Enforcing Child Support

Responsibilities of the applicant

If you are receiving County services, keep your child support worker informed of name or address changes for yourself, your child or the other parent. If you find out the other parent has changed jobs, let your child support worker know. 

Inform us of any court action you are taking. The success in collecting support depends on you taking an active role in your case. Supply your child support worker with any information you think might be helpful. 

Responsibilities of the County

The County is responsible for the following: 

  • Collecting current and past due basic support amounts. 
  • Collecting current and past due medical support amounts or enforce medical language that requires one or both parents to provide insurance for the child. 
  • Collecting court-ordered uninsured medical expenses. 
  • Collecting fixed dollar amounts of court ordered childcare support. 
  • In some situations, collecting spousal maintenance amounts. 

When a non-custodial parent is not paying child support, the County may be able to use enforcement remedies to encourage the parent to pay their support. Each enforcement remedy has criteria that must be met before an action can be taken. Contact your assigned worker for possible enforcement actions on your case. 

Enforcement remedies

If you are not receiving court-ordered support, these are the ways the County can help enforce the order: 

  • Judgment entry 
  • Interest charging 
  • Civil contempt court action 
  • Criminal nonsupport court action 
  • Financial Institution Data Matching 
  • Denying a student grant 
  • Denying a passport 
  • Starting an interstate collection action 
  • Intercepting tax refunds and lottery winnings 
  • Reporting unpaid balances to credit bureaus 
  • Suspending driver’s, recreational, and occupational license 

For more information on enforcement remedies, go to the Minnesota Department of Human Services website or contact your assigned worker.

Custody and parenting time (visitation)

Child support, custody and parenting time (visitation) are separate legal issues. The County cannot provide you with advice or assistance regarding custody or parenting time. You may wish to consult a private attorney or other legal resources for these issues.