New Child Maintenance Resources for Families

Brief Summary: One Parent Families Scotland are pleased to announce that the ‘Child Maintenance Explained website’ is now live.

Child Maintenance Explained is a new website developed with parents who have lived experience of the child maintenance system, alongside OPFS, Fife Gingerbread, Citizens Advice Scotland, Scottish Women’s Aid and the DWP.

It was designed for parents and as a resource for practitioners supporting families and provides clear, easy-to-follow information to help parents understand their options and navigate the early stages of their child maintenance journey independently.

Child maintenance can make a significant difference to the financial security of single parent families and help ensure children receive the child maintenance they are entitled to. Over the past three years, One Parent Families Scotland (OPFS), Fife Gingerbread and IPPR Scotland worked alongside parents through the Transforming Child Maintenance project to research the child maintenance system and develop recommendations to improve both the system itself and the support available around it.

OPFS is providing free, confidential advice in partnership with Fife Gingerbread, through the OPFS Lone Parent Helpline and Live Chat service. The service is currently supporting parents through the early stages of their child maintenance journey. It will be expanded later this year to provide support for parents with more complex child maintenance issues.

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