The first step in many cases is locating the non-custodial parent (NCP) by verifying his or her residential and work addresses. In about half of the child support cases, paternity needs to be determined to create a legal relationship between the father and the child. Once paternity is resolved, an order can be established using a state's formula based on the NCP's, and sometimes the custodial parent's (CP's), income. When parental income or special needs of a child changes, a review of the obligation amount can be requested, and if appropriate, an adjustment (modification) can take place.

MAXIMUS works with agencies to locate parents' home and work addresses, and sometimes their assets. Through credit report analyses, database searches, and other skip-tracing techniques, we locate parents so that the child support agency can take the next step in the case.

MAXIMUS works an agency's backlog of paternity and order establishment cases, providing the agency with case cleanup, paternity acknowledgment or adjudication, and support order evidence gathering and establishing. MAXIMUS successfully completed a paternity and order establishment backlog project for the State of Ohio. MAXIMUS has conducted similar work throughout the country at full-service offices, providing legal fathers, and support orders to thousands of children.

Locate, Paternity Determination, and Order Establishment Services

• Locate non-custodial parents using credit reports, automated databases and skip-tracing
• Seek acknowledgments or genetic testing orders leading to a determination of paternity
• Collect financial information to determine the amount of child support that should be ordered
• Apply the guidelines after gathering income information to ensure that the support award is fair
• Use appropriate administrative or judicial procedures to have an order in place as soon as possible
• Seek medical support as appropriate