Problem Solver: Child Support Enforcement Sends Refund

By Dianne Derby
Anchor
Published: August 4, 2008

Terress Sims has sacrificed a lot for his 7 children but he’s sacrificed the most for an 8th child he says isn’t his…serving jail time twice.
“They labeled me as a ‘deadbeat’ but I’m not that because I have a lot of kids I take care of,“ said Sims.

He says he couldn’t afford to get a DNA test to prove his innocence and says he wasn’t told DSS would do the $90 test at no cost to him if he was proven to not be the father. However, in May of this year Spartanburg County Family Court documents we obtained show he did have a genetic test proving he wasn’t the father but DSS required an additional test.

“I was disgusted,“ said Sims. “If I have a DNA test that I paid $400 for versus a $90 DNA test don’t you think that would be accurate?“

Mr. Sims says he spent 6 months in the Spartanburg County Detention Center for not paying child support. He can’t get that time back but we did help him get money garnished from his tax returns.

“We don’t see this often in the child support program,“ said Glenn Hastie with the Department of Social Services.

Hastie wouldn’t talk to us about the case in detail citing confidentiality but says the decision to refund the $600 plus taken from his tax refund was made by their Child Support Enforcement Director Larry McKeown.

“After we got the results of the blood test (McKeown) felt like it was the right thing to do in this case,“ said Hastie.

And as he continues to fight to go to court to get the several thousand he says he’s paid in child support 7 On Your Side will continue to fight for him.

“It made a big difference and I appreciate everything,“ said Sims.

If you need help disputing child support orders as well as finding out how to get a case with child support stated contact the Department of Social Services. You can reach their regional office by calling 864-282-4650. For more information click here.