Arkansas Child Suppor

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State as well as federal agencies share the responsibility for implementing the child support program in Arkansas. The Department of Finance and Administration, Revenue Division, Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) administers this program of enforcement of child support.

Essential information for Divorce Arkansas Child Support

When a person desires to fill an application for child support services, he/she must be ready with the data below mentioned.

• The following points about the non custodial parent
  • Full name
  • Address
  • Employer
  • Social Security Number
  • Income
  • Assets
• The child(ren)'s Birth Certificate(s)
• If the person has the following documents, then a copy of the same
  • Separation agreement
  • Divorce decree
  • Child support order
• If any child support has been paid in the past, then records of such payments

Highlights of Divorce Arkansas Child Support

• This state now needs to see that all modified or new orders of child support should command that the manner of payment should be by income withholding
• The court may make an exception to the previous rule if there is a 'good cause'
• If a person desires to qualify for the exception (mentioned in the previous point), he/she must offer evidence regarding the following 2 points
  • The income withholding would not result in best interests of the child
  • The person has disbursed all the previous payments as per the plan
• Let us consider that a child support payment has been made to the OCSE on Day 1. Generally, the OCSE processes this payment on Day 1. On the next business day, the payment is credited to the related account
• The Arkansas OCSE's prime method of collection of child support amount is by income withholding. Herein, the child support amount is subtracted from the paycheck of the non custodial parent
• Excluding the above, the other methods of enforcement of child support orders in this state are as follows
  • Preparing the case for court action
  • Interception of lottery winnings or income tax refunds
  • Seizing personal property or vehicles for sale at public auction
  • Suspension of professional, recreational or driver's license
  • Sending reports of child support debts to credit bureaus
  • Subtraction of child support amounts from worker's compensation or unemployment compensation
  • Filing of property liens

Services of OCSE

Services pertaining to enforcement

OCSE helps an individual in the following aspects.

• Locating the non custodial parent
• If required, establishing paternity
• Establishing a court order for child support
• Offering help to collect the amount

The custodial parent may approach the OCSE and apply for the above services. Alternatively, the Department of Human Services may refer a custodial parent to the OCSE.

Services related to payment processing

Some child support cases are addressed privately and the OCSE does not have an active role in the establishment or enforcement of child support. The Arkansas Child Support Clearinghouse is given the child support payment and the Clearinghouse forwards this payment to the custodial parent. During this process, the Clearinghouse maintains a record of all these transactions.

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