CLEVELAND — A new program in Cuyahoga County is hoping to help parents pay their fair share of child support.

It is called “Families Forward” and it is only available for a limited time, as it is funded through grants.

The program offers up to $6,000 in free job training for several different career tracks, including obtaining a commercial driver’s license (CDL), IT support, computer numeric controller (CNC machinist), and customer service.

For father Mark Mitchell, the program has been an incredible opportunity.

"I'm doing this for them, as well as myself. Because the better I am, the better I can be for them," Mitchell said, speaking about his children.

Mitchell has been training at Cuyahoga Community College for the last several months, working toward getting his CDL and booming a truck driver.

Mitchell has been training at Cuyahoga Community College for the last several months, working toward getting his CDL and booming a truck driver.

“I had my ups and downs with child support, I thought it was helpful for the mothers but if you know your resources and reach out, you know how to network property, you can get something stable for yourself and build a foundation,” Mitchell said.

Tiffany Dobbins-Brazelton is the director of Cuyahoga County’s Office of Child Support Services.

She said their data shows children who receive child support are less likely to be delinquent, more likely to graduate, and overall, see benefits from growing up like a kid.

“So it’s not about paying it to the mother or maybe even the father, but it is about supporting the child and creating family stability and setting your children up on the right road for their future,” Dobbins-Brazelton said.

According to the Office of Child Support, there are more than 108,700 cases with support orders. However, 52% of those cases receive less than 75% of the ordered amount.

“We recognize there are challenges that put barriers in folks’ lives and it’s not always easy to meet your obligations, but people want to do well for their family and their children,” Dobbins-Brazelton said, adding that they hope the program helps remove some of those barriers.

Ohio is one of only four states chosen to participate in the Families Forward program.

You can click here to learn more information and to sign up.

