Child Support
Michelle Kurth, Administrator

Wisconsin Law mandates that each county implement a child support and paternity establishment program. The State has a contract with each County Board to include the following:

• Paternity Establishment
• Investigation
• Establishment of Child and Medical Support Obligations
• Location of Absent Parents
• Financial Assessment of the Absent Parent’s Ability to Provide Support
• Monitoring Payment Activities
• Processing Case Flow and Enforcing Support Obligations, Including Maintenance
  • provided a court of competent jurisdiction has entered such an order and minor children are involved

The county agency also has certain administrative responsibilities. Full knowledge and understanding of Wisconsin’s Statutes and federal regulations affecting child support are essential.

AVAILABLE SERVICES

If you are single, divorced or separated, your local county child support agency can help:

1. get a paternity judgment, if necessary (see below)
2. get a child support court order including medical insurance, if available (see below)
3. enforce your existing child support court order (see below)

Paternity Establishment

If the parents are not married, paternity (legal fatherhood) must be decided. This needs to be done before a court can order child support. Paternity can be established by the parents filling a Statement of Paternity form with the state. The form can be obtained from the Taylor County Child Support Agency. Also, the parents can make a legal agreement (stipulation) signed by a court, or a court can order genetics testing and issue a legal decision on paternity called a paternity judgment.

The Court Order

Child Support is ordered by a court. The court will set the amount due. Courts generally require non-custodial parents to pay a certain percentage of their income. The court may also order one of the parents to carry medical insurance or pay medical bills.

Enforcing Child Support Court Orders

After the court orders child support, the county child support agency’s next step is to collect support payments. In Wisconsin, most support orders include income withholding. A letter is sent to the non-custodial parent’s employer telling them to take out a certain amount for child support. The employer then sends the withheld money to the Wisconsin Support Collections Trust Fund located in Milwaukee.

If a non-custodial parent gets behind in paying support, other actions may be taken. The child support owed may be taken from tax refunds and lottery winnings. If parents refuse to pay child support, the court may charge them with contempt of court or with felony non-support, or may suspend their driver’s license.

The child support agency can help you get a child support order by:

• determining who the father is; and/or
• determining how much child support should be paid; and/or
• finding a missing (“non-custodial”) parent

When the court orders child support, the child support agency can help you by:

• enforcing child support orders, including current and past-due child support owed
• contacting the non-custodial parent’s employer and setting up immediate income withholding so the child support is paid regularly
• intercepting income tax refunds and lottery winnings to pay past-due child support
• collecting current and past-due child support from a parent living in another state * getting liens against property

Eligibility for Services

Families who participate in Wisconsin Works (W-2) or Medicaid (MA) are automatically eligible to receive child support services. Other families may apply to their county child support agencies for services. They may be charged a small fee for these services.

Custody & Placement Issues

Please keep in mind that matters of legal custody and physical placement are separate from the financial support of children. Wisconsin’s child support program has no authority to create or enforce custody or placement orders, and child support agencies do not address these matters. Contact your local Family Court Commissioner or seek private counsel for help in settling custody and placement disputes.

Download an Application for Child Support Services. Complete this application and return it to the Taylor County Child Support Agency.