Enforcement
Overview
Once a support order is established, there are several methods the Allen County CSEA may use to enforce the order.
Each child support case is different and the remedies used to collect support can vary depending on the circumstances of the individual case.
It’s extremely important that you keep the CSEA apprised of your whereabouts, i.e., current employer and address.
License Suspension
A notice to suspend may be sent to every licensing board in Ohio that has the authority to issue or has issued the individual a license. The Board/Registrar will be prohibited from issuing or renewing any license to the individual and will not reinstate a suspended license until receipt of a notice from the Child Support Agency releasing the suspension.
The licenses subject to this regulation are:
- Driver’s license, including motorcycle operator’s license, commercial driver’s license, and temporary permit
- Professional license – a license that authorizes an individual to engage in an occupation or profession
- Recreational license issued by the Division of Wildlife
United States Passports will also be suspended or denied automatically if arrears exceed $2,500. The Agency must follow specific criteria to request the release of a passport once it has been denied.
If your license has been suspended as a result of failure to comply with a court order, you may contact our office at 419.224-7133 to make arrangements to pay your support and obtain reinstatement of your license. Once the child support office has released the suspension of your driver’s license, you will need to apply for reinstatement at one of the seven Ohio BMV branches that offer this service.
Reinstatement fees may be paid:
- Online at https://bmvonline.dps.ohio.gov/
- Via phone by calling 1-866-OPLATES
- In-person at one of these locations https://publicsafety.ohio.gov/local-office
All other reinstatement requirements such as court appearances, clearing suspensions in other states, community service, or filing of proof of insurance must also be completed before the BMV can restore full driving privileges. If all of these requirements have been met, the driver will be given notification online at the time the payment is made and will receive follow up in the mail.
Default
An Obligor is considered in Default when he/she is behind in payments totaling one month or more of his/her current support obligation. (See Terms and Definitions Information Sheet – Arrears)
When the Obligor owes in excess of one month’s obligation a Notice of Default and Potential Action will be automatically generated by SETS. The Default Notice will be sent to the Obligor warning him/her of possible enforcement remedies that CSEA may take to secure the past due support obligation. When a case goes into Default, this is the beginning of the Enforcement Process.
Possible enforcement remedies include, but are not limited to:
- SETS Automated Reporting to Credit Bureau Agencies
- Securing additional money to pay off arrears
- (CSEA may withhold a minimum of an additional 20% of the current support obligation)
- Driver’s/Professional License Suspension and Passport denial
- Tax Refund Intercept
- Motion For Contempt
- Financial Institution Data Match (FIDM)
Federal and State Tax Intercept
Federal and state laws allow Ohio to intercept state and federal tax refunds if the person receiving the refund is behind in court-ordered child support payments. The tax refund is forwarded to the obligee, which could be the state of Ohio if public assistance reimbursement is owed. Federal tax intercept payments are the only payment that will first be applied to an arrearage owed to the state of Ohio if public assistance reimbursement is owed. Please note that these intercepts are not automatically applied to administrative fees. Please see the form below to request the funds to be applied accordingly for possible closure once fees are paid in full.
Income Withholding
There are many different ways that the Child Support Enforcement Agency (CSEA) can issue a WWO. These include, but are not limited to:
*Please note: CSEA can legally withhold up to 65% of the Obligor’s disposable income; 55% if the Obligor has other children to support
- If the Obligor is employed, CSEA will issue the WWO directly to the employer. The employer will deduct the payments from the Obligor’s wages and send them directly to OCSPC (Ohio Child Support Payment Central) in Columbus.
- CSEA also has the ability to issue a WWO if the Obligor is receiving benefits from the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (OBWC), Ohio Bureau of Employment Services (OBES), and certain Social Security benefits.
- If the Obligor is self-employed, CSEA can have support payments deducted from a bank account (savings or checking).
- After payment is received, OCSPC can take up to two (2) business days to process it. After completion of processing, funds will either be direct deposited via EFT (electronic funds transfer) or via Ohio e-QuickPay MasterCard (debit card) to the Obligee.
- The employer is asked to send payments to OCSPC as often as the Obligor is paid, however, this is not required as long as the monthly obligation is met. For example, the obligor is ordered to pay $200 per month in support, including fees. The Obligor is paying $2,400 ($200 X 12 months) in support per year. The following formulas demonstrate the estimated amount withheld per check depending on the pay periods the employer uses.
Bi-weekly = 26 pay periods:
Yearly support ÷ 26 pay periods = Wage withheld per check
2400 ÷ 26 = $92.31 per paycheck
Twice per month = 24 pay periods:
Yearly support ÷24 pay periods = Wage withheld per check
2400 ÷ 24 = $100 per paycheck
Weekly = 52 pay periods:
Yearly support ÷ 52 pay periods = Wage withheld per check
2400 ÷ 52 = $46.16 per paycheck
- A WWO could take up to 4-6 weeks to be processed by an employer.
* An additional 2% fee will be added to the Obligor’s support obligation. The fee will be paid after the full monthly obligation is fulfilled. Some months these fees will not be paid, depending on the frequency of payments.
Job Readiness
If unemployed and unable to pay the full child support obligation, an obligor may enroll in the CSEA Job Readiness Program. Enrollment in the Job Readiness Program may be court-ordered or voluntary. For more information on the Job Readiness Program contact the CSEA. If there is non-compliance with the Job Readiness requirements, the case will be referred to the caseworker for further enforcement actions.
Seek Work
If you do not comply with the provisions of the Job Readiness Program you will be found ineligible and fail out. If this should occur, you must comply with seek work requirements per Court Order or your case may be referred to our Legal Department for contempt action.
Uniform Interstate Family Support Act
Some times, it is necessary to utilize the assistance of another State’s Child Support Agency to successfully establish, enforce and/or modify an existing child support order. This process is known as Interstate Action. If we are unable to verify employment, the custodial parent can request to proceed with an action under UIFSA (Uniform Interstate Family Support Act) which will allow the other state agency to enforce the order.
Medical Support Enforcement
National Medical Support Notice
Federal legislation requires the National Medical Support Notice (NMSN) to be used to notify an employer of an employee’s court-ordered responsibility to provide health insurance coverage for the children who are the subject of a child support order. Generally speaking, upon receipt of the notice, the employer is required to complete the form and provide the requested health insurance information regarding health insurance availability to the CSEA.
Employers are then required to enroll the child under the available plan and to withhold employee contributions necessary for coverage of the children.
In order to inform the employee about the NMSN activity, the CSEA will send A Notice of Medical Support Enforcement Activity directly to the employee. Once the employee receives the notice, they may make a written request for an administrative hearing to determine whether a Mistake of Fact was made in the NMSN.
During the Hearing, two issues would be addressed:
- Correctly identifying the party responsible for health insurance coverage.
- Correctly identifying the children covered under the health insurance order.
Reasonable Health Insurance Costs
Federal regulations identify “reasonable costs” for health insurance as the costs of any plan “available through an employer.” In addition, Ohio regulations require an employer to ensure that the amount of child support and the amount of the health insurance premium do not surpass the limits established under the Consumer Credit Protection Act. This limit can equal as much as 65% of net disposable earnings.