Library: News Release
OKLAHOMA CITY – Customers of the Oklahoma Department of Human Services (DHS) Child Support Services have more options and convenience than ever before when it comes to choosing where and how to pay their child support. With more than 200,000 Oklahoma families needing reliable, dependable child support contributing to the well-being of their children, these payment options translated into $362 million for children and families last year.
"Children who have two parents providing for their financial support are far less likely to need help from taxpayer funded programs like SoonerCare and TANF," said CSS director Gary W. Dart. "Every child support dollar collected is compounded many-fold in savings to Oklahoma taxpayers."
Customers can make child support payments through:
- An employer (no fee). The most common way to pay child support is through an income assignment at work, where the employer withholds child support from a paycheck and pays it on the employee’s behalf.
- Child Support Services SMART pay website (no fee). Visit ok.smartchildsupport.com
- Oklahoma Centralized Support Registry (no fee). Make checks payable to "Oklahoma Department of Human Services," include first and last name, Social Security Number, Family Group Number and mail to Oklahoma Centralized Support Registry, PO Box 268849, Oklahoma City, OK 73126-8849
- US Payments Pay-by-Phone ($6.95 customer fee). Call 1-877-712-5731.
- 96 BancFirst branches ($5 customer fee). For specific locations visit: www.bancfirst.com
- 191 US Payments kiosks ($2 customer fee). For specific locations visit: www.uspayments.com
- 391 MoneyGram locations ($1.99 customer fee). For specific locations visit: www.moneygram.com
"While seventy percent of child support is paid by employers through income assignment, many parents choose to make supplemental payments for past due support or stay current on their obligation even during times of unemployment using one of the many other options available," said Jeff Wagner, Child Support Services spokesperson.
With so many options available, customers can select the way to pay that is most convenient for them. For those wishing to pay by credit card or bank account, the SMART pay website is convenient and free of fees. Pay-by-phone offers "pay from anywhere" convenience, while those paying with cash may prefer the "walk up" convenience of the many pay sites available. At BancFirst & MoneyGram locations, customers may also appreciate the ability to make a payment to a person, providing an extra layer of documentation and customer service.
"Every time we add a new way to pay child support, we see the addition of new, first time payers," Wagner said. "This tells us that convenience is a major factor to some parents making on-time child support payments, and we are constantly looking for ways to make it as easy as possible for parents to meet their legal and moral obligation to support their children."
For more information about Child Support Services, call 1-800-522-2922, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday - Friday or visit www.okdhs.org and select "Child Support."
Child Support Services is a division of the Oklahoma Department of Human Services. To promote healthy families, CSS establishes, monitors and enforces reliable support while encouraging self-sufficiency and strengthening relationships. The division is responsible for more than 206,000 active child support cases, collecting more than $362 million in the last year on behalf of children and families.
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