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CONCORD, N.C. – September is Child Support Awareness Month in Cabarrus County.

Recent numbers show the county's Child Support Division exceeded federal goals this year by collecting more than $9.5 million, and with school back in session, local families are thankful.

"I have been through the ringer and for you guys to make it as easy as you did really meant a lot," said Margaret Autry, a single parent.

Autry is seeking child support for a second time now that her 17-year-old son, Ben, has decided to move back in.

"It truly means a lot when you're raising a teenage boy, especially. They eat a lot," she said.

On Friday, she got her first check.

"I was really getting kind of scared because I was like, 'What am I going to do?" she said.

Autry is thankful for people like Angela Talley, with Child Support Enforcement Services, who helps thousands of Cabarrus County families get child support each month.

"We have a very dedicated staff that are very passionate about what they do and how they do it," said Talley.

This year, the Cabarrus County Child Support Division is one of the most successful in the state. Surrounding counties came close, but have fallen short. Talley says a substantial budget affords them additional tools, like a private investigator.

"We can use that private investigator for surveillance as well as getting them served when they're difficult to find," she said.

And their Side by Side project gets orders for absent parents not making efforts to find work to do community service.

"Thats been very successful. Not many folks want to work for nothing, so sometimes that entices them to go out and find some work," Talley said.

But Talley says the goal is more than numbers.

"To me, it says that they can do things that they might not otherwise be able to do for themselves and for their children," she said.

Autry says now she's able to help her son with his school work.

The Cabarrus County Child Support Division has several other tools to help collect child support. Its largest one-time payment this year totaled more than $56,000.

Click here for more information.