child support enforcement

All States and territories run a child support enforcement program, usually in the human services department, department of revenue, or the State Attorney General’s office, often with the help of prosecuting attorneys, district attorneys, other law enforcement agencies and officials of family or domestic relations courts. Native American Tribes, too, can operate culturally appropriate child support programs with Federal funding. Families seeking government child support services must apply directly through their state/local agency or one of the tribes running the program. Services are available to a parent with custody of a child whose other parent is living outside the home. Services are available automatically for families receiving assistance under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program.

Locating Non-Custodial Parents
Child support enforcement officials can use information from highly computerized State and Federal Parent Locator Services (FPLS) to locate parents, and their income and assets.

Establishing Paternity – Legally Identifying a Child's Father
Legally identifying a child’s father is called paternity establishment. This is the necessary first step for obtaining an order for child support when a child is born out of wedlock. In addition to providing a legal relationship between a father and child, establishing paternity can provide a child with:

• access to Social Security benefits, pension and retirement benefits
• medical insurance and health information
• important interactions and relationships with both parents.

In a disputed case, father, mother and child can be required to submit to genetic tests. States must have procedures that allow paternity to be established up to the child’s 18th birthday. Hospitals must provide fathers the opportunity to acknowledge paternity voluntarily at the time of birth.

Establishing Support Orders
States must have guidelines to determine how much a parent should pay for child support. Child support orders can be established by a court or by an administrative hearing process. Provisions for health insurance coverage must be included in the support order.

Collecting Support
A parent can be required to pay child support by income withholding. Nationally, over 69 percent of child support is paid in this manner. Overdue child support can be collected from:

• Federal and state income tax refunds
• liens placed on property
• sale of property.

When past-due child support is owed, the following may occur:

• Unpaid child support can be reported automatically to credit reporting bureaus.
• Drivers, professional, occupational and recreational licenses can be suspended if the obligated parent is not paying required support.
• The U.S. State Department will deny a passport to someone who owes more than $2500 in back child support.
• Child support agencies have agreements with financial institutions to freeze and seize accounts of those identified as owing back child support.
• In certain states and under certain circumstances, criminal actions can be taken against chronic delinquent parents who owe large sums of child support.
  

Services for Non-Custodial Parents
Non-custodial parents can use the CSE program to establish paternity, establish wage-withholding and to request a review of their support orders if circumstances have changed. The Federal Parent Locator Service is available through State CSE programs to locate a child whose whereabouts has been hidden in violation of a custody or visitation order.

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