The courts have collected more than $6 million in child support payments since Government's creation of the Family and Child Support Office two years ago.

Magistrates' Court administrative officer Mr. Tracey Kelly said yesterday the office was collecting 65 percent of all court-ordered support payments compared to around 48 percent before the office was set up in late 1992.

And now that Bermuda's deadbeat dads were making their payments, they appeared to be wanting to play more of a role in rearing their children, he said.

He said $3.5 million was collected in 1993 and some 2.7 million had been collected so far this year.

Just more than $2 million was collected in the year before the office opened.

"This year we have collected more than we did for all of 1991,'' he noted.

"And it looks like it's going to be a better year than 1993.'' The main reason for the increase was a more consistent approach to payment collection, Mr. Kelly said.

The courts were making attachment-of-earnings orders whenever necessary.

This means employers by law must take out child support payments from their workers' paycheques.

Mr. Kelly said a better tracking system through the office, staffed by four, was enabling bailiffs to bring more delinquent fathers before the courts.

Jailing them was a last resort and only in "the very bad cases,'' he said.

Mr. Kelly felt that although more money was coming in that ever before, a levelling out was due soon.

There were fathers abroad the office could not reach and those in jail for other matters, he noted.

But those fathers the office was reaching were displaying a "better attitude,'' said Mr. Kelly.

"They are more responsible and a small, but larger number come in to apply for access to their child,'' he said. "They want more involvement in their child plus express more interest in what's happening with the child. Sometimes it is not genuine but the fact is they want to play a part in their child's life now that they are making payments.'' He said there were still only a handful of deadbeat moms.

The office is headed family support officer by Mrs. Cynthia Saltus.