Child Support

In New Jersey, the child support program is supervised by the state Department of Human Services, Division of Family Development, Office of Child Support Services. Each individual NJ child support case is administered in individual counties, depending upon the residence of the parents.

-Every child support case involves two parents. One is the custodial parent. This is the parent who lives with the child and has the main day-to-day responsibility. The other parent is referred to the non-custodial parent. Statistically, the non-custodial parent in the child support case is the father: 90% of the time.

-Embarking on a NJ child support case involves dealing with a series of different county offices.

-There are three county offices that handle all NJ child support cases. These three offices are the county Boards of Social Services, the county Family Courts, and the county Probation Division.

-The county Boards of Social Services is also known as the welfare agencies. They handle NJ child support cases. The agencies work together to find the non-custodial parent of the child if that parent cannot be located. The county Boards of Social Services are also responsible for establishing paternity and filing court complaints for both paternity and child support. In addition to these services, they also help low-income custodial parents receive access to all welfare, Medicaid, child care and employment services.

-The county Family Courts are in charge of scheduling, conducting, recording, and keeping track of any court hearings in a NJ child support case. This includes but is not limited to any custody issues and visitation schedules that the parents will need to establish with each other.

-The last county office is the county Probation Divisions. This is the branch that is in charge of monitoring and money due and paid in a child support case. They are also in charge of making sure that any child support due is paid on time. If child support payments are not made on time, they are in charge if of collecting it through various enforcement efforts. This may include garnishing the non-custodial parent’s wages and tax refunds if necessary.

-Both the Family Court and Probation Divisions are headed by the NJ Administrative Office of the Courts.

NJ child support agencies are committed to the idea that it is each parent’s responsibility to make sure that their child has food, shelter and clothing. Because many children do not get the joint support that they are entitled to, NJ child support laws have been put into affect to maximize the possibility of each child getting what is necessary from each parent.

It is the job of both the mother and the father to make sure that their child is getting not only physical and financial child support, but emotional support as well, regardless of their current relationship with each other. Child support is not a privilege, it is a right. NJ child support programs are dedicated to helping the children of New Jersey. They also provide help for the parent’s of those children if the custodial parent is not getting child support or cooperation from the non-custodial parent.