Deadbeat parents owe nearly $4.5 billion

Deadbeat dads — and some moms, too — owe nearly $4.5 billion in child support payments throughout the Washington region, forcing local enforcement agencies to get creative in seeking out scofflaws and state officials to look for loopholes in the system.

Virginia collected $629 million last year, and Maryland collected $495.9 million in fiscal 2007, the last year for which data was available. Nonetheless, outstanding payments total $2.5 billion in Virginia and $1.57 billion in Maryland.