§ 19-11-182.Department of Human Services recognized as designated agency
Chapter 11. Enforcement of Duty of Support · Article 3. Uniform Interstate Family Support Act · Part 7. Determination of Parentage · Last amended 2013 · Last verified October 9, 2026
Full Text of § 19-11-182
Plain-English Summary
This one-sentence section names Georgia’s point of contact for international child support cases under the Hague convention. It recognizes the Department of Human Services as the agency designated by the United States central authority to perform specific functions under the convention. Under § 19-11-180, the United States central authority is the secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The convention works through government channels. An obligee or obligor, or someone acting on behalf of a child, can make an “application” through a central authority for help from another country’s central authority. This section ties Georgia into that chain. The next section, § 19-11-183, spells out the department’s duties in a Part 7 support proceeding: it shall transmit and receive applications and shall initiate or facilitate a proceeding on an application in a Georgia tribunal.
Not every international case goes through the department. A person may instead file a “direct request” — a petition filed by an individual in a Georgia tribunal in a proceeding involving someone living outside the United States. Under § 19-11-184, a petitioner filing a direct request is not entitled to assistance from the Department of Human Services. And under § 19-11-184.3, if a Georgia tribunal refuses recognition of a convention support order on certain grounds, the department shall take all appropriate measures to request a child support order for the obligee when the application came in under § 19-11-183. The section was added in 2013.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Georgia agency handles Hague convention child support cases?
The Department of Human Services. This section recognizes it as the agency designated by the United States central authority — the secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, under § 19-11-180 — to perform specific functions under the convention.
What does the Georgia Department of Human Services do in international child support cases?
Under § 19-11-183, in a support proceeding under Part 7, the department shall transmit and receive applications and initiate or facilitate the institution of a proceeding on an application in a Georgia tribunal. This section is what designates the department for those convention functions.
Can I get help from the Department of Human Services if I file my own international support case?
Not if you file a direct request. Under § 19-11-184, a petitioner filing a direct request — a petition filed by an individual in a Georgia tribunal in a proceeding involving someone residing outside the United States — is not entitled to assistance from the Department of Human Services. Applications made through the central authorities are handled differently, under § 19-11-183.
Who is the United States central authority under the Hague child support convention?
The secretary of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, as § 19-11-180 defines the term. This section recognizes Georgia’s Department of Human Services as the agency that central authority designated to perform specific functions under the convention.
How does an international child support application reach a Georgia court?
Through the central authorities. An application is a request made through one central authority for assistance from another, under § 19-11-180. When one comes to Georgia, the Department of Human Services, designated under this section, receives it and, under § 19-11-183, shall initiate or facilitate a proceeding on it in a Georgia tribunal.
Amendment History
Laws 2013, Act 224, § 1, eff. July 1, 2013.