How to Get Child Support as a Grandparent Raising a Grandchild in Georgia

You're covering the costs of raising a grandchild on your own income, and the absent parents aren't contributing. Georgia law gives you a path to pursue child support — even without full custody — through the Division of Child Support Services (DCSS).

Who Can Request Child Support

Grandparents and other relative custodians can apply for child support services through DCSS. This includes relatives with a court-issued guardianship or custody order and kinship foster parents whose placements are managed by DFCS. A POA delegates care authority but does not transfer legal custody; call DCSS to ask what documentation it requires from a POA caregiver.

If you're providing care informally, call DCSS to ask what documents it requires for your situation. A POA or court order can document your caregiving role.

DCSS operates a dedicated Grandparents Raising Grandchildren unit at 2 Peachtree St NW, Suite 29.426, Atlanta, GA 30303, reachable at 1-877-423-4746. This team handles cases specifically for relative custodians.

How DCSS Enforcement Works

DCSS can locate absent parents, establish paternity when needed, set a support order through the courts, and enforce payment. You don't need a private attorney — DCSS provides these services for free to custodial caregivers.

The process follows a general sequence:

1. Open a case by contacting DCSS. If you're receiving child-only TANF, cooperation with DCSS is generally required unless you establish a Good Cause exemption; ask DFCS how this applies to your case.
2. DCSS locates the absent parent using federal and state databases (employer records, tax filings, driver's license data).
3. A support order is established in court, based on Georgia's income-share model. The order calculates both parents' combined income and allocates a proportional share to the non-custodial parent.
4. Payments are collected and disbursed through DCSS. Ask DCSS which collection and payment methods are available in your case.

Child Support and TANF Interaction

If you receive child-only TANF, cooperating with DCSS is mandatory unless you qualify for a Good Cause exemption. Good cause applies when pursuing child support would put you or the child at risk of physical or emotional harm, or when the child was conceived through assault or incest.

When child support payments arrive, Georgia applies a $50 monthly disregard — meaning the first $50 stays with the family without reducing your TANF grant. Any child support above $50 counts as income to the child and reduces the TANF payment dollar-for-dollar. For a two-child household receiving the maximum $235 monthly TANF grant, $100 in child support would reduce the grant to $185 (after the $50 disregard).

One important distinction: child-only Medicaid does not require DCSS cooperation as an eligibility condition. Your grandchild's health coverage stays intact regardless of whether you pursue child support.

When Good Cause Applies

Grandparents sometimes hesitate to pursue child support because of the family dynamics involved — the absent parent may be their own adult child. Georgia's Good Cause exemption protects you if:

• Pursuing support would result in physical or emotional harm to the child or caregiver
• The child was conceived through incest or sexual assault

When you claim good cause, DFCS maintains strict confidentiality. No contact is made with the absent parent while the claim is investigated. If good cause is granted, the DCSS cooperation requirement is waived and your TANF benefits continue.

What to Do Next

If you're shouldering the financial burden of raising a grandchild alone, child support can meaningfully supplement TANF and other benefits. Start by calling the DCSS Grandparents Raising Grandchildren unit at 1-877-423-4746, or visit your local DFCS office to open a case.

Our Georgia kinship financial help guide walks through how child support interacts with every other benefit program — TANF, SNAP, Medicaid, CAPS, and the GRG supplement — so you can see the full picture of what's available and how each piece connects.

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