Awareness activities highlight services for children, parents

Parents are invited to visit the Department of Child Support Services in August during Child Support Awareness Month to learn about resources available to their families, including the ways the department can assist them in supporting their children.

“We want parents to know we are here for them,” Child Support Services Director Marie Girulat said. “All children deserve the love and support of both their parents. It is our job to help parents by ensuring they can meet their medical and financial support for their children. During Child Support Awareness month, the spotlight is on our department and the wonderful things we do to help families, but our staff is here every month of the year for children and parents.”

During Mondays with DCSS, the department will host representatives from social service agencies in the Loma Linda office at 10417 Mountain View Avenue, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. While child support customers wait to meet with their case workers, they will have the chance to meet with staff from other County departments and agencies that can provide services to their families. This year, Children’s Network, Veterans Affairs, Transitional Assistance, Family Law Facilitators, Preschool Services, Behavioral Health, Workforce Development and First 5 will be available to provide information to Child Support customers during Mondays with DCSS.

As part of the awareness month, DCSS staff will also be attending additional community outreach events. The department will also launch a social media child support awareness campaign on Facebook and Instagram and display an advertisement on the eastbound 10 freeway in Loma Linda.

By raising awareness about the services it provides, DCSS directly supports the Countywide Vision to promote family self-sufficiency and reduce childhood poverty throughout the county.

DCSS assists families by establishing orders for child and medical support, establishing parentage, locating parents, enforcing support orders, and collecting and distributing child support payments. DCSS is focused on helping the whole family with all aspects of services to gain self-sufficiency. DCSS is responsible for a caseload of approximately 110,000 cases with collections of over $186 million last fiscal year.