Child Support Division

Enrolling for Services

If you would like to apply for child support services, please complete the enrollment form and bring it to our office, along with a copy of your driver's license, your child/children's birth certificates, their social security cards, and copies of your divorce decree or child support orders, if you have them. There is no fee to enroll in the program.

Child Support Services

Establish Paternity and Child Support Orders

The IVD office can help you establish paternity on a child by doing genetic testing. If the parents were not married when the child was born, but the father signed a paternity affidavit, paternity has already been established. Once paternity is established, the court will order the non-custodial parent to pay child support. Please read the paternity establishment brochure for more information.

Enforce Support Orders

If a non-custodial parent is not paying his or her support, the IVD office can help the custodial parent enforce their support order and collect payment. Our office has a number of different ways we can enforce a support order:

• Income Withholding Orders: If the non-custodial parent is working and is at least four weeks behind in support payments, we will send an order to the employer requiring them to take money directly out of the person's paycheck and send it to the State. Non-custodial parents can also request an income withholding order even if they are current if that is a more convenient way for them to pay support.
• Contempt: If a non-custodial parent falls at least six weeks behind in support payments, the IVD office can file a petition alleging that the parent is in contempt of court for failing to pay support. A parent found in contempt can be incarcerated for up to 180 days or until he or she is purged of contempt, which usually requires paying a lump sum towards the arrearage.
• License/Passport Suspension: The IVD Office can request that the federal government suspend a person's passport so they cannot leave the country until they pay their child support. If the non-custodial parent lives in Indiana and has a driver's license, the IVD Office can request that the Bureau of Motor Vehicles suspend their license until they pay their child support.
• Liens: If a non-custodial parent owns property, such as a house or a car, the IVD Office can take a lien out on that property so they cannot sell it without some or all of the money going towards back support. The IVD Office can also put liens on lottery winnings, bank accounts, and inheritances.
• Tax Intercepts: If the non-custodial parent is more than $500 behind in child support on a non-TANF case or $150 on a TANF case, the State will intercept that person's federal tax refund and apply it to the back support. This also applies to any stimulus payments the federal government may give out. State tax checks will be intercepted if the non-custodial parent is more than $150 in arrears. For more information on intercepting tax checks, please go to www.in.gov/dcs/2478.htm.
• Felony: If the IVD office has tried all of the above, and the non-custodial parent still is not complying with the support order, the prosecutor may decide to file felony charges. Non-Support of a Dependent Child is a Level 6 Felony and is punishable by up to two and one-half years in jail and a fine not to exceed $10,000.

Programs for Non-Custodial Parents

• Early Outreach: Believe it or not, we really want to help non-custodial parents pay their support. We don't like filing contempt petitions against parents, so we have created this program to try to keep your case out of the courtroom. If you are unemployed, we will help you try to find a job. Program participants will periodically meet with a caseworker for assistance on filling out job applications, creating a resume, improving interviewing skills, locating companies that are currently hiring, and for assistance in overcoming any out barriers you may have to finding a job. If you are interested in this program, please contact our office for more information.
• Prison Outreach: If you are incarcerated, you may be entitled to a modification of your support order due to your inability to work while you are in prison. If we learn of your incarceration, a caseworker may send you a letter and a packet to help you with requesting a modification. Please fill out the application, and any other paperwork sent to you, and mail it back to our office immediately. We also send a caseworker to the Huntington County Jail about once a month to meet with incarcerated parents to advise them of their rights and assist them with applying for a modification.

Modify Support Orders

Either party can request that the Court modify the support order once a year if there is at least a 20% change in either direction, or if there is a substantial change in circumstances. If you would like to have your caseworker review your order for modification, please read through the information sheet and complete the modification packet.

Emancipation/Termination

Under Indiana law, children are emancipated at the age of 19, unless there is a disability or some other reason that keeps them from supporting themselves. If the child is younger than 19, a parent can file to terminate a support order if the child has not been in school for at least four months and is capable of supporting him/herself. Only a judge can determine if a support order should be terminated and it is done on a case-by-case basis. If you believe that your child is self-supporting, please contact your caseworker to discuss your options and review this information on emancipations.

Medical/Insurance Orders

In Indiana, most child support orders contain a provision on which parent is to pay the medical bills. If you have a judgment against the other parent for medical expenses, the IVD office may be able to help you collect on the judgment. We cannot get a judgment for you.

Also, the IVD office can obtain an order for either one or both parents to carry health insurance for the child.

What We Do Not Do

• Establishment of orders for college or educational expenses
• Obtain judgments on medical bills
• Custody changes
• Visitation

Indiana Parenting Time Helpline is a free service that is open to everyone. Staffed by licensed attorneys who can provide education about parenting time guidelines, information on visitation questions and relevant referrals for assistance. You may call (844) 836-0003, Monday to Friday, noon to 5 p.m. Eastern Time or email PTHelpline@dcs.IN.gov. *The helpline attorneys cannot give legal advice about specific situations or cases, and the use of the helpline does not create an attorney-client relationship.

The IVD Office does not represent either parent; it only represents the State of Indiana. Either parent can hire their own attorney at any time to represent them in these proceedings.

How to make a payment

• You can make cash payments in the Huntington County Clerk's Office on the second floor of the court house.
• Credit card payments can be made at www.childsupportbillpay.com/indiana/ or by calling (855) 972-9427. You will be charged a small convenience fee to make a credit card payment.
• You can have the payments garnished from your wages. Please contact your case worker to have an income withholding order sent to your employer.
• You can pay cash at select retail locations listed at childsupport.in.gov/pay. Huntington County locations include Walmart, CVS and Advance America.
• You can mail a personal check, money order, cashier's check or certified check to the Indiana State Central Collection Unit. Please remember to use one of these remittance forms. You can mail money orders to:

INSCCU
PO Box 7130
Indianapolis, IN 46207-7130

• Additional information on how to make payments can be found at www.in.gov/dcs/3504.htm.

Forms

• Enrollment Form for Services
• Modification Request Packet
• Emancipation Request Form
• Direct Deposit Form
• Child Support Remittance Form
• Job Search Form

Information Packets

• Information for Non-Custodial Parents
• Information for Custodial Parents
• Emancipation – Termination of Support
• Resources for Parents in Huntington County
• Establishing Paternity

Links

• Child Support Payment Portal
• Child Support Guidelines
• Parenting Time Guidelines
• Indiana Child Support Bureau
• TANF Assistance
• Medicaid
• Workforce Development
• Food Stamps
• Disability Services
• Self-Service Legal Center

Contact Information

Fax: (260) 358-2671
Phone: (260) 358-4884, option 2

Caseworker Extensions and Emails

• Ext. 1: Enrollment, general questions, updating information
• Kelsy Roberts, ext. 2 (Last names A–Do)
• Kayla Patrick, ext. 4 (Last names Dra–K)
• Tami Michael, ext. 5 (Last names L–R)
• Sarah Kemp, ext. 6 (Last names S–Z)

Kids Hotline

Please call (800) 840-8757