Temporary Assistance

The Temporary Assistance Program provides assistance to needy families with children so they can be cared for in their own home by promoting job preparation, work and marriage. Funds may also be used to prevent non-marital pregnancies and encourage the formation and maintenance of two-parent families.

To learn more about temporary assistance and to see if you qualify, visit the Family Support Division.

• Mailing child support payments
• View your child support payment information
• Apply for child support services
• Find a child support office
• Child support information for the National Guard and the Reserve
• Learn more about child support

Custodial Parents

Noncustodial Parents

Missouri employers must report new hire information and when employees under wage assignment are no longer employed. With the cooperation of Missouri employers, more children in Missouri and other states receive the financial support they need to lead healthy and happy lives.

There are many Missouri children waiting to be part of a family. If you are interested in adopting a child in Missouri, please browse photos of children available for adoption. More detailed information about the children can be shared with adoptive parents as they are completing the adoption preparation process. Visit DSS on Facebook to find out about upcoming adoption events.

Contact Information Registry

The Adoption Information Registry is a service by which adult adoptees and biological parents or adult siblings may indicate their desire to be contacted by each other after all parties sign agree to contact.

Before deciding to become a foster parent in Missouri, here is some basic information you should have to help you make your final decision.

Foster care, out-of-home care and aftercare

• Out-of-home care is provided in situations where a parent or parents are incapable of providing a child or children with adequate social, emotional, and physical care.
• Aftercare provides a range of services to a child, and to the child’s parents, upon the child’s return to the biological home.

Learn more about foster care, out-of-home care and aftercare.

Career Foster Parents Program

Families and individuals interested in providing care for children and youth with elevated needs must have a contract with the Children’s Division as a Contracted Level B resource provider.

Older Youth Program

Nationally, 20,000 youth emancipate from the foster care system each year when they reach eighteen. The Older Youth Program helps these young adults move stably towards adulthood.