There are several agencies in Connecticut that can assist you in obtaining CT child support services.
CT Child Support
The Bureau of Child Support is a division of Connecticut’s Department of Social Services. This office is responsible for coordinating the state’s child support services, processing applications for child support, locating absent parents, establishing paternity, obtaining medical support, establishing and enforcing child support orders, and collecting and distributing child support payments. The Support Enforcement Division of the Judicial Branch works to enforce and modify child support orders and review accounts. Finally, Connecticut’s Attorney General’s Office is responsible for providing legal assistance to the state in child support cases that go to court.
Fees For CT Child Support Services
If you receive financial assistance from the state, Medicaid, or foster care assistance, you will automatically be referred to the Bureau of Child Support for CT child support services and there will be no charge for their services. The State of Connecticut does charge a few fees for child support services for those who are not currently receiving federal or state public assistance. The Bureau of Child Support charges a sliding scale fee of about $25 to apply for child support services. If you only want assistance in locating your child’s non-custodial parent, the fee is $10.
There is an additional $4 fee if you do not provide the non-custodial parent’s social security number. Other fees include a federal income tax refund offset fee of $15 if it is necessary to intercept the non-custodial parent’s income tax refund and an IRS full collection fee of $122.50 if you apply to the apply to the Internal Revenue Service to collect back support payments.
CT Child Support Services
Locating An Absent Non-Custodial Parent
You will need to know the whereabouts of your child’s other parent before you can collect child support payments. If you are unsure where your child’s non-custodial parent is, the state may be able to assist you in locating this person. CT child support staff can utilize state and federal databases to assist with this search. They can look at records from such agencies as the Internal Revenue Service, Social Security Administration, Department of Defense, Department of Motor Vehicles, and the Department of Labor as well as law enforcement agencies from around the nation.
The Federal Parent Locator Service, based in Washington DC, can be used to find a non-custodial parent anywhere in the U.S., its territories and armed services, and even in some other countries. The key to finding a non-custodial parent is to give the child support staff as much information as possible about your child’s other parent. The best information you can give us is the non-custodial parent's social security number. This number may be located on bank, insurance or credit card records, income tax returns or other papers. Other information that may be useful includes the name of a former employer; the non-custodial parent's date and place of birth; or the names and addresses of the non-custodial parent's own parents or family members.
Enforcing CT Child Support Order
If the situation arises where the non-custodial parent does not follow the court order, Connecticut’s child support enforcement staff may utilize a number of methods to collect child support payments. These include income withholding, contempt citation, credit bureau reporting, income tax refund interception, liens on real property, lottery offsets, and judicial action.
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Establishing Paternity for CT Child Support
When a child is born to unmarried parents, there may be a question about his or her legal paternity. The legal relationship between the father and child must be established before a court order for child support can be obtained. Establishing paternity will make the child eligible to receive medical support through his or her father's insurance, Social Security benefits, inheritance rights and other forms of parental support. A father can voluntarily acknowledge paternity by signing an affirmation of paternity at the hospital. If the father does not wish to voluntarily admit paternity, the state must begin a court action. Connecticut’s Attorney General office will represent the state in matters that are brought before the court.
The custodial parent can also hire a private attorney to represent him or her. If necessary, the mother, the child and the alleged father may need to undergo genetic tests in order to determine the child’s paternity. Once paternity is established, back child support can be ordered for up to three years before the court action was initiated.
