§ 19-11-6.Enforcement of child support payments and alimony for public assistance recipients

Chapter 11. Enforcement of Duty of Support · Article 1. Child Support Recovery Act · Last amended 2018 · Last verified October 9, 2026

In one sentenceO.C.G.A. § 19-11-6 makes accepting public assistance for a child an assignment of child support rights to Georgia’s Department of Human Services, opens IV-D services to non-assistance families, noncustodial parents and, in limited cases, alimony claimants, and allows a $35.00 federal fee per case.

Full Text of § 19-11-6

Text sizeJump to: (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f)

(a) By accepting public assistance for or on behalf of a child or children, including foster care maintenance payments made pursuant to Title IV-E of the federal Social Security Act, the recipient shall be deemed to have made an assignment to the department of the right to any child support owed for the child. The department shall be subrogated to the right of the child or children or the person having custody to initiate any support action existing under the laws of this state and to recover any payments ordered by the courts of this or any other state. Amounts collected by the department shall be distributed and deposited by the department in conformity with law.

(b) Whenever a family for whom child support services have been provided ceases to receive public assistance, including medical assistance, the department shall continue to provide services and collect such support payments from the absent parent in accordance with standards prescribed pursuant to the federal Social Security Act.

(c) The department shall accept applications for child support services from any proper party or person notwithstanding the fact that the child or children do not receive public assistance. When made, this application to the department shall constitute an assignment of the right to support to the department and the proceeds of any collections resulting from such application shall be distributed in accordance with the standards prescribed in the federal Social Security Act.

(d) The department shall accept applications for alimony enforcement services from any proper party or person if the right to alimony has been assigned to the department. The application for enforcement shall apply only to alimony while there is a court order for alimony, while the dependent child is living with the spouse or former spouse, and while a child support obligation is also being enforced by the department.

(e) The department shall accept applications for IV-D services from noncustodial parent obligors. The department, by virtue of the acceptance of such applications for IV-D services, is authorized to take any action allowed by this chapter including, but not limited to, the review and modification of support awards, whether such awards are modified upward or downward, pursuant to Code Section 19-11-12. The proceeds of any collections resulting from such applications shall be distributed in accordance with the standards prescribed in the federal Social Security Act.

(f) The department shall be authorized to charge the obligor a federal Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 fee of $35.00 for each case. Such fee shall only apply to an obligor when the obligee has never received public assistance payments pursuant to Title IV-A or Title IV-E of the federal Social Security Act. The department shall retain such fee and collect such fee through income withholding, as well as by any other enforcement remedy available to the entity within the department authorized to enforce a duty of support.

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Plain-English Summary

This section explains how the Department of Human Services gets the right to pursue child support and who can ask for its help. Subsection (a) covers families on public assistance. By accepting assistance for a child — including foster care maintenance payments under Title IV-E of the Social Security Act — the recipient is deemed to have assigned to the department the right to any child support owed for that child. The department then steps into the shoes of the child or custodian to bring support actions and recover court-ordered payments, and distributes what it collects as the law requires.

Services don’t stop when assistance does. Under subsection (b), when a family that has received child support services stops receiving public assistance, including medical assistance, the department shall keep providing services and collecting support under federal standards. Subsection (c) opens the program to families who never received assistance: the department shall accept applications from any proper party, and the application itself works as an assignment of the support right to the department.

Subsection (d) covers alimony, but narrowly. The department shall accept applications for alimony enforcement if the right to alimony has been assigned to it, and the service applies only while a court order for alimony exists, the dependent child lives with the spouse or former spouse, and the department is also enforcing child support. Subsection (e) lets noncustodial parents who owe support apply, and allows the department to review and modify awards up or down under § 19-11-12.

Subsection (f) authorizes a federal Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 fee of $35.00 for each case, charged to the obligor, but only when the obligee has never received assistance under Title IV-A or IV-E. The department keeps the fee and collects it through income withholding as well as any other available enforcement remedy. The section was last amended in 2018.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does getting public assistance give the state my child support in Georgia?

Yes. By accepting public assistance for a child, including foster care maintenance payments under Title IV-E, the recipient is deemed to have assigned to the Department of Human Services the right to any child support owed for that child. The department can then bring support actions and recover court-ordered payments, and distributes collections as the law requires.

Can I get help from Georgia child support services if I’m not on welfare?

Yes. Subsection (c) requires the department to accept applications for child support services from any proper party or person even if the child doesn’t receive public assistance. Filing the application assigns the right to support to the department, and collections are distributed under federal standards. Section 19-11-8 says the department charges a reasonable application fee for this service.

Will Georgia DHS collect alimony for me?

Only in limited cases. The department shall accept applications for alimony enforcement if the right to alimony has been assigned to it, and enforcement applies only while there’s a court order for alimony, the dependent child is living with the spouse or former spouse, and the department is also enforcing a child support obligation. Without all three conditions, the department won’t enforce the alimony.

Can a parent who pays child support ask DHS to lower it?

A noncustodial parent can apply for IV-D services, and the department must accept the application. Once it does, it may take any action the chapter allows, including reviewing and modifying the award upward or downward under § 19-11-12. So a review could lead to a decrease, an increase or no change, depending on the guidelines.

What is the $35 child support fee in Georgia?

It’s a federal Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 fee of $35.00 the department may charge the obligor for each case. It applies only when the obligee has never received public assistance under Title IV-A or Title IV-E of the Social Security Act. The department keeps the fee and collects it through income withholding as well as any other available enforcement remedy.

Amendment History

Laws 1973, p. 192, § 5; Laws 1976, p. 1537, § 5; Laws 1982, p. 1207, §§ 1, 4; Laws 1985, p. 785, § 4; Laws 1987, p. 186, § 2; Laws 1992, p. 1833, § 4; Laws 2003, Act 175, §§ 2, 3, eff. July 1, 2003; Laws 2007, Act 350, § 1, eff. July 1, 2007; Laws 2017, Act 242, § 1-17, eff. Oct. 1, 2017; Laws 2018, Act 475, § 2-1, eff. Oct. 1, 2018.

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: assignment of child support rights georgiaapply for child support services georgiadhs alimony enforcementgeorgia child support $35 feeiv-d services noncustodial parent