Authorities say a program designed to get deadbeat parents to make their child support payments is getting results — some will make their payments just to keep their photo out of the newspaper or off the side of a dumpster.

The program is a joint venture of Union County Sheriff David Taylor and Clerk of Court Brad Morris, under whose office child support services falls.

It involved posting flyers with pictures of non-paying parents on whom warrants had been issued all over Union County. The pictures were taped up at laundromats, convenience stores, on dumpsters, around housing complexes at local parks and other places where people gather.

These parents also found their photos in The Union Daily Times, on Union’s local cable channel, Channel 14 and in two regional papers that feature criminals — Jailbirds and Runners. WBCU radio in Union also features daily segments on a wanted deadbeat parent.

When it went into effect in February of 2009, 172 bench warrants were active for non-paying parents, said Lt. David Kitchens, child support officer for Union County. As of July, there are only 58 child support bench warrants active, with the majority of those people no longer living in Union County.

From January 2008 until July 1, 2008, $2,138,931 was paid to child support recipients. From January 2009 until July 1, 2009, $2,169,452 was paid to children by their parents for child support. This occurred despite the fact that one in five people in Union County is employed — 22 percent — the second highest rate in South Carolina.

“This was a $30,521 increase just because deadbeat parents were starting to see their pictures around town and maybe were hearing their names on the radio for not being responsible adults and supporting their children,” Kitchens said.

Taylor said he is pleased with the results.

“If someone had told me we would have this kind of success with child support enforcement, I would have said they were being optimistic,” Taylor said.

Morris agreed.

“I think it is really interesting that collections are up despite the troubled economy,” he said.

Kitchens said a major factor of the program being such a success is Union County Crime Stoppers. Taylor and Morris spoke with the Crime Stoppers Board and it was decided that citizens could begin calling in tips of the whereabouts of the non-paying parents with active bench warrants. If the tips led to the arrest of a parent, Crime Stoppers agreed to pay an award to the person calling with the tip.

“More numbers to prove this system is working- July 2008 through March 2009, Crime Stoppers received eight tips with only one arrest made,” Kitchens said. “The payout for this one tip totaled $50. Before this program eight months equaled one arrest because of a Crime Stoppers tip. Because of Sheriff Taylor, Clerk of Court Morris and Crime Stoppers, during three months of 2009, (April, May and June) had nearly 100 tips called into Crime Stoppers with the tips leading to a payout of over $1,200.”

Kitchens said the numbers prove that when offices work together, despite economic hard times, changes can be made.

“Because two county elected officials and a non-profit organization are now working together, numerous Union County children are now receiving the financial support their parents were ordered to pay,” he said. “This program is also expanding to include other wanted subjects here in Union. Sheriff Taylor expects the numbers in other arrests to also increase just as the non-paying child support arrests have.”