Safeguards Against Family Violence

The Division of Child Support Services (DCSS) safeguards against the release of information that could result in the physical or emotional harm of parties associated with a child support case.

O.C.G.A. §§ 19-11-6, 19-11-30 and 19-11-30.4, 49-4-184, 185 and 191
DHS Rules & Regulations 290-7-1-.16

42 U.S.C. §§ 653, 654, 663
45 CFR §§ 235.70, 260.50, 302.31, 303.11, 303.21, 307.11(b)(14), 1370.2
Sections 408(a)(7)(C)(iii), 453(b(2)) and 454(26) of the Social Security Act

All Georgia child support offices receiving Title IV-D funds, including all private vendors contracted with the Department of Human Services to provide child support services.

DCSS has safeguards in place to prevent the disclosure of the physical address of custodial parents and their children when they declare that such disclosure to the noncustodial could place them at risk of physical or emotional harm. These safeguards include the prohibition against releasing information when a protective order has been filed against the noncustodial parent.

Upon a written declaration, documentation, or evidence of intrapersonal violence or child abuse, a Family Violence Indicator is applied on all appropriate child support cases. Once the indicator is activated, access to the physical address of the custodial parent and children will be restricted and will not be shared with the Federal Case Registry which is accessed by other state child support agencies to locate parties when they reside in different states. The indicator cannot be removed unless the custodial parent visits a local child support office with photo identification to make a written request.

The local child support office address will be used for all correspondence and legal documents in place of the custodial parent’s address. If the noncustodial parent is ordered to provide health coverage, the contracted vendor processing the National Medical Support Notice for the noncustodial parent’s employer will use their business address instead of the custodial parent’s. Health insurance cards will be mailed to the contracted vendor, who will then forward them to the custodial parent.