§ 19-11-58.Department of Human Services designated state information agency; duties

Chapter 11. Enforcement of Duty of Support · Article 2. Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of Support Act · Last amended 2009 · Last verified October 9, 2026

In one sentenceO.C.G.A. § 19-11-58 names the Georgia Department of Human Services as the state information agency for URESA cases and gives it four duties, from swapping lists of courts with other states to approving district attorney fee orders and supplying forms.

Full Text of § 19-11-58

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The Department of Human Services is designated as the state information agency under this article and it shall be its duty:

(1) To compile a list of the courts in this state having jurisdiction under this article and their addresses and to transmit the same to the state information agency of every other state which has adopted this article or a substantially similar act;

(2) To maintain a register of such lists received from other states and to transmit copies thereof, as soon as possible after receipt, to every court in this state having jurisdiction under this article;

(3) To approve as to form all orders for payment of the district attorneys' fees and forward same to the Prosecuting Attorneys' Council of the State of Georgia for payment; and

(4) To furnish to the district attorneys necessary forms, information, and assistance in proceedings under this article.

End

Plain-English Summary

Reciprocal support depends on courts in different states finding each other. This section makes the Department of Human Services Georgia’s state information agency under the article and gives it four duties. First, it compiles a list of the Georgia courts with jurisdiction under the article, with their addresses, and sends it to the state information agency of every other state that has adopted the article or a substantially similar act. Second, it keeps a register of the lists it receives from other states and sends copies, as soon as possible after receipt, to every Georgia court with jurisdiction under the article.

Third, it approves as to form all orders for payment of district attorneys’ fees and forwards them to the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of the State of Georgia for payment. Fourth, it furnishes district attorneys with the forms, information and assistance they need in proceedings under the article. The lists are what let a Georgia court route a petition under § 19-11-55, and the fee duty links § 19-11-53, which sets the district attorney’s fee, to § 19-11-59, which has the Council pay it. The section was most recently amended in 2009.

Article 2 has been closed to new petitions and proceedings since January 1, 1998 (§ 19-11-40.1). The Department keeps a similar role under Article 3, the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act: § 19-11-129 names it the state information agency there too, with duties that include keeping lists of tribunals and support enforcement agencies, forwarding documents from other states to the right Georgia county, and gathering information on where an obligor and the obligor’s property are located.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who was Georgia’s state information agency under URESA?

The Department of Human Services. This section designates it as the state information agency under the article and lists its four duties. Under Article 3, the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act, § 19-11-129 also names the Department as the state information agency.

What did the state information agency do?

Four things. It compiled a list of Georgia courts with jurisdiction under the article and sent it to other states’ information agencies; kept a register of lists received from other states and sent copies to Georgia courts; approved as to form orders for paying district attorneys’ fees and forwarded them to the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council; and furnished district attorneys with forms, information and assistance.

How did a district attorney get paid in a URESA case?

Through a chain of approvals. The Department, as state information agency, approved as to form every order for payment of district attorneys’ fees and forwarded it to the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council. Under § 19-11-59, the Council paid the fee on receipt of the approved order, from funds appropriated for the operation of the district attorneys.

How did Georgia courts find the right court in another state?

Through the lists this section requires. The Department kept a register of the lists of courts received from other states and sent copies to every Georgia court with jurisdiction under the article. If a court still didn’t know the right address, § 19-11-55 let it send the papers to the other state’s information agency to forward.

Is the Department of Human Services still the information agency for interstate support cases?

Yes, under Article 3. Section 19-11-129 names the Department of Human Services as the state information agency under the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act, with duties that include keeping current lists of tribunals and support enforcement agencies and helping locate obligors and their property in Georgia.

Amendment History

Laws 1958, p. 34, § 15; Laws 1975, p. 1141, § 1; Laws 1993, p. 1402, § 19; Laws 1994, p. 97, § 19; Laws 1999, p. 81, § 19; Laws 2008, Act 564, § 17, eff. July 1, 2008; Laws 2009, Act 102, § 2-2, eff. July 1, 2009.

Source & verification. Section text and amendment history are reproduced verbatim from the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, enacted by the Georgia General Assembly, and checked word for word against the Georgia Code Revision Commission’s public-domain edition and the acts that later amended it. Section headings are the Code’s official catchlines. Last verified October 9, 2026. · Official source

Also known as: georgia state information agency uresadepartment of human services uresauresa list of courtsprosecuting attorneys council support fee