San Bernardino County Department of Child Support Services (DCSS) was recognized with two awards from the Child Support Directors Association for raising awareness and educating community partners about the importance of helping families provide for their children.
Child Support’s Military Liaison team was recognized for establishing partnerships with Fort Irwin Army National Training Center and 29 Palms Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center. Members of the team have traveled to military bases to educate military partners about child support and how it assists both mothers and fathers. They have presented to the Judge Advocate General Office for attorneys, paralegals and over 100 of Fort Irwin's command staff.
Child Support’s Outreach team was honored in the category of Child Support Program Awareness for raising awareness and educating community partners, County departments and customers about services. The effort is part of the department’s Holistic Case Management approach to raise awareness for customers about services and ensure the department works with them to remove barriers so they can become self-sufficient. The expansive campaign included a partnership with the San Bernardino County Library, which provides after-hours child support services at three local libraries; Mondays with DCSS to bring services to the customers; and collaborations with San Bernardino County Workforce Development Department.
“I am proud of the efforts of the department in reaching our customers, County and community partners and local military in creating an awareness that DCSS is here to help both mothers and fathers to provide for their children and achieve self-sufficiency," said DCSS Director Marie Girulat. “Through one coordinated effort, we have been able to positively impact lives, one family at a time.”
DCSS partners with many County agencies and community-based organizations to meet the needs of both parents and help to remove barriers like unemployment, underemployment, license suspension, domestic violence and homelessness. The department helps families by determining the legal father of the child, establish orders for child and medical support, locate parents, enforce support orders, review child support orders when circumstances have changed, and collect and distribute child support payments. DCSS focuses on helping the family as a whole with all aspects of services to gain self-sufficiency. Additional information regarding services and resources is available at http://hss.sbcounty.gov/DCSS, or by calling 1-866-901-3212.