Child support or medical support order
Once paternity is establish, the CSEA can help set up child
support and medical support orders. These orders may be
issued in court by a judge or referee or at the CSEA by an
administrative hearing officer.
The child support order states an amount to be paid
regularly by the non-custodial parent. The
non-custodial parent, or obligor, is the parent who
does not have primary custody of the child and must pay
child support. The child support will help offset some of
the costs of raising a child. The amount of the order will be
based on statewide guidelines.
The CSEA can also set up a medical support order which
may require the non-custodial parent to get health
insurance covering the child. Sometimes the order also covers
the costs of giving birth.
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Once there is a support order, the CSEA has many ways
to enforce it.
*The CSEA can have the child support taken directly from
the income of the non-custodial parent. Child support can
also be taken from money the non-custodial parent has in
a bank. This process is called income (or wage) withholding.
*Child support can be taken from a non-custodial parent's
workers' compensation, unemployment, pension funds, or other
sources of income.
*The non-custodial parent might have child support payments
which are past due. The overdue child support can be taken
from state or federal income tax refunds. Also, the CSEA can
report the non-custodial parent to a credit bureau.
*The non-custodial parent may have no income or assets. If so,
the CSEA can get an order requiring that parent to find work.
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All child support for Ohio Children goes through a CSEA.
Any payments made directly from one parent to another are
considered gifts. Such payments do not count as child support.
The CSEA can take child support directly from the
non-custodial parent or from his or her income. When child
support is taken from income, it must be sent to the CSEA
by the income provider within 10 working days. (The
income provider is usually the absent parent's employer.)
After receiving the child support, the CSEA has two business
days to process and mail it to the custodial parent or obligee.
The obligee is the person who gets the child support, usually the
custodial parent. Someone else, such as a relative, could also
be the obligee if he or she has legal custody or the child and is
the person with whom the child lives.
CSEAs collect current support - the amount of child support
owed in the current month. The also collect arrearage -
child support that is past due.
The CSEA uses the child support it gets to cover any
current support owed. It uses any money left over to
cover past due child support. The arrearage may
be owed to the custodial parent. However,
if the children got benefits from public assistance
while child support went unpaid, the arrearage
may be owed to the State of Ohio. Public
assistance benefits include Aid to Dependent
Children, Medicaid, or foster care benefits.
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Reviewing and adjusting support
orders
CSEAs can review child support and medical support orders
if either parent asks. Usually, the most recent order must be
at least three years old before a review is done, but it can be
done earlier in certain situations.
Using state guidelines, the CSEA objectively reviews the
information provided. It then makes an independent
recommendation on the amount of support that should be
paid.
For more information on reviewing and adjusting support
orders ask your CSEA for the booklet on administrative
reviews.
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Children benefit when both parents work together to take
care of their children's emotional and financial needs.
This is true even when the parents are not married to one
another. Children have the right to support from both
parents. They do not lose this right if their parents divorce
or never marry.
When children do not get child support, they may:
*Suffer emotionally and physically.
*Have a reduced standard of living.
*Not have their basic needs met.
*Not support their children when they become parents.
Beyond the partnership between parents, other
partnerships exist to help Ohio's children get the
support they are due. These partnership's include:
*Parents and child support enforcement agencies (CSEAs)
*CSEAs are county departments of human services,
public children services agencies, courts, and health
care professionals.
*Parents, advocacy groups, and government agencies.
*Federal, state, and local governments.
These partnerships help children whose parents are
divorced or were never married. Many partners must
work together with the children's best interest in mind to
get children all the financial, medical, and other benefits
they are due.
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Ohio law requires each county to have it's own CSEA.
Your CSEA can help you establish paternity, locate
absent parents, or set up a child support or medical
support order. It can also set up a support order,
collect child support, or review and adjust support orders.
Paternity
The first step in the child support process is to establish
paternity - to legally determine the child's father.
Establishing paternity is in the best interest of the child
and the parents. Either the child's mother or the man
who may be the child's father can make a request to
establish paternity.
There are two ways to establish paternity:
*Administrative process - When both parent agree that
the man fathered a child, he can establish paternity by
simply signing a document at the hospital before the child
and mother are released, or at the CSEA.
