Who can use the Child Support Enforcement Program? Where can I find the Program in my state? What does the Program do?
Answer
The Child Support Enforcement (CSE) Program is a federal/state/local partnership to establish and enforce child support orders. It is sometimes called the IV-D Program because it was established under Title IV-D of the Social Security Act in 1975.
Anyone who has custody of a child who needs child support from a nonresident parent can apply for CSE services. People who are on an assistance program - Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), foster care, or Medicaid - are referred to the CSE Program and get the services free.
People who do not receive federal/state assistance can apply for services. States can charge an application fee of up to $25 and they can charge for the cost of providing CSE services.
The Federal Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) provides services to the states. It runs the Federal Parent Locator Service (FPLS) through which states have access to information from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Social Security Administration, Department of Defense and the National Directory of New Hires and Federal Case Registry. It also forwards information about past-due child support to the IRS for tax offset and to the Department of State for passport denial.
The OCSE website - <a href="http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cse/" - has a lot of information about the CSE Program. There are handbooks, factsheets and a search tool in the Facts and Descriptions section, and there are postings of newsletters, reports and studies, statistical data and the links to the state websites.
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