Child Support Orders and Enforcement

A child support order is a legally binding document issued by a court or agency that requires one parent to make regular payments to the other for the support of their child.

You must file a petition in Family Court.  The Office of Child Support Services can help you with that process.

The court uses state legal guidelines to determine what a support-paying parent must pay, based on the parents' income and on the number of children involved.

If a parent or child's life changes significantly, the OCSS can help them ask the court to change their child support order.

You can ask for a change if:

• The parent who pays starts making more money.
• The parent who cares for the child starts making less money.
• The child has new needs, like costs for school or health.
• It costs more money to raise the child than it did before.
• The child’s way of life has changed.
• The parent who pays can now get health insurance for the child.

If you want to ask the court for a change in a child support order, you must show proof documenting why you need the change. A court hearing will be held. Then, the court will decide if the amount you pay or get should be changed.

We can help parents prepare the documents they need to request a change in a child support order.