The Manitoba Maintenance Management Program (M3P) application is a case management system used by the Maintenance Enforcement Program (MEP) to record court ordered support, identify files where default has occurred, initiate and record enforcement actions and record the collection and disbursement of money to families more quickly, efficiently and securely through electronic banking.
Manitoba has identified the reduction of child poverty as one of its priorities. Many children live in poverty as a result of parents neglecting their responsibility to support their children. The primary function of MEP is to enforce the child’s rights for financial support through the collection and direct disbursement of child support payments to Manitoba families. Thousands of Manitoba families rely on the MEP for their financial survival. In addition to child support, the MEP also enforces spousal support obligations. This requires MEP to receipt, verify, record and manually disburse support payments pursuant to the provisions contained in court orders or separation agreements.
When support payments are not paid on time voluntarily, the MEP’s function is to ensure enforcement action is initiated in a timely and efficient manner. These actions can include, but are not limited to, the attachment of wages, bank accounts and federal funds, the restriction of driving privileges, and the seizure of assets. External databases are routinely accessed in order to obtain information regarding the location of debtors and/or attachable assets. MEP is required to provide its stakeholders with their file specific and public information, as well as information regarding the program’s services. Further, the MEP is required to report nationally on its financial and business outcomes.
MEP currently has approximately 12,500 active cases in Manitoba. The MEP enrolls approximately 2,300 new cases on an annual basis. In 2018/19, over 27,000 actions were initiated to collect outstanding family support. The program also receives approximately 33,500 phone inquiries annually to Program staff not including the thousands of calls made through the automated telephone system to obtain updated enforcement and payment information.
The Maintenance Enforcement Program (MEP) has a staffing complement of 32 full-time equivalents (FTEs) and has its main office in Winnipeg (28 users) with two satellite offices in Brandon (3 users) and Thompson (1 user). MEP operates under the legislative authority of The Family Maintenance Act, The Inter-jurisdictional Support Orders Act, The Garnishment Act, and the Court of Queen’s Bench Rules.
Each year, the MEP collects and directly disburses approximately $60 million to Manitoba families. In addition, the program collects approximately $4.0 million to the Province’s Consolidated Fund to offset employment and income assistance benefits paid by the Family Services. This requires the MEP to receipt, verify, record and manually disburse 180,000 payments annually (or 750 payments each day).
