On Monday March 2, Janice Alexander, the Outreach Manager for the Georgia Department of Human Services addressed the Rotary Club of Sandy Springs. Among her responsibilities, Ms. Alexander handles the Division of Child Support Services (DCSS) which has the great responsibility of bettering the lives of more than 533,000 Georgia children.

DCSS provides outreach programs to help families achieve self-sufficiency. These programs are devoted to increasing non-custodial parental involvement in children’s lives.

There are three main outreach programs. The first that Ms. Alexander spoke about was Child Access & Visitation. This program allows the DCSS to partner with social service agencies for visitation and parenting time, counseling, parenting plans, and mediation.

The second program Janice explained is simply called the Fatherhood Program. This program works with fathers who are unemployed or underemployed and struggle to meet full child support obligations. Though this program has a simple name, it is elaborate and includes many services like job placement, short-term training, GED classes, Federal bonding, volunteer services, and resume writing.

The third program is named Parental Accountability Court. This program is a joint effort of the department and Superior Court judges to offer an alternative to incarceration. It helps chronic non-payers of child support by using community resources and judicial oversight to address the many barriers that can keep parents from meeting their support obligations. Services provided under this program include mental health support, clinical assessments, substance abuse and drug treatment, job assistance/placement, coaching, mentoring, and volunteer work opportunities.

Ms Janice Alexander, Outreach Manager for the Georgia Department of Services, Office of Legislative Affairs and Outreach

More information the Division of Child Support Services can be found at: 1-844-MYGADHS or
www.childsupport.ga.gov

From left to right: Janice Alexander and Nancy Schroeder, 2019-2020 President of the Rotary Club of Sandy Springs

The Rotary Club of Sandy Springs would like to thank Ms. Janice Alexander for her time and for the wonderful work she does in helping Georgia children and their parents.

Biographical information about Janice Alexander can be found here: https://sandyspringsrotary.org/newsletter/show/1136

Photos from this program can be found, free of charge, here: https://rotaryclubofsandysprings.zenfolio.com/p404061139