Challenge Accepted – “get my child support”
One of the biggest challenges facing a parent owed support is the feeling of fighting this battle alone. Well let me just say you are not alone. One of the first things we try to help our clients understand is that collecting child support or alimony is a team effort; each of us has an important part to play in reaching our common goal, the collection of the unpaid support. FYI… we are one of the few agencies that will even work on alimony cases! The first step for you is to fill out the application as completely as possible, the next step is to allow our investigators time to work the case, and then we will discuss the progress of your case. Remember any time along the way, if you uncover information you feel may be of help in collecting your support, please share the information with us! This is a team effort and some of our best leads come from little “tid-bits” of information we get from our clients.
One of the highlights of my job is calling our clients and letting them know that our team effort has paid off. There is a feeling of satisfaction each time I call a client to let them know that we have received their first payment from the non-custodial parent and that they are going to get the support their family deserves. I particularly remember a recent call to a client that I was dreading, even though it was the first child payment in years for the client. The payment was only $25.00 and I feared the client would be disappointed. I called the client and gingerly told her “I have great news, we have a payment – it’s a small one but it’s a start. We received a $25.00 payment”. There was a brief silence followed by a huge “Thank you!! I didn’t think I’d ever see a dime. Even if I don’t get anything else you did it, you got something from him!”
While the amount was small, the rewards were great; we made a client feel like they were finally getting help. To this client and so many more just like her, payment size doesn’t matter; it’s reveling in the knowledge that the absent parent paid something and knows they need to take their responsibilities seriously. While the average payment we do received far exceeds $25.00, any payment in support of a family is a victory!