Every child needs financial and emotional support and every child has the right to this support from both parents.

Without the involvement of both parents, too many children do not get the chance they need and deserve to reach their full potential. The Child Support program is a joint federal, state, and county partnership. We work with both parents to establish and enforce child support orders. In Olmsted County, we partner with our County Attorney’s office and District Court for our legal actions. Together, we help families become and remain self–sufficient through child support collections. The child support program helps children receive the financial, medical and child care support they deserve.
 
Child support services include locating absent parents; establishing parentage; establishing and enforcing court orders (which include basic child support, medical support and child care support); reviewing, modifying and adjusting support orders; working with other states to enforce child support when a parent lives outside of Minnesota and collecting and processing payments for support. Child support offices do not provide divorces, visitation and custody, spousal maintenance establishment, legal advice or counsel.

Parents who receive public assistance are required to participate in the child support program and are not charged a fee. Parents who do not receive public assistance can apply for child support services and are charged a one-time $25.00 application fee in addition to a 2% cost recovery fee for child support collected.

In SFY 2011, Olmsted County Child Support collected $4.88 for every dollar we spent in our efforts to enforce orders for child support.