By Fernando Ramirez, Chron.com / Houston Chronicle

Published 5:09 pm, Monday, April 10, 2017

Last December, Texas officials implemented a new rule to get tough on parents who failed to pay child support by barring them from registering their vehicle.

On Monday, Texas officials revealed that the program had generated $1.17 million in  child support payments as of March 31, 2017.

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In total, 3,852 parents paid dues to 4,634 child support cases, with an average of $252 per case. According to officials, the highest single payment collected was $54,000. 

“This program is proving to be an effective tool in convincing delinquent parents to fulfill their most important obligation – providing for their children,” said Attorney General Ken Paxton in a prepared statement. “As soon as a payment is arranged, the hold on an auto registration renewal is released. The aim of the program is to obtain compliance with court orders to provide support for children, not to punish parents or deny them their livelihood.”

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During the first month of the program, the Texas Attorney General’s office collected more than $160,000 in child support payments.

However, not everyone was excited when the program launched. When the program was originally announced in August, Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector Mike Sullivan told the Houston Chronicle’s Dug Begley, “This is an administrative office. We are now being directed to act as enforcement for the Texas Attorney General and the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles and that concerns me.”

Click through to the biggest child support dodgers in Texas.