What is child support?Child support is money paid toward a child's living expenses and health insurance.
Who can receive child support?Any parent or person who has legal or physical custody of a child can get help in locating the child's other (non-custodial) parent, establishing a child's paternity (legal fatherhood), establishing a child support order, modifying or adjusting a child support order, obtaining health insurance for a child, collecting current child support, and enforcing a child support obligation (collecting past due child support/arrears) by completing an application for services form. Once the completed application is received and processed by our office, the child support process begins. This service is available for both welfare and non-welfare recipients. The more accurate the information provided regarding the non-custodial parent, the more effective our office will be in our efforts to collect child support. An application for services may be obtained on-line at the California Department of Child Support or by contacting our office
People who receive public assistance through the Family Assistance, Safety Net or Medicaid, or Federally-Assisted Foster Care programs automatically receive child support enforcement services. As a condition of eligibility for these programs, applicants and recipients are expected to cooperate in pursuing the child's other parent for the purpose of collecting child support unless there is reason to believe that doing so would put the custodial parent and/or the child(ren) at risk of domestic violence.
People not receiving public assistance can receive child support enforcement services by simply applying for such services, and without regard to income.
Where do I go to get help in obtaining child support?Every state has a federally mandated child support enforcement program known as IV-D/child support. California's child support program is state supervised and locally administered through Tulare County's Department of Child Support Services. Contact information for Tulare County's Department Child Support Services can be obtained by clicking on the "Contact Us" button to the left.
How do I get a child support order?A court can establish a child support order based on the filing of a legal action requesting that it do so. The person chargeable with support must be the child's parent through marriage or through the establishment of paternity. Child support orders are generally payable until the child's 18th birthday.
In California, the amount of a child support order is determined according to the Child Support Standards Act (CSSA) or child support guidelines. The guidelines work like this:
the gross income of each parent is determined and the incomes are combined;
the combined parental income is multiplied by the appropriate child support percentage; 17% for one child, 25% for two children, 29% for three children, 31% for four children, and not less than 35% for five or more children;
this figure is the basic child support obligation which is then divided between the parents on a pro-rata basis, according to the amount of their respective incomes and the amount of time the child spends with each parent;
additional amounts to be paid for child care, medical care not covered by health insurance, and educational expenses are determined by the court and added to the basic child support obligation; and,
generally the non-custodial parent is ordered to pay his/her share to the custodial parent.
The amount of child support calculated in accordance with the guidelines is presumed to be the correct amount. Either parent can offer evidence that this amount is not correct, and the court has the authority to decide the guideline amount is unjust or inappropriate. If the court orders a different amount than the basic support obligation according to the guidelines, the court must set forth its reasons for doing so in writing. Either party can object to the findings of the court.
Child support orders obtained through the child support enforcement program are made payable through the State Disbursement Unit (SDU). All current child support collected on behalf of persons not receiving public assistance is sent to them within two days of its receipt. If a custodial parent is not currently receiving public assistance, but did so in the past, monies collected beyond the amount of current child support may be used to repay past due support owed to the State. The Local Child Support Agency (LCSA) sends the first $50 of current child support collected to persons receiving support from Family Assistance and Safety Net and retains the rest of the child support paid to reimburse assistance granted.
How does the program work?The child support enforcement program works through California's court system but is separate from it. Child Support Service workers guide custodial parents through the court process, when necessary. They also provide a wide range of administrative actions that do not require court intervention.
What information do I need to provide?
Name, address and social security number of the non-custodial parent;
child(ren)'s birth certificate(s);
your child support order;
your divorce decree or separation agreement;
name and address of current or recent employer of the non-custodial parent;
names of friends and relatives of the non-custodial parent, and the names of organizations to which the non-custodial parent might belong;
information on the non-custodial parent's income and assets; pay stubs, tax returns, bank account records, investment records, or information on property holdings; and
if paternity is at issue, written statements (letters, notes, cards) in which the alleged father has said or implied that the child is his.
Whatever information you can provide from the list above will help Child Support Services help you pursue child support.
I don't know where my child's other parent is. Can you help find them?The child support enforcement program uses computer searches or matches against a large number of California, State, and Federal data banks to locate non-custodial parent. These data banks include information about motor vehicles/driver licenses, income tax, unemployment insurance, correctional facilities, utilities, cable television companies, banks, vital statistics, real property, and occupational and professional licenses.
Also, California has a "new hire reporting program" under which all California employers must report all newly hired employees to the child support enforcement program. This information is used for location and enforcement purposes.
