Monterey County Department of Child Support Services |
Our Mission is to help families become self-sufficient by Establishing paternity, Enforcing child support and medical support orders. The Child Support Process |       
Any parent or legal guardian of a minor child in need of child support may open a case with our office. If you have recently obtained a child support order, we encourage you to contact our office to proceed with enforcement of your order. Once your completed application is signed and received by our office, the process begins. Child Support Services will take the following steps to collect support from a non-custodial parent. |
Open a child support case | We will contact you to conduct an interview. The more information the custodial party gives about the case, the better service DCSS can provide.
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Locate the parent | To get an order for support, establish paternity or enforce a child support order, DCSS must know where the non-custodial parent lives or works. DCSS will make every effort to locate the non-custodial parent.
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| Establish paternity | If paternity (fatherhood) has not been established, DCSS will take the necessary steps to establish paternity. Paternity must be established before child and medical support can be ordered by the court.
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| Establish a support order | If a court order for child support does not already exist, and the non-custodial parent is located, one will be sought by DCSS and established by the court based on both parents ability to pay support, the amount of time the child spends with each parent, and the financial needs of the child. DCSS will also request that the court require the non-custodial parent to provide health insurance for the child. The court will order the non-custodial parent to provide health insurance if it is available at a reasonable cost.
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| Enforcement of support orders | DCSS will take the following steps to enforce court orders: Wage Assignments Writs of Attachment Levies on Bank Accounts Garnishments against Personal Property Liens Recorded against Real Property Income Tax Refunds Intercepted Unemployment and State Disability Intercept Revocation of professional licenses Revocation of California Driver’s License Passports will not be issued Contempt of Court Criminal complaint for Failure to Provide (includes a possible jail sentence) Coordination with other States
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| Case Closure | Under State law there are specific rules about how a child support case can be closed, and by whom. In most cases, Child Support Services will send out written notification at least 60 days before closing a child support case.
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