I hope the social worker is able to do something then. I don't know about your laws there but in Missouri, where I lived at the time, they were pretty strict about child support. If the parent didn't pay it or refused, he/she could go to jail, or they could contact their employer and have the money just withheld from their paycheck.

When I was in college, one summer I worked as an intern there too where my Mom worked. It was pretty interesting, although all I was doing was archiving old files and stuff

About the check, Mom started handing it over to me when I was about 16 I think. We agreed she would just let it be my responsibility to get clothes I needed or gas for the car and so on.