HAMILTON — Behind an award-winning Butler County program for tracking down parents who owe child support, there are hundreds of stories like Kristina Heindorf's.

        A June newspaper advertisement naming child support violators brought a tip about the whereabouts of Ms. Heindorf's ex-husband, Terry. That led to his arrest in Florida in August, sheriff's deputies said.

        The county sheriff's office and Child Support Enforcement Agency, which ran the ads in May and June, were presented with a “Best Practice” award from the Ohio Family Support Association at a ceremony Wednesday in Columbus.

        The ads led to the arrests of dozens of people. The ads, coupled with daily efforts of two deputies, resulted in 457 arrests of people owing a total of $4.16 million in support payments. The average violator owes $9,100, said Sgt. Jeff Gebhart, warrants supervisor.

        Sheriff's deputies traveled nearly 44,000 miles to find the accused violators, Sheriff Harold Don Gabbard said. He pointed out 32 of the violators were found out-of-state — including one who lived in Japan and was snared when he arrived at a Chicago airport. “We're going to get them wherever they're at,” Sheriff Gabbard said.

        At the time of his arrest in Florida, Mr. Heindorf, 43, was 21 months behind in child support, his ex-wife said. “It was a tremendous burden,” said Ms. Heindorf, 45. “I was using credit cards to supplement our income and make ends meet.”

        After Mr. Heindorf was arrested and paid the money owed to his 5-year-old son, Ms. Heindorf said she paid off creditors and was able to afford a birthday party for the boy and his friends at a restaurant last month, something she could not have done otherwise.

        “It was a tremendous help,” Ms. Heindorf said. “I'm glad to tell the story.”

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