This story by Julia Fennell appeared on Colorado Newsline on December 28, 2021.
Two updates to Colorado’s Child Support Services program will make it easier for parents to access and receive child support, according to a recent Colorado Department of Human Services statement.
Parents who seek child support services in Colorado will no longer have to pay the $20 application fee, starting on January 1.
Parents who have sole or primary physical custody, or custodial parents, who receive child support through the state will get the payments electronically, beginning January 4.
“This is part of our ongoing commitment to serving parents and guardians to make sure all Colorado kids get the financial support they need to thrive,” the director of Child Support Services, Larry Desbien, said in the statement. “Electronic distribution is a more convenient, secure and reliable way to get funds to recipients.”
The online application will make it easier and safer for parents to apply for, and receive, child support services, according to the statement. The online application allows parents to sign electronically and apply for services from mobile devices, and the electronic distribution of child support funds is safer, as there will no longer be lost or forged checks.
Colorado parents who currently receive child support and do not have a direct deposit or payment card set up will automatically be issued a child support payment card, where all future payments will be deposited.
Colorado distributed $385 million in child support payments to parents and families in 2020, according to the statement. That is money one parent pays to another through the program.
The Colorado Division of Child Support Services oversees child support services in Colorado. The Child Support Services program is not in charge of custody or parenting time issues, according to its website.
The program works with parents in Colorado to make sure children in the state get the financial support they need, according to its website. The program can help parents set up a child support and health insurance order, collect child support payments and change an existing child support order.