The purpose of National Child Support Month is to raise awareness about the importance of parents’ involvement in their children’s lives and the responsibility parents have to provide the resources their children need to succeed. It is estimated that one in every four American children is involved in a child support program.
The goal of the Colorado Child Support Program is to ensure that all children receive financial, medical, and emotional support from each parent. This is accomplished by locating each parent, establishing paternity and support obligations, enforcing those obligations, assisting with the establishment of parenting plans, and providing parenting education services.
"However, it goes much further than that here in Jeffco," says Alvin Tafoya, Program Manager. "Child Support Services is also becoming a key player in helping families to become self-sufficient by leveraging wraparound services for the entire family, which decreases the effects of poverty by increasing self-efficacy and child well-being."
With the help of the following programs, dads (and moms) get assistance in identifying and overcoming barriers they face in maintaining a positive role in their children's lives, becoming and maintaining current on financial obligations to their children, and finding on-going support in the community:
•Responsible Fatherhood Program – Engages fathers and children to build healthy relationships. Emphasis is placed on the critical need for fathers to be active in parenting their children as well as serving as positive role models for other children in our communities.
•Responsible Motherhood Program – Engages mothers in order to build healthy relationships. Emphasis is placed on the critical need for mothers to be active in overcoming barriers created by victimization, while also providing a positive parenting role model for their children.
•Responsible Co-Parenting Program – Provides the tools to enhance the individual self-awareness and communication skills of parents, to ensure that they are communicating constructively with all caretakers, and making decisions that focus on the best interest of the children involved.
•Colorado Parent Employment Project (CO-PEP) – Reaches out to parents who are not able to pay their child support because they are unemployed or underemployed. Services include job readiness and life skills training so that parents can meet their child support obligations while also meeting their own needs.
•Problem Solving Court – Helps parents find solutions to the barriers keeping them from meeting their child support obligations. This option provides alternative sanctions to jail and, by doing so, the program alleviates a cost burden to tax payers.
•Early Intervention – A responsive customer service best practice which seeks to develop a relationship with non-custodial parents during the beginning stages of the process and prior to taking any legal action.
•Modification or “Right Sizing” Orders – The ongoing process of assessing the income of both parents and the costs associated with raising the children to ensure the support amount is fair and equitable.
Jefferson County honors our staff of dedicated child support professionals who are receiving national recognition year after year. In 2017, Jefferson County collected over $33 million in child support payments and served over 14,000 families, impacting an estimated 21,000 children.
Jefferson County Child Support Services is honoring the month by raising awareness about the importance of child support, how it works, and the resources available to assist parents. This month is also a time to salute parents who work hard to make sure their children have the brightest future possible.
Child Support Services is located in the Laramie Building at 3500 Illinois Street, Suite 1300, Golden, CO 80401. Hours of operation are Monday - Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.