In a previous article we discussed that a possible way to get your license reinstated after a failure to pay child support is the Georgia Fatherhood Program. A parent can participate in this program in order to get his or her license reinstated after having failed to pay ordered child support. However, the program is not only designed to assist a parent in the reinstatement of a driver’s license. Other services that the program provide include:
- Child support services
- GED enrollment
- Job training
- Job search/placement
- Volunteer work opportunities
- Support order modification, if applicable
- Paying child support when enrolled in the program;
- Gaining employment within 90 days;
- Work at least 20 hours per week while enrolled in the program;
- Providing updates at each accountability session;
- Diligent job searches immediately upon entering the program by registering with the Department of Labor and other employment agencies;
- Reporting new employment within two days of accepting any position; and
- Being accountable, including treating the program as if it were a job
- Local employers are finding new sources of skilled labor, which is often in short supply
- Increased employment benefits the local economy
- Decreased Medicaid cost: Noncustodial parents are required to obtain medical insurance through their employer if available at a reasonable cost.
- Decreased enforcement cost: Employer withholding child support payments eliminates the need for enforcement action.
- Decreased incarceration cost: Because judges now have a sentencing alternative to jail, taxpayers save the estimated $50 per day cost of housing an inmate.
- Decreased need for custodial parents to depend on TANF and other government services
- Judges now have an alternative to jail for parents who are unable to pay child support
