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Lucas County program combines job help, child support

Lucas County is launching a new program to focus on helping people who receive food assistance with a work requirement and are also behind on their child support payments.

LUCAS COUNTY, OH (Toledo News Now) - Lucas County is launching a new program to focus on helping people who receive food assistance with a work requirement and are also behind on their child support payments.

Lucas County JFS Executive Director Deb Flores says because the county combined Job and Family Services and Child Support Enforcement, they're able to start this new program, identifying people who are late on support payments and receive food assistance with a work requirement.

"We started looking at our cases in common with child support, and we found obligors that were in default of the child support they owe and were not seeking work," she said.

Flores says they're targeting more than 2,000 people for the program.

"We go through the requirements to be on food assistance and we have the child support staff that'll talk about the services they have available to remove barriers and do one-on-one case management with them."

The East Toledo Family Center is one of five local community centers where clients will put in hours to earn food assistance work credit, and at the same time getting help for seeking future employment.

"As we're able to get individuals employed, they will be able to start making sure if they have any child support orders…they'll be able to start paying," said Kim Partin, East Toledo Family Center Executive Director.

"This is a win-win for the community," Flores said. "It gives our community partners an opportunity to have some extra hands, as budgets have been tight."

The county received $400,000 from the state for the pilot program.

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