What YOU should know about
Minnesota Child Support

Child Support wants to raise the standard of living for children by enforcing their right to receive financial support from both of their parents. The child support program assists families with collecting much needed child support from parents who are not in the home.

Other programs are establishing paternity, locating parents, enforcing court orders for support and much more. The term child Support means: A financial support paid by a parent to help support a child or children of whom they do not have custody. Child support can be entered into voluntarily or ordered by a court or a properly empowered administrative agency, depending on the State’s laws.

Applying for Minnesota Child Support

Minnesota Child Support has two options for applying for services. You can either apply for Full Child Support Services or Income Withholding-Only Services. Full child support services you must be the Custodial parent or alleged father of a minor child and the child must live in your household. The non- custodial parent of the child must live away from the home. Most people who apply for full child support enforcement services must pay a $25 nonrefundable application fee. However, you do not have to pay the application fee if:

• You received public assistance and you are requesting continued services
• You are a minor caretaker
• You are enrolled in a public secondary school, area learning center, or approved alternative learning center
• You had a support case in Minnesota that was closed fewer than three months ago
• You currently have an open child support case in which you are the applicant to apply for services

You must complete the Full Minnesota Child Support Services Application and return it to your county child support agency. Include the $25 application fee made payable to: Minnesota Child Support Payment Center. If you already have a court order, the order must include child support or paternity issues to qualify for full child support services.

Income withholding-only services:

Income withholding-only services are limited to processing payments received by the Child Support Payment Center for child support. Department of Human Resources charges the obligor a $15 per month fee for this service. Income withholding-only services will not include serving a notice of income withholding on the obligor’s employer. If you already have a court order, you can apply for income withholding-only services by completing the Income Withholding-Only Services Application and return it to your county child support agency. The following below are a few rules that you must follow to take part in the Income withholding-only services program.

• At least one parent of the child must live away from home
• You must have a child support court order
• The court ordered child support must be served by the applicant or a representative of the applicant must serve the Order/Notice of Income Withholding for Child Support on the employer.

* Child Support Agencies DO NOT help with: *

• Divorces
• Parenting Time and Custody
• Spousal maintenance (alimony) establishment
• Legal advice or counsel

Minnesota Child support agencies and county attorneys do not represent either parent in child support court actions. Rather, they represent the best interests of the child according to the requirements of Minnesota Child Support statutes and guidelines. In Minnesota, parents can also use an expedited process to resolve child support matters where they can represent themselves.

Establishing Paternity

Establishing Paternity must be done before a order for child support can be established. You can legally establish paternity for your child by signing a Recognition of Parentage form and filing it with the Office of the State Registrar or by going through a legal action in court. When a child is born to an unmarried mother, you can establish Paternity if both parents agree that the man is the biological father and want him to be the legal father of the child, they both must sign the Recognition of Parentage form or both parents ask the court to enter an order finding that the man is the legal father of the child.

Lastly, If the parents marry after the child is born and both parents sign an affidavit and file it with the Office of the State Registrar that is another way Minnesota Child Support lets Paternity become established. Paternity must be established before a father’s name can be placed on a child’s birth record. Establishing parentage gives a child born outside of marriage a legal father and the same legal rights as a child born to married parents.

These legal benefits are:

• Social Security Benefits
• Veteran’s Benefits
• Tribal Registration Benefits
• Health Care Coverage
• Worker’s Compensation Benefits
• Inheritance Rights

Children also gain by knowing both parents’ biological, cultural, and medical histories.

Genetic Testing

Sometimes parents want proof that the man is the biological father of the child before he is named the legal father. If either parent is unsure about who is the biological father of the child, you can request genetic testing. Genetic testing includes either blood or swab collections from the mother, father, and child. Blood is drawn from the arm of each person or cotton swabs are rubbed firmly against the inside of each person’s cheek for cell collection. Most samples can be taken anytime after the child’s birth. Test results usually take a few weeks.

