Justin Keown, Ohio County County Attorney
FRANKFORT, Ky. — The Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services has recognized the state’s 20 most successful child support collection partners from the past year, along with other employees who have increased payments for families served by the child support program. Among those receiving awards was Ohio County’s County Attorney Justin Keown.
The ceremony was hosted virtually from Frankfort this year due to COVID-19 restrictions by the CHFS Child Support Enforcement program, which is part of the CHFS Department for Income Support. CSE administers child support throughout Kentucky and contracts with local officials to manage responsibilities jointly.
“The commitment and dedication of these essential public servants is often overlooked, but they are the foundation to our continued mission to the Commonwealth, said DIS Commissioner Steven P. Veno, who leads the Department of Income Support. “Child support enforcement plays an important role in strengthening parental responsibility so that children receive reliable support from both of their parents as they grow to adulthood. Kentucky’s Child Support Enforcement program delivers more than $400,000,000 funds in child support payments every year to families across the Commonwealth. In SFY 2020, paternity was established for 5800 children in Kentucky.”
Lily Chan Patteson, Director of the Child Support Enforcement Division, added: “We are proud to recognize today our exemplary frontline County Attorney Offices and staff as well as our state child support staff throughout the state. These individuals and office are your neighbors, your family and your friends; they are in every county and city in the Commonwealth and their service is integral to the community.”
The core mission of the Child Support Enforcement relies heavily on the devoted commitment of state child support staff, 120 county attorney offices and their staff, and partners to be successful and to serve the Commonwealth and its citizens.
Top-performing counties with 1,000 or fewer cases are as follows:
- Adair County, County Attorney Jennifer Hutchison-Corbin
- Green County, County Attorney Russ Goff
- Hancock County, County Attorney Paul Madden Jr.
- Hickman County, County Attorney Jason Batts
- Lyon County, County Attorney Lee Wilson
- McLean County, County Attorney Donna Dant
- Morgan County, County Attorney Myles Holbrook
- Woodford County, County Attorney Alan George
Top-performing counties with 1,000-2,000 cases are as follows:
- Allen County, County Attorney Hallye Arterburn
- Carter County, County Attorney Brian Bayes
- Grant County, County Attorney Stephen Bates
- Ohio County, County Attorney Justin Keown
- Oldham County, County Attorney John K. Carter
- Russell County, County Attorney Kevin Shearer
- Taylor County, County Attorney John D. Bertram
Top-performing counties with 2,000-4,000 cases are as follows:
- Bell County, County Attorney Neil Ward
- Harlan County, County Attorney Fred Busroe Jr.
- Hopkins County, County Attorney Byron Hobgood
Top-performing counties with 4,000 cases or more are as follows:
- Boone County, County Attorney Robert Neace
- Hardin County, County Attorney Jennifer Oldham
Rankings are based on paternity establishment, child support order establishment, current child support collections and past-due collections. Commissioner Veno expressed appreciation for all who were recognized at the awards ceremony.
Several other awards were also given to contractors and CSE staff.
They are as follows:
- Contracting Official Office of the Year – Clark County Attorney’s Office
- John R. Fendley Child Support Attorney of the Year – G. Davis Wilson, Bourbon County Attorney
- Tim Olds Outstanding Customer Service Award – Matt Burberry, Office of Application Technology Services, KASES
- Contracting Official Employee of the Year – Laura Byland, Kenton County Attorney’s Office
- State Child Support Field Office Employee of the Year – James Cook, Eastern Mountain Regional Office
- Central Office Employee of the Year – June Miller, CSE Training Section
- Commissioner’s Award – Lily Chan Patteson, CSE Division
Additional information is available at http://chfs.ky.gov/.
