Nebraska DHHS Recognizes August as Child Support Awareness Month

This August, the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) celebrates its Child Support Enforcement (CSE) team with Child Support Awareness Month.

"Our CSE team supports healthy children, stable families, and stronger communities, positively impacting families by helping to ensure that parents can and do meet their children's financial, medical, and other parental needs," said Barbara Lacina, Director of the Office of Economic Assistance (OEA).

Nebraska's CSE team services nearly 130,000 children across the state and collected more than $202 million in support last fiscal year. Nationally, Nebraska ranks 7th for both the collection of current and past-due child support. The program is also one of the most cost-effective for the state, collecting $4.50 for every dollar spent.

The Gambling Winnings for Outstanding Debt Act, which went into effect in September 2025, has collected more than $509,000 in gaming winnings, which have been disbursed to families for child support arrears.

Child support benefits Nebraska families by improving financial stability, reducing child poverty, and strengthening parental responsibility.

"I am incredibly proud of our CSE team for their commitment, resilience, and unwavering focus on serving the families of our state," said CSE Administrator Rachel Schmidt. "Every day, they demonstrate a dedication to their work that has a lasting impact on Nebraska families."

For more information on DHHS's Child Support program, visit https://dhhs.ne.gov/pages/Child-Support.aspx.