COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) _ Ohio officials say child support payments are being collected at a rate not seen since before the recession.

The state's Department of Job and Family Services says Ohio collected 69 percent of child support owed during the last federal fiscal year, which ended Sept. 30. That's higher than the national average of 64 percent. 

Ohio has one of the largest child support systems in the country. The state reports that it's collected $1.8 billion on behalf of more than a million children during the most recent federal fiscal year.

Officials have ramped up efforts to improve child support collections. For instance, an expanded waiver and compromise program allows caseworkers to waive some debt owed to the state if parents begin making regular payments to their children.