Customer Service

Customer Service provides helpful, friendly service to custodial parents, absent parents, employers and various organizations in the community.

Paternity Services

The agency administratively establishes the paternity of children through a genetic testing process. This service is available to both mothers and putative fathers alike. Local, state and federal location techniques are utilized to locate putative absent parents when necessary. Following paternity establishment, upon request, the case may be forwarded to an administrative hearing officer to establish a child support order.

How can I apply for Paternity and Child Support Order Establishment?

Download and complete document JFS 7076

 JFS 7076

Support Order Establishment Services

The agency provides child support order establishment services, both through local court proceedings, and via administrative process. The agency has three staff attorneys who pursue orders through the court system. In administrative actions, administrative hearing officers conduct hearings to establish child support orders incident to paternity establishments. Parties have the right to appeal decisions in the Muskingum County Common Pleas Court, Domestic Relations Division, if they disagree with the administrative findings.

How can I apply for Paternity and Child Support Order Establishment?

Download and complete document JFS 7076

 JFS 7076

Enforcement Services

The agency provides enforcement services to ensure the payment of child support, cash medical support and alimony orders. These orders are enforced through the local court system. Staff attorneys initiate and pursue these actions on behalf of the State of Ohio and do not represent either the payor or payee. In addition, orders are enforced via administrative remedies, including, but not limited to, income and bank account withholdings, state and federal tax refund intercepts, unclaimed funds intercepts, casino & racino intercepts, liens, and probate and personal injury proceeds. The agency utilizes local, state and federal location tools to locate absent parents in pursuit of its goals.

Modifications

Modifications, or Review and Adjustments as they are formally called, are administrative actions wherein a child support order may be increased or decreased upon the findings of a modification case manager. There is no formal hearing in this process. Instead, payors and payees are asked to provide documentation regarding their current income and other matters pertaining to a child support order. If it has been less than three years since the last support order, a party must have an administratively defined reason to request a review, such as an increase or decrease in income for a specified period of time. Every three years, an order may be reviewed without an administratively defined reason. If a case is a public assistance related case, it will be reviewed automatically every three years. Modification decisions may be reviewed via additional administrative action and by local court action.

How can I apply for a Review and Adjustment of a Child Support Order?

Download and complete document JFS 01849

 JFS 01849