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departments

The Marion County Prosecutor's Office Child Support Division has seven departments, but for many of our clients there first exposure with our office is thru the solution center.  Solution Center representatives handle thousands of call each week from parents and others interested in child support.  Representative will answer questions if possible, or direct the caller to the assigned paralegal or deputy prosecutor if necessary.  In addition, Solution Center representative schedule appointments, send out income withholding orders and perform a host of other duties.  The child Support division also maintains five branch offices to serve the residence of Marion County, Indiana.  Each branch location can provide full "Title IV-D Services".  To schedule an appointment at a branch office, call (317) 327-1800.

arrears section

The arrears section is responsible for maintaining an accurate accounting of the support ordered and amounts paid on the child support cases managed by the Marion County Prosecutor's Office.  Payments through the Marion County Clerks office must be reconciled with existing support orders, including cases involving multiple support orders from a variety of jurisdictions.

intake section

The section is responsible for in office interviews with custodial and non custodial parents.  Interview section paralegals conduct interviews to help locate and absent parent, establish paternity, or establish and enforce/modify a child support order.  Paralegals prepare affidavits, court pleading and other documents necessary to carry out Title IV-D services.  They re also available to answer any questions a party may have about his or her case.  Pleadings which are intended to be filed in court are sent by the interviewing paralegal to the deputy prosecutor assigned to that particular case.  Interview paralegals conduct hundreds of interviews a month.

deputy prosecutor's

Deputy prosecutor's are responsible for reviewing and and signing all court pleadings, prosecuting those cases in court and resolving disputed matters.  In order to enhance familiarity with particular cases, efforts are made to have the deputy prosecutor handle cases assigned to him or her.  However, this is often not possible.  Further, deputy prosecutor's are state's attorneys.  that is they represent the State Of Indiana, and no attorney client relationship exists between a deputy prosecutor and an individual who receives Title IV-D services.

litigation section

The litigation section is responsible for enforcing support orders.  Paralegals in this section prepare paternity and enforcement case files for court, contact employers regarding income withholding and other matters, prepare contempt pleadings, monitor payment histories and compliance with supports orders, answer phone calls, and assist deputy prosecutors in court.  Litigation paralegals are each responsible for processing hundreds of cases each week.  Income Withholding is the most effective way to collect child support.  When the employer makes out the payroll, the child support is withheld and sent to the Marion County Clerks Office.  The funds are then dispersed according to state and federal laws.

records section

The records section is responsible for tracking and retrieving child support files.  This section is the back bone of the child support division.  File managers are responsible for distributing files needed for office interviews, court litigation or case management.  File managers are responsible for literally hundreds of thousands of files, including active and previous closed cases. 

branch offices

For information about our branch offices please click on branch.

administrative enforcement

The enforcement section is responsibility for enforcing all child supports orders.  Enforcement techniques used in a particular care are determined by the Child Support attorney responsible for that case.

1. Consumer Credit Bureau Reporting - if an obligated parent owes a considerable amount of past due child support, he or she can be reported to the consumer credit bureaus that track credit records.  Having a child support debt on a credit record can mean not being able to get a loan, home, new car or a credit card.
2. License Suspension - You can have your Driver/Professional licenses can be suspended if an obligated parent owes more support that the amount equal to three (3) months or an arrearage of at least $2,000.00.
3. Tax Refund Intercept - This is used when an obligated parent owes past due child support of at least $500.00 behind.  The Marion County Child Support division will request that state/federal tax refunds and federal payments (up to the amount of delinquent support owed) be sent directly to sent directly to the Child Support Division instead of the obligor.  The refund will first be used to pay the child support owed to the state, then for child support owed to the custodial parent.  Any amount above what is owed is returned to the non custodial parent. 
4. Passport denial/Revocation - All cases with a delinquency of more than $5,000 are submitted to the U.S. Secretary of State.  The U.S. Secretary of State will refuse to issue a passport to the obligor and may revoke, restrict, or limit a passport that was previously issued.
5. Using Assets to collect Support - If the obligor owes a large past due child support, the Enforcement Section will look at his or her assets -- the things that the obligor owns.  All judgments and orders for payment of child support are liens on the obligor's real property, such as his or her house.  The lien keeps the obligor from selling the property until all the past due child support is paid.  Also, the child support agency can take the obligor's property and sell it to get the child support he or she owes.  If the obligor has bank accounts or investments, those assets are sometimes taken to pay back child support through either garnishment or administrative attachment processes.
6. Enforcement Through the Courts - The courts sometimes have to step in and get the obligated parent's attention when other methods are not working.  The court may make the obligor post bond, meaning he or she has to put up a certain amount of money to be used if support is not paid on time in the future.  When an obligor is very uncooperative, the court may find that he or she is in contempt of court and put the obligor in jail for non payment of child support

UIFSA section

What is a UIFSA?

UIFSA stands for Uniform Interstate Family Support Act.  This federal law entitles the Child Support Division to help you collect child support when one of the parties lives in Marion County, and the other party lives in another state, U.S. territory, or country (i.e. jurisdiction).

The UIFSA process is a fairly lengthy one.  A typical case takes approximately 6 - 9 months from the day you fill out the paperwork until the other local jurisdiction is ready to assist us in enforcing your order.  Paternity and Modification cases generally take longer while cases with existing orders typically take less time to set up.

When you come into our office, you will fill out an application and sign necessary paperwork to be sent to the jurisdiction in which the Absent Parent resides.  It will be ultimately up to that jurisdiction to set a court date and obtain an order. 

PLEASE REMEMBER:

1. 6 - 9 month is merely a guideline.  There are many possible setbacks that you should be aware of.  The other jurisdiction may have trouble verifying the other parent's address, or may not be able to personally serve him/her, or the court date could be continued for a variety of reasons. 
2. The Absent Parent will make payments to the collection agency in that jurisdiction and they will forward the payments to the Marion County Clerk's office who will then send the payments to you.  This means that there could be a delay of 2 - 4 weeks between the time the Absent Parent makes a payment and you actually receive it.  You can call 327-4709 for the clerk's automated payment line to check on payments received. 
3. MEDICAL AND DENTAL:  We can request the responding court to consider an order of medical and dental expenses.  We cannot guarantee that an order will be entered, and our ability to enforce is limited.
4. CUSTODY AND VISITATION:  We have no authority to handle disputes regarding custody and visitation.
5. Because of the volume of cases in our office, we cannot provide the personal service you may be accustomed to from a private attorney.  Your case will not be give priority over any other case and all cases will be worked on a first come, first serve basis.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

1. You need to keep our office updated with any information you may find about the other parent, such as if he/she moves, or where you thin he/she may work.
2. You will be getting copies of correspondence from the other jurisdiction letting you know what stage your case is at.  After you initially open your case with us, if you haven't heard or received anything from our office in about 3 - 4 months, feel free to contact our office for the status.  After the county receives your case, in most situations we should hear something from them about 2 months later.  While you can always make an appointment to come into our office whenever you would like, another more efficient option is scheduling an Interview By Pone with your UIFSA paralegal.  You can do this by calling 327-1800.  This allows you the convenience of not having to come into the office, and it allows you to speak directly with your UIFSA paralegal.