Child Support Fact Sheet

click here for a PDF version of this page   Common Child Support Terms  absent parent                            parent who does not live with or have custody of the child/children,                                                    but who does have responsibility for financial support; non-custodial parent administrative fee                    fee that Child Support Services is permitted by law to add on to and collect from a child support receiver’s child support payments.   alleged father                          the man the custodial parent is naming as the father   Acknowledgment of                 legal document a man can sign to acknowledge child's paternity Paternity Affidavit   arrearage                                the unpaid child support owed by a parent ordered to pay child support   bench warrant                         warrant for arrest issued by the Court of Domestic Relations for failure to appear   buccal swab test                      a recognized form of genetic testing used to establish paternity   capias                                      warrant for arrest issued by Juvenile Court or Court of Domestic Relations for failure to appear   Central Paternity Registry        data registry located in Columbus for children born out of wedlock   Child Support                          Ohio’s centralized system, located in Columbus, for collecting and disbursing child Payment Center (CSPC)           support payments   criminal nonsupport                absent parents who willfully fail to pay court-ordered child support can be charged with a felony and prosecuted   custody                                    legal determination by a court that establishes with whom the child shall live                                                 (allocation of parental rights and responsibilities)   default                                     condition of a child support account where the absent parent is failing to make full monthly payments on time   default judgment                     judgment rendered when an absent parent, after proper notification, fails to appear in court   delinquent support                  see “arrearage”   electronic funds transfer          process that allows funds to be directly deposited into a bank account (EFT)                                          emancipation                          removing a child from a support order because he/she is no longer a minor, is married, or has achieved some other legally recognized independent status   enforcement                            efforts taken to see that child support is paid as ordered   financial institution                  procedure a child support receiver establishes to have child support payments withholding                             deducted directly from his/her bank account. Often used in cases where the payer is self-employed   FIDM (Financial Institution       a data matching process that helps states identify financial accounts belonging to Data Match)                             parents who owe delinquent child support   genetic testing                         analysis of tissue or DNA of the mother, child and alleged father to help prove or disprove that a particular man fathered a particular child   jurisdiction                               legal authority a court has over particular persons or certain types of cases in a defined geographical area   legal father                              man recognized by law as a child’s male parent   lien                                          legal claim upon property to prevent sale or transfer until a debt is satisfied   medical support                       legal order to provide medical insurance for a child   modification hearing               hearing conducted at Child Support Services to determine if an error was made in calculating support during a modification review   obligee                                    the parent receiving support payments   obligor                                     the parent obligated to pay child support   Ohio Works First (OWF)           public assistance; monthly cash payments for families with children   Ohio Putative Father               a registry service to protect father’ rights to be notified if a child is being placed Registry (OPFR)                       for adoption   order number                          identification number contained on the original court order establishing child support   paternity establishment           the legal process to determine a child’s biological father   SETS case number                  ten-digit child support identification number. All Ohio SETS case numbers begin with “7.”   support order                           court mandate for a parent to pay a specific amount of money on a specific schedule to Ohio’s Child Support Payment Central (CSPC) to support his/her minor children.   Support Enforcement              statewide computer network that manages all child support cases in Ohio Tracking System (SETS)            URESA                                     Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of Support Act, a federal law that provides a mechanism for establishing and enforcing child support orders and paternity when parents live in different states or countries