Child Support Services

Responsibilities

Minnesota's child support program benefits children by enforcing parental responsibility for their support. The Minnesota Department of Human Services, Child Support Division supervises the child support program. County child support offices administer it by working with parents to establish and enforce support orders. The child support program helps:

Children receive the financial basic support, medical support, and child care support they deserve
Families work toward becoming and remaining self-sufficient
Parents establish a financial partnership

Services

A person can receive child support if all of the following apply:

The person is the parent of a minor child or is the person who has court-ordered custody of the minor child
The minor child lives in the person's household
The child is financially dependent on that person
One or both of the child's parents are absent from the home
A court has ordered a person to pay child support

Child support services are available to:

Parents of minor children, if one parent does not live with the child
Parents who pay child support through court-ordered income withholding
People who have court-ordered, physical custody of a minor child
People who receive public assistance for a minor child who lives in their home

The child support unit provides services for:

The child support unit does not help with:

Divorces
Parenting time and custody
Spousal maintenance (alimony) establishment
Legal advice or counsel

Child support agencies and county attorneys do not represent either parent in child support court actions. Instead, they represent the best interests of the child according to the requirements of child support statutes and guidelines. In Minnesota, parents can also use an expedited process to resolve child support matters where they can represent themselves.