Child Support Enforcement Agency (CSEA)

This program collects child support from parents who are legally obligated to support their children, obtains health insurance coverage for minor children, and collects court-ordered spousal supports.

The goals of the CSEA are threefold:

1. Ensure that children are supported by their parents
2. Encourage family responsibility
3. Reduce the cost to taxpayers of public assistance

Some services provided by CSEA are:

• Locate parents absent from a child's home
• establish paternity when the parents were not married at the time of the child's birth
• establish child support and health insurance orders
• enforce child support and health insurance orders
• initiate or respond to interstate actions
• adjust (increase or decrease) child support orders

Eligible persons must have living with them a child for whom an obligation of support is owed by a parent absent from the home (this includes parents of children born out of wedlock) or must have an unpaid child support order for an emancipated child.

Sending Child Support Payments

The address dedicated to handle all child support payments from income withholding and non-income withholding is :

Ohio Child Support Payment Central
PO Box 182394
Columbus, Ohio 43218

Checks or money orders should be made out to Ohio Child Support Payment Central or O.C.S.E.   Please include the name of the person the child support is for as well as a SETS case number and Court Order number.  This will assist in identification of the payment and result in timely disbursement.

DO NOT SEND CASH

Questions & Answers

Q: Who can get help from the Morrow County Child Support Enforcement Agency?
A: Anyone receiving public benefits receives free child support services and is required to cooperate with the CSEA in establishing paternity and collecting child support.  Families that do not get public benefits can apply for services with a written application.  Some county CSEAs charge a $1.00 application fee -- Morrow County does not.

Q: can the CSEA assist me with custody issues?
A: For all visitation issues, you must consult with a private attorney.  Most custody issues can not be addressed by the CSEA.

Q: If the non-residential parent is sending me money directly, does that count as child support?
A: No.  Those payments are considered as gifts.

Q: What are the Child Support Guidelines?
A: The Child Support Guidelines are guidelines passed by the Ohio legislature which calculate child support orders based upon the financial circumstances of both parents.  Use of these guidelines is required for the establishment or modification of all child support orders in Ohio.  The amount of child support which is calculated using the worksheets and schedules contained in these guidelines is presumed under the law o be the correct amount of child support in each case.

Q: What does it mean to be "in default" of a child support order and what can happen to me if I go into default?
A: If you get behind at least one full month of child support payments, you are in default.  You will be sent a form outlining the enforcement remedies that may be taken to secure support.

Q: My ex-spouse collects Social Security Disability.  Can there be income withholding on that check?
A: Yes, there can be income withholding for Social Security Disability and Social Security Retirement benefits.  There cannot be a withholding for SSI because those benefits are a form of public assistance.

More information is available at http://www.state.oh.us/ocs/OCSfaq.stm