California Department Of Child Support Services

California Department of Child Support Services (DCSS) is a state government entity registered with SAM.gov since June 2011 that serves as a prime awardee for federal grants administered through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The entity specializes in child support enforcement and family services, working to enforce child support obligations, locate absent parents, establish paternity, and obtain child, spousal, and medical support across California. As a state agency, DCSS leverages federal funding to maintain comprehensive child support enforcement mechanisms and ensure financial responsibility and support for children, particularly those with absent parents.

DCSS has demonstrated substantial federal grant activity through multiple award mechanisms, with current funding including a $185,167,429 block grant for fiscal year 2026 (SCSS-2026) under the Child Support Services Federal Grant Program (CFDA 93.563) from the Office of Child Support Enforcement, running from October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026. The agency has maintained consistent annual block grant funding through successive fiscal years, with documented awards in 2025, 2024, 2023, and 2022, demonstrating sustained federal investment in core child support enforcement activities. Beyond traditional block grants, DCSS has expanded its service portfolio through longer-term cooperative agreements, including the NextGen Holistic Employment, License and Parenting (HELP) Program and the SOLA IMPACT Project (both awarded September 30, 2024 with completion dates through September 29, 2029), which focus on economic stability and healthy family formation for teens and young adults. Additional cooperative agreements have supported behavioral economics initiatives and family education programs, such as the "Adding Behavioral Economics and Change Science to Family Education Programs in California" (July 1, 2021 through June 30, 2025) and the "My Empowerment (M.E.) Project" (July 1, 2021 through June 30, 2025). DCSS also received a Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention (CBCAP) formula grant (CBCAP-2022) from the Administration on Children, Youth and Families from October 1, 2021 through September 30, 2024, broadening its impact beyond child support services to child abuse prevention initiatives.