Local court officials are reporting a decrease in child support payment collection.

John Giele, Douglas County assistant court trustee, said panic is setting in for some local families.

“They’re asking, ‘What do we do?'” said Giele, whose office is responsible for ensuring compliance of court-ordered child support.

The Douglas County Court Trustee’s office, which collected $5.7 million in support payments last year, is seeing a decrease of about 5 percent in support collection compared with this time last year, court trustee Katy Nitcher said. In addition, Nitcher said, the court is receiving more calls from parents struggling to keep up.

Nitcher said her office is seeing more delinquent cases of those who have traditionally been good about making payments.

Douglas County District Judge Pro Tem James George, who handles child support modification hearings, said he sees many people struggling in a very tight employment market.

“People are losing work through no fault of their own. … I definitely hear their frustration,” George said.

Melinda Whitman, a court trustee in Johnson County, said her office is also seeing changes in the types of delinquent cases.

“We see more people in court who are educated and had good jobs that can’t pay,” she said. “We’ve never dealt with them.”

The situation is taking a significant toll on many families.

“A parent feels way inadequate; they feel they’re letting their children down,” she said.

Whitman said the monthly ups and downs of the Lawrence unemployment rate — which at 6.1 percent in August is nearly two points higher than last year — are evident. The Douglas County Treasurer’s Office has also seen evidence of the bad economy, with unpaid property taxes through August of this year 41 percent higher than in 2008.

But with child support, it can take months for the court to make a modification, and some people use unemployment benefits and savings to make it through to the next job, Whitman said.

A slower trickle has been seen in Johnson County, she said, as collection was steady through the first six months of 2009, but dropped significantly in the past three months.

There are no fines for those who don’t pay child support, but interest is added to back payments. Jail time is an option for a judge, but Nitcher said the court makes a distinction between those who are unable to pay due to a job loss, and those who are “dodging responsibility.” The court tries to work with parents who aren’t able to pay, she said, to ease the burden when times are tough.

Part of that responsibility, however, rests with the parent.

Giele and Nitcher said that it’s important for parents to let the court know immediately when issues making their payments arise, as the court has a variety of options for parents. It’s also important so that the court can make appropriate referrals to community agencies for assistance for the children affected.

“The best thing they can do is call and open lines of communication,” Giele said.