How Do Child Support Agencies Work?

Child support agencies collect information from parents and employers and assess how much child maintenance a non resident parent should pay the parent who lives with the child/children. This maintenance payment is made towards the cost of raising the child, and can also be paid to a grandparent, other family member or legal guardian if this is whom the child lives with. This person is known as the Parent (or Person) With Care.

The Government’s child maintenance service - the Child Support Agency (CSA) – works with the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission to ensure all non resident parents contribute to their child’s welfare. This is done by a standard process of assessing various factors, including the non resident parent’s income. Management and collection of the payments is also handled by the CSA.

How Information Is Collected

Applications for child support are dealt with in a confidential manner, and information is gathered from various sources, including employers, anyone the parent provides a service to, and their accountant. Banks, credit reference agencies, HM Revenue & Customs and other local councils and government organisations may also be approached to provide information.

The information collected enables the CSA to trace non resident parents, assess how much maintenance they have to pay, and to enforce payment. Collection of this important information does not require the permission of either parent.

How The Process Works

The CSA officially opens a case when a resident parent applies to set up child maintenance payments. In order to work out the correct amount of maintenance due, the CSA will gather relevant information to support the non resident parent’s income. Once the information has been assessed an agreed amount will be requested, from the non resident parent, on agreed dates. This maintenance payment can be made directly to the adult caring for the children, or via the CSA, who then forward payments on.

Sometimes a deduction from earnings order is issued. This means that the non resident parent’s employer takes responsibility for forwarding child maintenance direct from the parent’s earnings to the CSA, who then issue payment to the resident parent.

Application Exemptions

There are some circumstances which make the acceptance of an application for child maintenance payments not possible. These include:

• The parent with care (or resident parent) or the children live abroad.
• The non resident parent does not live in the UK, and does not work for a UK-based employer.
• There are outstanding court orders or a written maintenance agreement already in place.

What Happens If Maintenance Is Not Paid

The CSA is able to take legal action if the correct maintenance payment is not made, by the allocated time.

Child Maintenance Options

Some parents may decide they would rather make private maintenance arrangements, instead of having to go through the Child Support Agency channels or through the courts. If there are disputes and difficulties however, the CSA is able to put a payment arrangement in place for the resident parent at their request.

It is also worth remembering that in England and Wales the courts can turn a private agreement into a Consent Order, which is legally binding.