Child Support Awareness Month – August 2020

At Connections to Success we work alongside families, equipping parents with the career tools and support needed to not only transform their own lives, but the lives of their children. This August, in observance of National Child Support Awareness Month, we look at the role of child support in the lives of families we work with in the Midwest.

We work closely with both custodial and non-custodial parents who are committed to helping their children thrive. For non-custodial parents, this help often includes making consistent child support payments each month. While these payments can provide much needed support for children, the amounts can quickly become out of reach for parents who are unemployed or underemployed.

Missing payments can lead to penalties like income withholding, license suspension, and even incarceration in some cases – tilting the odds against successful future payments. We’ve worked with low-income parents who owe thousands of dollars in child support debt, contributing to feelings of defeat and mounting financial strain. Others face challenges due to not knowing specifics of the system, like ways to reduce payments after job loss or incarceration.

Helping Families Thrive

Our team works with parents who owe child support to disrupt the cycle of nonpayment and debt so both they and their children can thrive. Through our Fatherhood Initiative in the Kansas City area, we help fathers gain living-wage employment, successfully pay child support, and strengthen their parenting skills.

We partner with courts in Clay and Jackson counties to engage fathers who owe child support and then help them jump start their careers through Personal and Professional Development Training (PPD). Through the course, fathers build in-demand job skills, sharpen their communication skills, and chart a plan for future success – including a plan for making consistent child support payments for those with support orders. We’ve seen fathers tackle their life plans with tenacity, putting in hard work to financially provide for their kids while often seeking other ways to deepen their family relationships.

To help fathers learn the ins and outs of the child support system, a representative from the Department of Social Services hosts informational sessions for our Fatherhood Initiative participants. Fathers can then meet one-on-one with a representative to talk through their specific case.

As fathers expand their knowledge of child support, build job skills and drive hard toward their goals, the outcomes of their efforts show.
 

Fatherhood Initiative Participant Outcomes 2019-2020:

• • 83% reported reduced conflict in relationships with spouses/partners/co-parents
• • 81% are employed, with an average wage of $14.74 per hour
• • 76% reported an increased confidence in their parenting skills
• • 61% reported making consistent child support payments
• • 100% reported an increased knowledge of their local and state child support systems

While our Fatherhood Initiative focuses on the Kansas City area, supporting parents and families is central to our work across the organization. We’d love to partner with you in this mission, whether you’re a parent looking to advance personally/professionally or a community member interested in volunteering or donating. Follow links below for more info!

Learn about free PPD training   |   Donate   |    Volunteer