DCFS Offers Assistance to Child Support Payors with Suspended Licenses

BATON ROUGE, LA - The Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) is offering, for a limited time, an opportunity for payors of child support whose driver's licenses DCFS has administratively suspended to get their licenses reinstated for a reduced amount.

Typically, a payor who has fallen behind in their child support payments, and had their license suspended as a result, must come into subsequent or partial compliance with their court-ordered support payments before the license may be reinstated. Subsequent compliance requires the payor to be up-to-date with current child support payments; have paid all past-due support or be making periodic payments in accordance with either a court order or a written agreement with the DCFS analyst; and have provided health insurance, if required to do so.

DCFS Child Support Enforcement (CSE) is offering to reduce those requirements for eligible payors who seek to participate on or before Sept. 28, 2018. Under the limited-time program, payors will have to pay two months of their court-ordered child support, $100 toward arrears or past-due support, plus the administrative fee, if court ordered, on each case to begin the license reinstatement process. This payment does not include any reinstatement fees or fines that may be required by the Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles (OMV).

DCFS is launching the "Back on the Road" program during August to highlight National Child Support Awareness Month and, more importantly, to get more money to custodial families who may need extra financial help as their children head back to school. The program also is intended to assist noncustodial parents who need their driver's licenses in order to seek or maintain employment and to get them back on track with their child support payments.

Interested payors can request an appointment or speak to their caseworker by:

• Going online to www.dcfs.la.gov/cafe and sending their caseworker a direct message (If you do not have an online Cafe Account, you may create one); OR
• Contacting the DCFS Customer Service Center at LAHelpU.DCFS@la.gov or 1-888-524-3578, from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday (After selecting your language, press 1 for Child Support, then press 5 to have your call directed to a customer service representative); OR
• Visiting the nearest CSE office from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. A list of CSE offices throughout the state can be found at www.dcfs.la.gov/offices.