§ 19-11-7.Enforcement of support payments for dependent minor child public assistance recipients; attorney’s fees; interest on judgment; limited scope of action
Chapter 11. Enforcement of Duty of Support · Article 1. Child Support Recovery Act · Last amended 1987 · Last verified October 9, 2026
Full Text of § 19-11-7
Plain-English Summary
This section gives the Department of Human Services standing to go to court for children who receive public assistance. When a dependent minor child is on assistance, subsection (a) lets the department recover any sum of money owed to that child. The case is brought in the child’s name “for the use of the department.”
Subsection (b) lets the department appear in any judicial proceeding on behalf of the spouse and the dependent child to enforce their right to support. That can include alimony, but only if the conditions in § 19-11-6(d) are met: the alimony right has been assigned, a court order for alimony exists, the child lives with the spouse or former spouse, and the department is also enforcing child support.
Two subsections — (c) and the broader (f) — keep these cases narrow. Any action the department brings, or any case it appears in, under subsections (a) and (b) is limited solely to support. Visitation, custody, property settlement and similar issues the parties could otherwise raise together are excluded. Parents who want those issues decided must pursue them separately.
Subsection (d) lets the court award reasonable attorney’s fees to the prevailing party, and subsection (e) lets the department collect the legal rate of interest on any judgment it obtains in a support action it started. The section was last amended in 1987.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can the state sue a parent for child support in Georgia?
Yes, when the child receives public assistance. This section lets the Department of Human Services recover any sum of money due a dependent minor child on assistance. The action is brought in the name of the child for the use of the department. The department may also appear in any judicial proceeding on behalf of the spouse and child to enforce their right to support.
Will a DHS child support case decide custody or visitation?
No. Any action the department starts, or appears in, under subsections (a) and (b) is limited solely to the issue of support. It excludes visitation, custody, property settlement and other similar matters the parties could otherwise join. A parent who wants custody or visitation addressed needs a separate case.
Can I get attorney’s fees in a state child support case in Georgia?
Possibly. Subsection (d) says the court may award reasonable attorney’s fees to the prevailing party. The word “may” makes it discretionary — the judge decides whether to award fees and how much is reasonable. The rule runs both ways: the prevailing party could be the department’s side or the parent the department sued.
Does unpaid child support collected by DHS earn interest?
On a judgment, yes. Subsection (e) lets the department collect the legal rate of interest on any judgment obtained in a support action the department initiated. This section doesn’t set the rate itself; it refers to the legal rate of interest. The right covers judgments in support actions the department started, not every support case in Georgia.
Can DHS enforce alimony in court for me?
Only when the conditions of § 19-11-6(d) are met. The department may appear for the spouse and dependent child to enforce support, including alimony, as long as the right to alimony has been assigned to it, there is a court order for alimony, the child lives with the spouse or former spouse, and the department is also enforcing child support.
Amendment History
Laws 1973, p. 192, § 17; Laws 1976, p. 1537, § 15; Laws 1985, p. 785, § 5; Laws 1987, p. 186, § 3.