By Dan Horn
The Cincinnati Enquirer

The state of Ohio was ordered on Tuesday to pay $21 million to children who have been unable to collect support payments from deadbeat parents. The state is expected to appeal, however, and even the attorney who filed the claim against the state says he does not expect state officials to write a $21 million check any time soon.

The U.S. District Court clerk in Cincinnati ordered the payment as a "default judgment" after the state failed to respond to the claim before a Tuesday deadline. State officials could not be reached late Tuesday, but they are likely to ask Judge S. Arthur Spiegel for another chance.

The claim stems from a lawsuit filed last year on behalf of children who have not received child support payments and on behalf of a company that, until recently, was hired by the state to collect those payments.

The Blue Ash-based company, National Child Support Inc., accused the state of depriving children of their legal right to support payments.

Several Ohio counties, including Butler County, had hired the company to locate some of the worst deadbeat parents. But the company's contracts were terminated after officials at the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services objected to the way the company was paid by the counties.

The default judgment filed Tuesday orders the state to pay the company $4 million, but that also is expected to be appealed.

The company's lawyer, Scott Greenwood, said the default judgment may spur state officials to meet court-ordered deadlines and move the case along more quickly.

"Why should the state set its own rules?" Greenwood said. "There are deadlines for reasons."

E-mail dhorn@enquirer.com