The tough economy continues to hit people all across Georgia, making it hard to make ends meet. Many non-custodial parents are having trouble finding employment with a livable wage, and many are getting behind on their child support.
Are you a Georgia father who needs help finding a job that will allow you to pay your child support? You do have somewhere to turn.
The Division of Child Support Services created the Georgia Fatherhood Program more than a decade ago. The program exists to help all non-custodial parents — not just fathers — who owe child support they cannot afford to pay.
Last year, over 2,000 Georgia non-custodial parents participated in the program and were able to pay $12 million in child support because of the service. Since its inception, more than 34,000 non-custodial parents have sought assistance from the service to help them get into a position where they can reliably meet their child support obligations.
The Georgia Fatherhood Program usually takes three to six months to complete. While in the program, non-custodial fathers and mothers are required to work at least 20 hours each week, and the program partners with local businesses to help them get jobs so they can meet that requirement. The parent must also make child support payments while enrolled in the course.
After graduation, the program offers the parent assistance in obtaining full-time employment. Full-time work helps the non-custodial parent earn enough to live on and cover their child support obligation. In fact, helping parents achieve a livable wage is a main goal of the service.
The Georgia Fatherhood Program is meant to assist non-custodial fathers and mothers across Georgia who are willing but unable to make regular child support payments, and it is part of a network of services available through Georgia’s Division of Child Support Services. Other services in the network include the Child Access and Visitation Program and the Voluntary Paternity Acknowledgement Program.
Source: Georgia Division of Child Support Services, “Georgia Fatherhood Program”
