As we prepare to leave August and summer behind and move into the school year, a local child support services office had an important reminder during Child Support Awareness Month in August that child support is important for the day-to-day lives and futures of children. It is important for both parents to take child support obligations seriously. The child support services office, in a nearby local county, helps collect and distribute child support payments but also handles additional services as well.
The local child support service office helps monitor payments, helps to establish paternity, helps to oversee medical support and reviews existing child support orders for possible adjustments based on the financial circumstances of the family. Different parties, including local child support services offices, work with parents, family law courts and practitioners, other government departments, employers and other groups and organizations as part of the child support process to help ensure timely monthly child support payments.
Last year, the local California county collected greater than $11 million in child support payments and ranks in the top 10 since 2012 amongst California counties in the collection of child support payments. Child support can have a significant monthly impact on the child, paying parent and recipient parent. When there are problems with child support, it can be a problem for the family. The family law legal process is designed to accommodate child support concerns both the paying parent and recipient parent may have concerning child support obligations.
It is important to reach out to the family court if a parent is having difficulty paying child support or collecting child support because, in certain circumstances, a modification may be possible. Establishing a child support order is a concern for many parents that the family law process is able to help them address.
Source: Novato Patch, “Marin Dept. of Child Support Services ‘Eager to Help Families’,” Maggie Avants, Aug. 3, 2016
