05/13/2007

Associated Press

A private contractor that provides monthly statements to state child support recipients may have sent up to 10,000 of them to the wrong people, according to a spokeswoman for the Oregon Department of Justice.

The printing company noticed the computer glitch and contacted officials with the state Child Support Division, operated under the Department of Justice. The contractor was asked to send corrected statements and a letter to recipients mailed the wrong ones, said Stephanie Soden, a Justice Department spokeswoman.

The News-Review reported about the glitch in its Sunday edition. Candice Booth of Roseburg told the newspaper that she got a statement intended for someone else, and was worried that her identity could be stolen.

Soden spoke with Booth Friday and tried to reassure her that the name and account number on the child support statement could not be used by anyone else to obtain additional personal information.

A Child Support Division Web site that allows recipients to obtain additional information about their account requires both an account number and a person's Social Security number.

The error affected up to 10,000 recipients from around the state, Soden said. The Child Support Division handles 250,000 support cases statewide.

___

Information from: The News-Review, http://www.oregonnews.com