August is Child Support Awareness Month

The month of August is recognized as National Child Support Awareness month. The Indiana Department of Child Services (DCS) reminds Hoosiers of the opportunity to acknowledge the vital role child-support payments play in the well-being of thousands of children.

The DCS Child Support Bureau, working in conjunction with county prosecutors and clerks across the state, collected more than $798 million in child support in federal fiscal year 2014.

Child support services are provided through all 92 county prosecutors’ offices, called the Title IV-D Child Support Program.

Those services include:

• Establishing paternity for children born outside of marriage;
  
• Establishing court orders for child support, including medical support;
  
• Collecting child support; and
  
• Modifying child support orders when circumstances change.
  

The Title IV-D Child Support Program served nearly 300,000 children in Indiana in 2014. For every dollar spent to operate the program, $5.69 in child support was collected.

Indiana continues to climb in the national rankings of child-support program performance. Last year, Indiana ranked 10th and is now ranked ninth in overall performance of our child-support program.

Anyone can apply for Title IV-D child-support services – there are no income-based or other qualifications.

There is a one-time fee of $25 that is payable when applications are submitted. The fee is waived for custodial parties receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) or Medicaid benefits. The fee is also waived for Title IV-E funded Child in Need of Services (CHINS) cases.

Families in need of child-support services should contact their local prosecutor’s office. Detailed information for each office can be found by visiting www.IN.gov and searching ‘child support offices.’