What is Child Support/SES?
Child Support is an obligation of a parent to provide emotional, financial, and medical support for a child or children.
Federal law requires all states to have a child support enforcement program. In Louisiana, the program is administered by the Department of Social Services, Office of Family Support, Support Enforcement Services (SES). Support Enforcement Services places the responsibility for support of children on their parent’s in an attempt to reduce the children's dependence on public assistance.
Child support cases are generally assigned to three categories: intake, collections, or parent locate. An intake case is one in which an order for support and/or paternity has not yet been established. A collection case is one in which an enforceable order for support exists. A case in parent locate is one in which the location, place of employment, or assets of the noncustodial parent are unknown.
Who Can Get Help?
- Any parent or person responsible for a child who needs our services.
- Anyone who receives FITAP, KCSP, or is referred to SES by Medicaid automatically receives child support enforcement services and assigns rights of support to the state.
- Anyone who does not receive FITAP, KCSP, or Medicaid may apply for SES services and pay an application fee of $25.
What Services are Provided?
There are five basic types of services that support enforcement offers:
(Visit here for more information on each service)
1. Parent Locate Service
2. Paternity Establishment
3. Establishing Orders (Guidelines for Determination Of Child Support)
4. Enforcing Orders
5. Collection and Distribution
Visit here to view Child Support Payment Inquiry for child support payment records
What if I disagree with SES?
The custodial parent or non-custodial may request a review when there is evidence that an error has occurred or an action should have been taken on the case. The purpose of the administrative review is to determine if the appropriate action was taken in compliance with all applicable federal and state laws, rules, and regulations.
A request for an administrative review may be made verbally or in writing to the office that is handling the case. The Analyst and Supervisor will review the proposed action or the action taken on the case. The complainant will be notified by telephone or in writing of the decision made on the case.
How and Where Do I Apply?
The Support Enforcement Services District Office staff is located in 12 SES District Offices. These District Offices serve all 64 parishes in the state. The agency also has cooperative agreements with 39 District Attorneys in the State. The scope of services provided by District Attorneys varies, depending on the services that a particular District Attorney is contracted to provide.
Visit here to find the SES District Office that serves the parish in which you live.
Downloadable form: The following standard form can be downloaded to a disk and then completed on the user's PC. To download a form, simply select the desired title below, then follow the prompts given by your browser. (On most browsers, you will need to choose the "Save to Disk" option, and then choose the drive and directory you wish to save to.)
Note: The Adobe Acrobat document will be viewable in all formats. To view the Adobe Acrobat document please download the free Adobe Acrobat Reader at: http://www.adobe.com/prodindex/acrobat/readstep.html.
This form has been provided as a public service and has been successfully processed on a State computer system. However, we unfortunately cannot guarantee success for all users, due to the wide variety of browsers/platform in use. It is still the responsibility of the user to use this form appropriately and in a manner consistent within these limitations. No actual text of this form may be changed, and doing so may render it null and void. All relevant deadlines still apply.
Visit here to download the Application for Child Support Services (SES 101)
Visit here to download the instructions for the Application for Child Support Services (SES 101)
Visit here to view the Child Support Award Guideline Schedule
Visit here to download the Obligation Worksheet A (SES 330).
How and Where Do I make payments?
Payment Instructions:
All fees and support payments must be made payable to the Department of Social Services (DSS). The payor shall include his/her name, address, and social security number and/or LASES number on the payment instrument.
Payments should be made by money order or cashier´s check and mailed to:
Centralized Collection Unit
Post Office Box 260222
Baton Rouge, LA 70826
Genetic Testing fees should be identified as "Genetic Test" when submitted to the Centralized Collection Unit.
Publications
SES Overview
Related Links
http://www.aphsa.org/Links/links-state.asp - American Public Human Services Association
http://www.acf.dhhs.gov/ - Administration for Children and Families |
