Anyone who has a
child support and/or medical support order, or wants to
establish one, can apply for child support enforcement services
by completing an application form. After the application
form is signed, the child support process begins. Parents
who receive public assistance, including Medi-Cal, will
automatically be referred to the DCSS by the Welfare Department.
The DCSS will take the following steps to provide services
to collect support from a non-custodial parent.
STEP 1: OPEN
A CHILD SUPPORT CASE
Either parent, or
the caretaker/guardian of a child, may open a child support
case by completing an application. The DCSS will also open
a case for any individual receiving Welfare and/or Medi-Cal
who has been referred by the county Welfare Department.
The more information the custodial party gives about the
case, the better service the DCSS can provide. Services
are available to all persons whether or not they are receiving
public assistance. Read some important information about
opening a case with our office and then go through the process
of opening a case.
STEP 2: LOCATE
THE PARENT
To get a support order,
establish paternity or enforce a support order, the DCSS
must know where the non-custodial parent lives and/or works.
By providing the DCSS with as much information as possible,
the custodial party can help locate the non-custodial parent
and speed up the child support process. The DCSS will make
every effort to locate the non-custodial parent.
STEP 3: ESTABLISH
PATERNITY
If paternity (fatherhood-determining
the biological father of the child) has not yet been established,
the DCSS will take the necessary steps to establish paternity.
Paternity must be established before child and medical support
can be ordered by the court.
STEP 4: ESTABLISH
A SUPPORT ORDER
If a court order for
child support does not already exist, and the non-custodial
parent is located, one will be sought by the DCSS. An order
will be established by the court based on both parents'
ability to pay support, the amount of time the child spends
with each parent, and the financial needs of the child.
The DCSS will also request that the court require the non-custodial
parent to provide health insurance for the child. The court
will order the non-custodial parent to provide health insurance
if it is available at a reasonable cost.
STEP 5: MODIFICATION OF AN ORDER
A modification of
an order is a review that is done when the custodial or
non-custodial parent requests that the current support order
be changed. The modification can be to change the amount
of support ordered to be paid, or to provide health insurance
for the children.
STEP 6: ENFORCEMENT
OF SUPPORT ORDERS
The DCSS will take
steps to enforce court orders for child support and medical
support. Enforcement actions will be taken by the DCSS if
the non-custodial parent does not pay or pays less than
the amount ordered, or if the non-custodial parent does
not provide health insurance for the child as ordered by
the court. The DCSS will determine what type of enforcement
action is to be taken, consistent with State and Federal
regulations.
OTHER ISSUES:
UIFSA –
UNIFORM INTERSTATE FAMILY SUPPORT ACT
The DCSS will initiate
or respond to another state to establish, enforce, or modify
an order when either party resides out of State pursuant
to UIFSA (effective since 1/1/1998), in order to collect
Child Support from out-of –state parents. For more
information, please refer to Section 9 in the Child Support
Handbook Download Click Here.
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