The most critical piece of information you can supply to help find a non-custodial parent is his/her social security number (SSN). If you do not have the SSN, check hospital records, bank records, insurance policies, credit card records, pay stubs, or income tax returns.
Can I still open a child support case even if the other parent has been gone a long time?Yes. But the longer parents are gone, the harder it may be to find them.
Is my child support case open to the public?Child Support case information is not open to the public, but court files may be public record.
Can I get child support if I'm not sure whom the father of my child is?No. Paternity (a legal determination of who the father is) must be established before child support can be ordered. Paternity gives your child many rights, including child support, access to medical records, government benefits and more.
What if the father leaves the state before it's proven that he is the father?The local court may use information they have to decide paternity without him. If paternity is established without the alleged father's cooperation, the court may order him to pay child support no matter where he lives, even if he is out of California.
I have a child support order, but the other parent doesn't pay. How can I get my order enforced?One of the principal goals of the child support enforcement program is to ensure that all child support payments are received in the full amount due on the date due. The primary enforcement tools of the Local Child Support Agency (LCSA) are administrative, and do not require the involvement of the court. Administrative remedies can be used to collect all arrears/past due child support, regardless of whether they have been reduced to a judgment. Where administrative remedies do not prove effective, however, the support collection unit can also petition the court for enforcement. Enforcement tools are described briefly below. Each process is subject to specific legal conditions, the details of which can be provided by the LCSA.
Administrative Enforcement
Income Execution - All orders of child support issued in California are required to provide for immediate wage withholding. This is accomplished under the IV-D program by the issuance of a Notice to Withhold Earnings to the employer of a child support payer, requiring that employer to deduct the child support obligation amount plus an additional amount to reduce arrears (if any) and forward the money directly to the LCSA. Income executions can also be issued to other income sources including, but not limited to Unemployment Insurance Benefits, Workers' Compensation, Social Security Disability, and pension plans.
Income Tax Refund Offset - Where a child support payer owes past due support/arrears, the LCSA can intercept any State or federal income tax refund due to that payer and apply it to the repayment of the past due support/arrears.
Lottery Prize Offset - Where a child support payer owes past due support/arrears, the LCSA can intercept any Lottery prize in excess of $600 won by that payer and apply it to the repayment of the past due support/arrears.
Driving Privilege Suspension - Where a child support payer owes past due support/arrears and is not paying child support through an income execution, the LCSA can direct the California State Department of Motor Vehicles to suspend that payer's driving privileges.
Property Execution -The LCSA can seize the liquid assets (i.e., bank accounts) of child support payers who owe past due support/arrears, and apply the proceeds to the repayment of past due support/arrears.
Liens - The LSCA can place liens against the real or personal property of child support payers who owe past due support/arrears. A lien will prevent the sale or transfer of the property until the past due support/arrears are repaid.
Referrals to the State Department of Child Support Services Full Collections program ((State DCSS FCP) - The State DCSS FCP has authority to employ all methods available for the collection of past due child support. This method is particularly useful against self-employed persons who own businesses.
Credit Bureau Reporting - Where a child support payer owes past due support/arrears, the LCSA will report those arrears as a bad debt to all major consumer credit reporting agencies. This action is likely to negatively affect the ability of the child support payer to obtain credit.
Court Enforcement
After a hearing and upon a finding that a child support payer has violated an order of support, the court must enter a money judgment for the amount of the arrears.
Order to Seek Work - The LCSA can request the court to order a delinquent payer to actively and continuously seek employment.
Prosecuting for civil contempt or criminal prosecution. After a hearing and upon a finding that a child support payer has willfully violated an order of support, the court may
commit the payer to jail for up to six months, or
place the payer on probation.
I don't live in the United States, but my child's father, mother or non-custodial parent is American. Is there any way I can get help collecting child support?State Child Support Enforcement (CSE) agencies will accept foreign applications for enforcement services, and will mail you the forms you will need. You may first want to inquire of the CSE Agency in the State where you believe the parent is now living or in his State of birth.
The CSE Agency will need the parent's full name and social security number. If you do not know the social security number, the State agency may be able to identify it if you provide as much as you know of the following: the parent's date and place of birth, mother's maiden name and father's name.
My ex-spouse has remarried and has another family to support. How does this affect the support owed to our children?The amount of the child support order may change if the other parent must support children from another relationship.
Can I authorize a relative or friend to discuss my case?Yes. You may designate any person 18 and over to discuss your child support case with any child support representative. To do so, you must first complete and submit an, "Authorization to Release Information" form.
