Join Hamilton County Job and Family Services by wearing green Wednesday, August 7 to help raise awareness about child support.

Success Story: Because of the HCJFS Child Support unit, one Hamilton County mother received $13,706 to help feed, clothe and support her child. The child’s father had fallen behind on payments when he switched employers, and accumulated a two-year balance. Because of the amount he owed he was unable to get his passport for a new job opportunity. The incentive worked. On May 21, the father called Child Support Technician Kristen Meyer to find out the fastest way to pay his balance. She explained he wouldn’t be able to get his passport until the entire balance was paid. Meyer, who is part of a team that helps collect child support and disburse the money to custodial parents, walked the man through the entire process of paying his overdue support. The case was challenging because Meyer had a short time frame to work with. The father needed his passport quickly to pursue the job opportunity and Meyer had to act fast to figure out the quickest way to get the payment processed. Nine days later, on May 30, the father made the payment in full. Thanks to HCJFS, the mom is now receiving regular monthly payments and has a balance of $0 owed.

Child support helps guarantee that children’s basic needs are met: from food, shelter and clothes to education, transportation and medical expenses. Children need the support of both parents to be successful.

The month of August is dedicated to child support awareness; this year’s theme is “Support is Key.”

“Our focus this month is to open the lines of communication with our clients,” said Emily Jackson, child support enforcement team leader. “We’re doing a lot of sharing information with our customers this year.”

Beyond wearing green, the Hamilton County Child Support Enforcement Agency will be hosting a number of events to increase awareness and knowledge of child support and make services more accessible to the parents.

1. Staff will be available at 2:30 p.m. daily (and Fridays beginning at 1:30 p.m.) on the sixth floor and every Monday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at SuperJobs to help parents register for the child support customer service portal. The portal makes it easier for individuals to access their case online.

2. Staff from SuperJobs will visit HCJFS every Wednesday to provide employment information to child support consumers. Parents who are financially stable are more likely to provide the child support their children need.

3. Child support staff will give presentations at Urban League and Talbert House to increase awareness of the program.

4. Staff will conduct live web chats for customers and employers who have child support questions.
 

Kristen Meyer was able to deliver $13,706
to a local mother.
 

We also encourage you to like us on Facebook and “join” the Wear Green event page.

What is child support?

Child support is money paid by a parent who is not living with their child to help raise and care for the child. Here at HCJFS, we help custodial parents receive child support by identifying paternity, enforcing support from parents and establishing child support orders.

In addition, HCJFS may help paying parents establish relationships with their children through parenting classes and visitations.

For questions about child support, please call (513) 946-1000. For more information about child support, click here. For case and payment history information, please visit the Child Support Web Portal.