DES Can Help You Navigate Child Support Legal System

Separating from the parent of your child or children isn’t a smooth or emotionless process. After a long day at work and fulfilling family obligations, spending an hour or two learning about legal processes and finances may be the last thing you want to do.

Help is available through the DES Division of Child Support Services (DCSS). DCSS case workers are there to be a neutral source of guidance with the best interest of the child in mind.

While going through the court process on your own is possible, DCSS caseworkers can help you throughout the life of your child support case, from establishing an order at the very beginning to the closure of the case.

“Family separations are very difficult, divorce is very difficult. This allows us to help them with the lift,” says Efrain Rodriguez, Establishment Program Manager for DCSS.

In the beginning, establishing an order will require downloading and preparing documents and legally serving the other party. In order to do this, you must know where the other individual is, which isn’t always easy to determine, and the process of serving the other party can be costly. A child support order cannot be established without serving the other party with an order to appear in court to participate in the child support proceedings. DCSS has locating tools that can help with this.

DCSS can also assist with setting up genetic testing to establish paternity, and modifying an order to reflect new circumstances, such as a change or loss of a job. Uploading documents can even be done after business hours through online child support services.

“Ultimately, our goal is to serve the family,” says Efrain. “If we can give them a little more breathing room, that’s where my focus is.”

Learn more about how the Division of Child Support Services can help support you.