Genetic testing can show that a man is not the biological father of the child or it can show a greater than 99 percent probability that the man is the biological father. To get tested, parents can talk to hospital staff about genetic testing before or at the time of the child’s birth, contact their county child support office, or contact a lab directly. If a county child support office sets up genetic testing and the testing is done at a designated laboratory, the county child support office initially pays the cost.

Terms that can help:

Alleged Father

An alleged father is a man who claims or is claimed by another person to be the father of a child, but who has not been legally determined to be the father of that child.

Custodial parent

The parent with physical custody of a minor child.

Income Withholding

Income withholding is the deduction of the current basic support, child care support, medical support, or spousal support obligation and arrears from an obligor's wages or other sources of income.

Modification

A modification is a court-approved change in terms of an order for maintenance or support because of one of the following conditions:

• Substantially increased or decreased earnings of a party
• Substantially increased or decreased need of a party or the child
• Receipt of public assistance
• A change in the cost of living for either party
• Extraordinary medical expenses of the child
• Substantial increase or decrease in work-related or education-related child care expenses
• Emancipation of the child

Contempt Proceedings for Non-Payment of Support

A person may be found in contempt of court if the person fails to do something that the court ordered that person to do or if that person does something that the court orders the person not to do. The Minnesota Child Support Agency may ask the court to find a noncustodial parent in contempt of court for not making support payments. If the court finds the noncustodial parent in contempt, it may order the non-custodial parent to serve a jail sentence unless the non-custodial parent begins to meet certain conditions such as making regular support payments.

Federal Criminal Prosecution

It is a federal crime to intentionally not pay a past due Minnesota Child Support obligation for a child living in another state. The child support agency may refer a case for Federal Criminal Prosecution against a noncustodial parent who is intentionally not paying support for a child in another state. The past due support obligation must be either greater than $5000 or must have remained unpaid for more than one year. In order to establish intent, the U.S. Attorney's office must prove that the noncustodial parent knew about the obligation, was financially able to meet it at the time it was due, and intentionally did not pay it.

Priority is given to cases where:

• There is a pattern of moving from state to state to avoid payment.
• There is a pattern of deception.
• There is a failure to make support payments after being held in contempt of court.
• Failure to make support payments is connected to some other federal offense.

Student Grant Hold

An enforcement procedure where the child support agency directs the Minnesota Higher Education Servicing Office to deny student grant funds to the noncustodial parent because the noncustodial parent owes past due support.

Credit Bureau Reporting

The Minnesota Child Support agency reports overdue child support to credit bureaus monthly. Once the past due support has been reported to the credit bureaus, then banks or other creditors that review the noncustodial parent’s credit report may limit or deny credit until the noncustodial parent clears up the credit report by making a partial or full payment.

Customer Service

Customer service representatives are available 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. For general information 24 hours a day, seven days a week about child support programs call:

Minnesota Child Support Services
(651) 431-4199 Twin Cities metro area
(800) 657-3954 Outside the metro area

TTY users call:

(651) 431-4346 Twin Cities metro area
(888) 234-1208 Outside the metro area
Or use the Minnesota Relay at 711

Payments

You can get up-to-the minute information about payments or your case on their secure Web site Minnesota Child Support On line or by telephone using their interactive voice response system. Both systems are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Getting information about your case is easy. Simply enter your child support participant number and your personal identification number (PIN). If you don’t have a PIN, call your county worker and ask for one. Your worker will mail it to you at the address in the case.

Both systems provide information about the child support program specifically for participants on child support cases. In addition, participants can report a problem with their case or speak to a customer service representative if they have questions about setting up or changing their direct deposit and automatic recurring withdrawal account using the IVR.

For payment information call:

(651) 431-4340 Twin Cities metro area
(800) 657-3512 Outside the metro area

Child Support and Community Partners

The Child Support Partners line is an automated phone system specifically for employers, payors of funds, community partners, and child support agencies outside Minnesota:

(651) 431-4344 Twin Cities Metro area
(800) 657-3890 Outside the metro area

Child Support Enforcement Division
The State Child Support Enforcement Division
(651) 431-4400.

Or you can write and send payment to:

Minnesota Department of Human Services
Child Support Enforcement Division
PO Box 64946
St. Paul, MN 55164-0946

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