Hawaii, which has a poor track record of collecting delinquent child support, has decided to crack down on deadbeat noncustodial parents.

The state has hired a paralegal and an investigator and is currently building and prosecuting misdemeanor and felony cases for chronic nonpayment of child support with insufficient justification.

The crackdown targets those significantly in arrears and who are well able to meet their legal obligation.

The new measures are the talk of Hawaii and are in fact motivating noncustodial parents to make payments toward their support obligation.

Prior to the crackdown, only a handful of cases were prosecuted in the last quarter of a century, even though the law permitted such prosecutions.

This new initiative is funded by a federal grant of funds.

Read more in this Honolulu Advertiser article: Indictments rattle deadbeat parents.