What is Child Support?
Published in the Clearwater Beach & Belleair Neighborhood News – October-November 2023 Edition
What is Child Support?
Child support is an ongoing payment by a co-parent to assist with the financial support of their child(ren). Payments are often determined during the process of divorce. And applies to unmarried coparents with a minor child. The only requirement for requesting child support is the establishment of paternity or maternity.
What is the Purpose of Child Support?
Child support is grounded in the thought that both parents are legally and financially responsible for the child. It provides financial support to a child whose parents are either no longer married due to divorce, or the parents are unmarried nor together. When child support is paid regularly, children and custodial parents are less likely to rely on public benefits like welfare, food assistance and Medicaid. This decreases public spending on these programs and helps increase a family’s self-sufficiency. Fathers who pay child support are more likely to be more involved in the lives of their children.
What Does Child Support Cover?
Child support intends to ensure the child continues to be provided with an acceptable standard of living. It is meant to cover expenses including food, clothing, childcare, education, toys, housing, utilities, and even activities (ex: summer camp).
What if a Parent Has Difficulty Paying Child Support?
Fortunately, reputable resources and programs exist (including OCHR). Part of our program is to help a qualified parent find the right Non-Custodial Parent Employment Program (NCPEP), at no cost. These programs are vital to ensuring the financial wellbeing of the child and is also critical in maintaining a healthy co-parenting relationship (a fundamental part of our mission).
At OCHR, we’re proud to partner with Cornerstone Connections and Gulf Coast JFCS. Cornerstone Connections serves parents in 5 counties throughout Central Florida. Gulf Coast JFCS serves parents in Pinellas, Pasco-Hernando, Hillsborough, & Miami-Dade. Both programs assist unemployed or under employed non-custodial parents with skills and tools needed to establish a pattern of regular childsupport payments. This includes career search, job retention, interview training/resume writing, guidance on child support issues, and more.
Helping parents access these programs provides a greater benefit to our society by keeping individuals with barriers to employment out of the criminal justice system, saving our state money. Above all, it further ensures a child’s access to both accountable parents.
OCHR is a Pinellas based nonprofit that helps parents more seamlessly navigate their child custody and co-parenting journeys, at no cost to the family. Support of our mission is vital, and we kindly ask our community to consider a small financial contribution to our mission .
Most importantly, if you, or someone you know, needs our assistance, we’re here for you. We’re on a mission… A mission to protect the rights of children to have access to both responsible parents by providing education, resources, and support services for successful co-parenting. Why? Because Our Children Have Rights.
Contact Jake: JakeHornstein@OurChildrenHaveRights.com or visit www.OCHR.org. To donate, visit www.ourchildrenhaverights.org/donate.
