I Can Help You Collect Your Child Support
As the Attorney General of Texas, I have the opportunity to meet families from all over the state. Last month, I met with a mother of three who turned to my office for help in collecting child support from her children‚s father.
The mother shared with me the anxiety she felt prior to contacting the local field office and the relief after knowing her problems were heard. It gives me great pride that we are helping this mother and her children.
I want to make sure all parents know the Office of the Attorney General can help them obtain financial and medical support for their children. Texas law requires that noncustodial parents contribute to their children‚s financial and medical well-being according to the parents‚ means.
The Child Support Division provides the following services as appropriate to the circumstances: 1. locating absent parents; 2.establishing paternity; 3. establishing, enforcing, and modifying child and medical support orders; and 4. collecting and distributing child support payments.
To help parents collect child support, my office accepts applications from mothers, fathers and other individuals who request our services. Applications can be obtained by visiting Child Support Interactive on the main Attorney General website at www.oag.state.tx.us, or by calling our 24-hour voice response system at (800) 252-8014. Applications can also be completed online using Child Support Interactive. Parents who receive financial assistance through the Texas Health and Human Services Commission automatically receive child support services.
I encourage those who apply for child support services to supply as much information as possible to speed up the process of establishing or enforcing their child support order. The most important information an applicant can provide, aside from the other parent‚s current address, is the name and address of the other parent‚s current employer.
If the current employer is not known, the name and address of the last known employer should be provided. Additionally, letting us know the following information about the other parent will expedite the processing of your case:
1.Social
Security number and date of birth;
2. names and addresses of relatives and friends;
3.names of banks or creditors, such as utility companies;
4. names of organizations, unions or clubs to which the other parent belongs;
and
5. places where the other parent spends free time.
If possible, submit copies of official documents like your divorce decree, the children‚s birth certificates, or a signed acknowledgment of paternity. For the state fiscal year that ended Aug. 31, 2005, the Attorney General‚s Child Support Division collected more than $1.86 billion in child support, helped more than 100,000 couples voluntarily acknowledge paternity at the hospital when their children were born, and obtained 56,000 court orders requiring noncustodial parents to pay child support.
We are poised to do even better in 2006. Thanks to the efforts of a dedicated child support team, the Attorney General‚s Child Support Division has made a difference in the lives of thousands of Texas children. However, there is more work to be done. As your Attorney General, I will not be satisfied until all our children receive the support that is due them.
To find out more about services offered by the Attorney General's Child Support Division, visit the agency website at http://www.oag.state.tx.us
