To apply for child support enforcement services, you must complete an Application for Services and return it to our office. Applications can be requested by mail, telephone, or in person at our office. A IV-D application will be provided on the same day if requested in person, or within five working days if requested by phone or mail.

All applications are logged into the child support office upon receipt and subsequently stamped with the date on which they were submitted. At this time, a case record is established. Within twenty days of receiving an Application for Services, one of our case specialists will contact you to both verify specific information as well as solicit anything further that might assist in location efforts.

If you are not receiving public assistance, you will be required to pay a $20 application fee at the time you submit the Application for Services. If you already have a child support order through a divorce agreement or from another state, we must have a copy of this order to enforce it.

The location of a non-custodial parent must be known to establish paternity or enforce a support order. We employ a number of approaches to locate a non-custodial parent, using mainly his/her social security number and date of birth. If necessary, we may utilize credit bureaus and the Internet to aid in our search. Once located, we will attempt to identify his/her employer(s) as well as other sources of income and assets. The amount of time it takes to locate an individual varies depending on the circumstances of a case. The more information that can be provided about the absent parent and his or her whereabouts, the more quickly we can attempt to establish a child support order. Your co-operation is essential.

We will need the following information from the custodial parent in order to proceed with our location attempts:

• Legal name (Required)
• Residential address
• Social Security number
• Home and/or work phone number
• Place of employment
• Physical description
• Information about any military service
• Any other identifying information that might be useful

Establishing Paternity is the process for determining a child�s legal father. If parents are not married to each other when their child is born (and there has been no legal recognition of paternity), the child does not have a legal father. Paternity can be established either through voluntary acknowledgment or through a legal action, but fatherhood must be legally recognized in order to obtain a child support order. If the father does not admit paternity or is not sure he is the father, genetic tests may be ordered by the court.

For more detailed information regarding paternity establishment, please click on the following link.

Establishing Paternity

Once we have located the non-custodial parent and paternity is established, one of our Case Specialists will attempt to establish an order for financial support. This will be done either through an administrative process or by going to court. The administrative process to establish an order must begin within fifteen days of locating the non-custodial parent. An order will normally be established within ninety days from the date that the non-custodial parent is located if there are no problems with service of process. If the non-custodial parent lives out of state, establishment of a child support order may take up to twelve months.

Colorado has a law that explains the formula used to determine the amount of child support that must be paid by a non-custodial parent. The law that governs child support guidelines in Colorado is C.R.S. �14-10-115. The Colorado guidelines consider the following when calculating the child support payments.

• The parents� combined adjusted gross income, or an estimation of the amount that would be allotted to the child if the parents were living in an intact household;
• The needs of the child in terms of extraordinary medical expenses and work-related child care costs
• The physical custody arrangements.

For more detailed information regarding financial order establishment, please click on the following link.

Establishing Support

The payment of a child�s health insurance premium to a financial support order may be added to the basic child support obligation, and thus will be divided between the parents in proportion to their adjusted gross income.

For more detailed information regarding medical support order establishment, please click on the following link.

Establishing Health Insurance Coverage

After the court grants a child support order, the state of Colorado has the legislative authority to collect current and past-due child support through enforcement remedies. Enforcement remedies ensure the payment of child support by all parents who are obligated to pay. Parents who do not pay their child support face the following consequences:

Income Related Enforcement

• Income Assignments Against Employment Wages
• New Hire Reporting
• Unemployment Compensation Benefits
• Worker's Compensation Benefits

Suspensions & Denials

• Driver's License Suspension
• Professional Occupational License Suspension
• Recreational License Suspension
• Passport Denial

Intercepts

• Federal Tax Offset
• Colorado State Revenue Tax Offset
• State Vendor Offset
• Federal Administrative Payment Offset
• Lottery Winnings Intercept
• Financial Institution Data Match
• Gambling Payment Intercept
• Unclaimed Property Offset

Credit Bureau Reporting

Judicial Actions

• Judgments
• Liens
• Contempt
• Rule 69's
• Garnishments
• Federal Prosecution

Because family dynamics and situations do not remain static, Federal and Colorado regulations have developed standards for periodic review and adjustment of child support amounts. It might be appropriate to adjust the amount of support either upward or downward based on a change in the child�s needs or a variation in the calculation of support under mandatory guidelines. In Colorado, any parent or guardian has the authority to request a review of the child support order and if a child is receiving public assistance, their support order is automatically reviewed every thirty-six months. Parents or guardians of children receiving public assistance may request a modification review prior to the automatic thirty-six month review if there has been a �major life change� which affects a non-custodial parent�s income or the custody of the child.

If you have questions regarding the modification of a child support order you may visit the Colorado Department of Human Services website, or contact El Paso County Child Support Services.

In an attempt to nurture and grow the relationships between non-custodial parents and their children, El Paso County Child Support Services has developed the El Paso County Parent Opportunity Program (POP). Through individualized case management, POP works with non-custodial parents to achieve personal family and career-oriented goals. By achieving these goals, parents can both bond with their children and learn to become better providers for their families.

POP also offers various legal and community services to eligible parents. POP case managers are able to find legal help and mental health counseling for parents in need of them. POP provides services through a community partnership comprised of El Paso County Department of Human Services, Center on Fathering, Goodwill Industries, and Child Support Services of Colorado.

To be eligible to receive POP services, applicants must be non-custodial parents who are residents of El Paso or Teller Counties and have an income of not more than 185% of the federal poverty level.