Office of the Attorney General Promotes Literacy during Child Support Awareness Month

WASHINGTON, D. C. – August is Child Support Awareness Month, and the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) is marking the occasion by promoting childhood literacy and educating the community on how OAG’s Child Support Services Division (CSSD) can help all parents support their children.

“We all benefit when our children succeed, and we must ensure that District youth have the resources they need to grow, learn and prosper,” said Attorney General Karl A. Racine. “I am proud that our Child Support Services Division helps families every day obtain the financial support that they need.”

Promoting Childhood Literacy

To mark Child Support Awareness Month this year, OAG employees will hold a children’s reading and coloring book drive to promote literacy and highlight the importance of parents spending quality time with their children.

Reading at home and higher literacy rates are indicators that children will do well in other areas. The National Literacy Trust has published studies showing that, when a parent reads to their child, it gives the child a sense of connection and promotes well-being. According to the Educational Testing Service, students who read more at home and have more books and magazines available to them while they are away from school do better in reading at school and also score higher in math on standardized tests than other students.

OAG is proud to partner with Everybody Wins! DC, a District-based organization that focuses on literacy and leadership development for students in the District’s public elementary schools, to give families a free book to encourage the lifelong pleasure of reading. The group has offered to donate 500 new and gently used books for children of all ages. The first 500 families that have a child support case and visit the CSSD office (441 4th Street NW, Suite 550 North) or the CSSD Mobile Unit during August will receive a free book. If you know anyone who is interested in receiving a free book for their child, please call (202) 442-9900 and speak with a representative in CSSD’s Customer Service Center.

OAG Child Support Services

CSSD works to establish paternity and child support orders and helps parents find jobs that allow them to be the financial backbone of their families. You can read about CSSD’s year in review, recent success stories and goals moving forward in its new biennial report.

OAG is also working to make child support services more efficient and easier to access:

  • Child Support Payments Online allows payments for child-support obligations to be made directly from your bank account.
  • Online Case Look Up is our 24/7 Web network where parents can check the balances they owe, update their employer information, or update their personal contact information.
  • Our Customer Care Center is available Monday through Friday from 8:15 a.m. – until 4:45 p.m. Care Center staff can speak with parents about their case. The phone number is 202-442-9900.

Contact Us

Please contact OAG’s Child Support Customer Care center at 202-442-9900 if:

  • You need assistance to ensure that your back payments don’t build up;
  • You change employers;
  • You relocate;
  • You can provide us with a cell phone number or e-mail address at which to reach you.

For more information, visit CSSD’s website at http://cssd.dc.gov/ or call 202-442-9900.