CSEA Home Page
Contact
Services
Paternity
Support Establishment
Support Order Review
Support Enforcement
Interstate Cases
Tax Offset Program
Payment Information
Making a Payment
Receiving a Payment
Status of a Payment
FAQ's
Helpful Resources
Child Support Fact Sheets
Important Forms
Employer Resources |
|
|
Enforcement
Once a support order is established, there are several methods the Mahoning County Child Support Agency uses to enforce the order. The most common is by wage withholding, which is mandatory. This is implemented as soon as an employer is verified. Other sources of “income” that are attachable include but are not limited to:
- Personal earnings
- Worker’s Compensation payments
- Unemployment benefits
- Pensions
- Annuities
- Private or governmental retirement benefits
- Disability or sick pay
- Lottery prize awards
- Lump sum payments
- Assets in a financial institution
An obligor/payor who is self-employed, is required to send in the payment on their own. If they fail to do so, they may be held in contempt of court.
If an obligor/payor lives in another state and an employer is verified, a wage withholding order can be sent to the employer who is bound by law to follow the order. If we are unable to verify employment, the custodial parent can proceed with an action under UIFSA (Uniform Interstate Family Support Action) which will allow the other state agency to enforce the order.
To enforce payment on arrears, payors are submitted for federal and state offset. This allows their tax refund to be intercepted and applied to arrears balances.
Some other enforcement actions that can be initiated by the Child Support Agency are as follows:
Passport Denial
The obligor must be in arrears in excess of two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500.00) when submitted for the IRS Tax Offset. The U.S. State Department will deny a U.S. passport based on this criteria. At this time they are only required to refuse to issue a passport but in the future they will be able to take to revoke, restrict, or limit a passport previously issued to any person certified as owing a support arrearage based on the criteria for arrears.
FIDM (Financial Institution Data Match)
The CSEA may determine to pursue an Access Restriction and Withdrawal Directive on an obligors’ Financial Institution account. Mahoning County CSEA will pursue a FIDM as an Enforcement technique on a case where arrears still exist and the obligor is paying current child support, along with the 20% of the current child support toward arrears, if there are funds in a Financial Institution.
License Suspension
In accordance with the Ohio Revised Codes and PRWORA, it is a law that License Suspension may be used as an Enforcement Technique when an obligor is in Default. License Suspension allows counties to suspend an obligor’s Driver’s License, Professional License and/or Recreational License.
|