the need within the industry to promote responsible and
professional private child support enforcement. Together, they formed the Child
Support Enforcement Council, an industry trade association, to ensure that
custodial parents receive the highest levels of ethical and professional
service from the private enforcement agencies. Also that year, the Austin
Business Journal honored Supportkids with its award for Industry Leadership.
During the next five years, public awareness of the services provided by private
agencies continued to increase. In fact, the federal Office of Child Support
Enforcement even recognized the important role of private agencies in numerous
policy memoranda that encouraged state child support agencies to cooperate with
their private sector colleagues.
Supportkids continues to give back to its community by participating in Habitat
for Humanity projects, the United Way Capitol Area Day of Caring and the
Rodriguez Elementary School Mentoring and Tutoring Program. Supportkids' own
Adopt-a-Family program has collected thousands of dollars for a number of its
clients during the holiday season. In addition, Supportkids also raised funds
for some of its clients particularly hard hit by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Options
According to Matt Landry, chairman of the board of Supportkids, "A full range
of options is absolutely necessary to meet the needs of all the parents and
children out there who desperately need financial help because of unpaid child
support. It is unacceptable for so many of America's children to live without
the support they deserve-for a mother to struggle for years without hope."
Today, Supportkids provides parents across the nation with a valuable child
support enforcement option. The company has collected a total of over $270
million, and all of its cases are handled on a contingency basis so it offers a
risk-fee alternative to parents who are not getting the child support they
deserve. Supportkids uses specially trained investigators and enforcement
specialists to maximize its results. For more information, visit the company's
Web site at www.supportkids.com, or call 1-800-691-KIDS.
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