Child Support License Release Project

About the Program

Category: Human Services (Best in Category)

Year: 2017

The mission of the San Bernardino County Department of Child Support Services (SBDCSS) is to partner with parents and the community to deliver reliable child support services. The SBDCSS establishes and enforces child and medical support orders, establishes paternity, and collects and distributes support to the families we serve. SBDCSS utilized the License Release Project to assist parents toward self-sufficiency and begin consistent child support payments for their children. The Department of Child Support Services (SBDCSS) in San Bernardino County is the second largest locally administered child support program in California, managing a caseload of approximately 112,000 cases. Within this caseload is a subset of parents not paying child support that have fallen behind. This results in their driver’s or other professional licenses being suspended. In response to this issue, the department developed a License Release Project utilizing an outreach approach to engage the parents. The goal of the project was to invite these parents to meet face-to-face with an SBDCSS attorney to review and discuss their case for possible license release and determine what other barriers were preventing them from paying their child support. With that goal in mind, SBDCSS mailed letters inviting these parents to come meet with a DCSS attorney. At the meeting, the goal was to explore the reasons for non-payment and determine alternatives to assist in removal of any barriers. Over the two days, 135 parents met face-to-face with an attorney, had their licenses released and paid $7946 in child support payments. Parents also received referral services for employment and legal assistance. Several parents have made additional payments since their meeting moving toward consistency.