If you have a court order for child support, and apply for enforcement services, the child support agency will assign a child support worker for your case. The assigned worker will help in the collection of support and the enforcement of the court order. All efforts will be made to locate the parent and collect the court ordered support.
What is My Responsibility if I Apply for Services?
Keep your caseworker informed of name or address changes for yourself, your child, or the other parent. If you find out the other parent has changed jobs let your worker know. Inform us of any court action you are taking. The success in collecting support depends on you taking an active role in your case. Supply your worker with any information you think might be helpful.
The child support agency will:
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collect current and past due basic support, medical support and child care support
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enforce medical language that requires one or both parents to provide insurance for the child
- in some situations, will collect spousal maintenance amounts
Support payments must be sent to the State of MN Payment Center to be credited to the case. Most child support payments are collected through income withholding through a payor of funds. The payment center will send the payment to the custodial parent through direct deposit into a checking or savings account, or add the amount to a stored value card. You may be charged a 2% fee if money is collected. If you have an open child support case you must report any direct payments you get from the other parent to your worker.
If a non-custodial parent is paying child support the county will monitor the case for payments and compliance with the court order. Income withholding orders will be sent to employers or payors of funds. Cost-of–living-adjustments (COLA) will be implemented by the child support agency on Minnesota court orders when appropriate.
When a non-custodial parent is not paying child support, the county can use enforcement remedies to encourage the parent to pay their support. Each enforcement remedy has criteria that must be met before an action can be taken. Contact your assigned worker for possible enforcement actions on your case.
Enforcement remedies include:
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Income withholding
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Judgment entry
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Interest charging
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Financial Institution Data Matching
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Denying a student grant or passport
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Starting an interstate collection action
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Intercepting tax refunds and lottery winnings
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Reporting unpaid balances to credit bureaus
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Suspending driver’s, recreational, and occupational licenses
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Civil contempt court action
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Criminal nonsupport court action