Mountain State Times

The West Virginia Department of Human Services (DoHS), Bureau for Child Support Enforcement (BCSE) joins organizations and advocates across the nation in recognizing August as Child Support Awareness Month to highlight the critical income support program that helps ensure the health, well-being, and stability of children throughout West Virginia.

"Child support is a critical component in providing for the needs of West Virginia’s children and ensuring they have access to essential resources," said Garrett Jacobs, DoHS Bureau for Child Support Enforcement Commissioner. "This month is an opportunity to acknowledge the hard work of parents, families, and the efforts of child support professionals who strive to make a positive impact in the lives of children."

During Child Support Awareness Month, it is crucial to recognize that every family, regardless of their structure, should have the means to ensure their children's safety and stability. When the relationship between a child’s parents ends, it does not mean that either parent’s responsibility for that child ends. Both parents remain financially, legally, and emotionally obligated to a child. BCSE helps the person caring for a child collect child support from the child’s other parent(s) and helps divorced individuals collect spousal support.

BCSE aims to promote and enhance the social, emotional, and financial bonds between children and their parents by establishing and enforcing paternity, child support, and medical support orders; educating parents and prospective parents; providing accurate case management; facilitating parental responsibilities to minimize taxpayer burden; and performing these activities in a customer-friendly atmosphere.

For more information about DoHS’s BCSE, visit dhhr.wv.gov/bcse/Pages/BCSE.aspx. To view and apply for career opportunities to support West Virginia families, visit dhhr.wv.gov/Pages/Career-Opportunities.aspx.