LANSING— More than half a million Michigan children are entitled to child support, and one in four received nothing in 2006, one expert says.

Child support makes a huge difference to these families, said Jane Zehnder-Merrell, a senior research associate for the Michigan League for Human Services, a nonprofit organization.

And after the non-custodial parent makes court-ordered payments, it’s important that the money gets to the children, Zehnder-Merrell said.

The Department of Human Services has provided an online database for almost a year to help custodial parents find unclaimed child support, said Maureen Sorbet, a media relations person for the department.

“Sometimes we lose track,” Sorbet said.

Parents have used the database to recover more than $450,000 in unclaimed funds since last March, Sorbet said.

Parents who believe they are entitled to unclaimed funds can search the database, she said. Users are instructed to enter their child’s name and the last four digits of their Social Security number.

Sorbet said if search results show money is owed, parents must need to verify the information with their local Friend of the Court office.

League figures show that 531,086 children under 19 were entitled to child support in 2006. Of them, 141,806 collected nothing.

In some cases, the non-custodial parents failed to pay at all. In other cases, non-custodial parents paid the Friend of Court offices but the money wasn’t transferred to the children.

Since the database tool started, almost 1,000 parents have recovered funds owed to them, she said.

Sorbet said it may take two weeks for the court to process a claim, and if the match is positive, the money can be distributed in a lump sum.

Zehnder-Merrell said that most custodial parents are single and it’s critical they have these resources because their rate of poverty is seven times higher than the rate for married couples.

Distribution of funds could be stalled because the custodial parent did not report a change of residency, she said.

Generally, that’s the case for low-income single parents who move their family more often, she said.

“It’s excellent that they created such a program to act as an avenue for parents to find these funds,” Zehnder-Merrell said.

Sorbet added that the database is a great tool and allows Friend of the Court offices to update their records.

“We can ensure future funds go to the proper people and get there more quickly,” Sorbet said.

Kelli Van Dyken, a co-coordinator of the Kent County chapter of the Association for Children for Enforcement of Support Inc., said her nonprofit organization wants parents to be aggressive so they can collect their unclaimed child support.