*Court process - If a man believes he may not be a
child's father, paternity needs to be established through
court. The court will order genetic testing done on both
parents and on the child. The tests use sample of blood or
the genetic material (such as skin cells from inside a person's
cheek). The samples are compared to see if the man could
be the child's father. The tests are very accurate.
For more information on establishing paternity, ask your
CSEA for the ODHS brochure on paternity.
Location
If you do not know where a parent is living, your CSEA
can help. CSEAs have access to may sources of
information, including job and motor vehicle reports.
They can use these records to find absent parents.
Can my CSEA help me get support if the
non-custodial parent lives in another state?
Yes. Your CSEA can ask that your child support case
be pursued by the state where the non-custodial parent
lives. Every state must provide the same child support
services for the children who live outside that state as
for children who live within it. However, these cases often
take longer than in-state cases.
States can use a variety of processes to set up or enforce
child support orders when a child's parents live in two
different states. These processes are part of the Uniform
Reciprocal Enforcement of Support Act (URESA).
Why should I go to a CSEA when I know the
non-custodial parent can't pay?
Even if a non-custodial parent can't pay right now,
this could change in the future.
If the non-custodial parent isn't working right now,
your CSEA can get a court order requiring that parent
to find a job.
Also, your CSEA can help make sure your child has
access to any other money, such as inheritances or
lottery winnings. Income form a job isn't the only source
of child support.
Why should I go to a CSEA if I've already worked
it out with the non-custodial parent to help support
the child?
Even if the two of you have worked out a payment
arrangement for now, this could change. You want to
make sure all future child support is paid in full. And,
if the non-custodial parent should die, you would want
to make sure your child has a legal right to support from
any estate.
What if the non-custodial parent is in the military?
Or in college? Or in jail?
If the non-custodial parent is in the military, the CSEA can
have child support taken from his or her wages.
If the parent is in college or jail, a support order could be
sought. When the parent gets a job after graduating
from college or being released from jail, the CSEA can
collect for the current amount due, AND for any arrearage
that has built up.
Do you have to be the child's parent to get CSEA
services?
No, but you must be a legal guardian of the child involved
in the case. Also, confidentiality laws do not allow a CSEA
to share certain information with anyone other than the parent
or legal guardian in the case.
Do I have to keep paying child support if the custodial
parent won't let me visit my child?
Yes. Child support and visitation are two separate issues.
If you stop paying support because you don't get to visit
your child, you will build up an arrearage. You will also be
in violation of a support order and could be prosecuted.
For help with your visitation right, contact a private attorney.
Who can get help from a CSEA?
If you get public assistance, you MUST work with your
CSEA to get any support due your child. Your CSEA
gives this help free.
Families who do not get public assistance can still get
help from a CSEA by applying for services. Some
CSEAs charge families who do not get public
assistance a $1 fee for this help.
Can my CSEA help me with visitation or other
problems?
Your CSEA can't get involved in matters of visitation
or custody. Your CSEA also can't collect divorce
property settlements, collect on medical bills, locate
missing children, act as your private attorney, or
represent you in any way outside its authority.
How can I be an effective partner with my CSEA?
Be prepared - Your CSEA worker needs your help
to get information for your case. For each parent of
a child, your CSEA worker will need to know:
*Name, address, date of birth, and Social Security number.
*Name and address of current or most recent employer.
*Any information on income, such as pay stubs or tax
returns.
*Any information on assets, such as bank accounts,
investments, or property holdings.
Your CSEA worker will need information to help
located a parent who is missing such as:
*The name and addresses of the parent's friends
and relatives.
*The names and addresses of any organizations to
which the parent belongs.
*Any other information that might help locate the
parent.
You CSEA worker will also need:
*Copies of your children's birth certificates.
*Copies of your divorce decree or separation agreement.
*Any court orders or administrative orders you may have.
Your worker might also need other information, depending
on the type of services you are asking for from your CSEA.
Be in touch - You are the best source of information on
your child support case. If you are the custodial parent,
you can give your worker valuable information about the
non-custodial parent. If you are the non-custodial parent,
let the CSEA worker know of changes in your situation that
may affect your ability to pay support. Staying in touch with
your CSEA helps you.
Be informed - Learn all you can about child support.
Know your right and responsibilities and exercise them.
You may want to contact an advocacy group for help.
Be patient - Due to the number of cases handled by
CSEAs, there may be a delay in collecting your support.
These delays are often caused by problems outside the
CSEA.