Sonoma County Board of Supervisors Recognizes Child Support Awareness Month

The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors has acknowledged August as Child Support Awareness Month, joining National and State leaders recognizing the vital role of establishing, collecting and distributing child support to families. This year, the California Department of Child Support Services (DCSS), is affirming the message: "They don’t need perfect, they just need you.” The Chair of the County of Sonoma Board of Supervisors, Supervisor Jim Gore said today, “If one child fails, we all fail.” It is with this spirit that Sonoma County Child Support serves California’s families.

Last year, the California DCSS distributed $1.5 billion in collections to 1.2 million California families. Sonoma County is among the best counties in establishing and collecting consistent and reliable child support payments to improve a child’s quality of life. Sonoma Child Support offers a wide range of services to assist both mothers and fathers to be the best parents they can be. The Compromise of Arrears Program (COAP) can arrange a compromise repayment to the state so parents who qualify may be able to settle the debt for less than the full amount they owe. For more details on COAP, call 1(866) 901-3212.

In managing over 13,000 cases, the Sonoma County Department of Child Support Services anticipates collecting and distributing $34 million to families this year and we expect to reach $34.8 million this year. Sonoma County is a leader in the State in reaching child support agreed orders. Agreed or stipulated orders increase the likelihood of parents remaining current in their child support responsibilities by a significant amount. Our child support professionals also encourage early involvement in the establishment and enforcement of orders that require parents to make payments to provide for their children sooner, rather than later. This effort helps bring parents current in their support obligations which helps reduce the chance of parents building up a large arrears balance that can be daunting to overcome. Through these and other efforts, the Sonoma County child support professionals work with families to establish appropriate orders and offer solutions to manage payments in a way that maximizes the support going to families.

The Sonoma County Department of Child Support Services is committed to providing support to families and promoting healthy and successful children in our community. The County celebrates parents who support their children and joins the State of California and 50 other local child support agencies throughout the state that recognize Child Support Awareness month with the message: "They don’t need perfect, they just need you.”