II.  ESTABLISHMENT OF PATERNITY

Establishing paternity guarantees your childs right to receive financial support, medical support, tribal rights, medical history, social security benefits and inheritance rights from his/her father. If you are not married and have a child, legal fatherhood (Paternity) needs to be established before any of these benefits can be received. This can be accomplished in several ways:

• A Wisconsin Voluntary Paternity Acknowledgment form can be signed by both parents and filed with the Vital Records Office. This form is given to you by the hospital after your child is born, or you can get a form from Child Support Services or the Register of Deeds.
• If you get married after your child is born you need to file a Legitimation form which is available from Child Support Services or the Register of Deeds.
• Child Support Services can prepare a stipulation (agreement) for both parents to sign and present it to the Court for review. An order will be entered from your agreement.
• If the father does not wish to file a Voluntary Paternity Acknowledgment, Child Support Services will prepare the necessary paperwork to have a Court action for paternity scheduled. In this type of action the father is given the opportunity to request genetic testing. Your Child Support Services Department assists you with this process. Once the Court makes a finding of Paternity the issues of support will be determined.

III.  ESTABLISH AN ORDER FOR CHILD SUPPORT AND MEDICAL INSURANCE.

• Child Support -All children are entitled to support from both parents. All child support orders are based on the Percentage of Income Standards as set by Wisconsin State Statutes. This standard is a guideline used for establishing support and is converted to a monthly dollar amount based on the paying parents income. The Percentage of Income Standard has special provisions if the paying parent has other children to support or if you and the parent have shared placement of your children.
• Medical support  All order for child support require an order for health insurance for your children and a provision for those expenses not covered by health insurance. The exact language for an order will be determined based on the specifics of your case.

IV.  Enforcement of Existing Court Orders 

After the order is established for support Child Support Services monitors your case for payment. We are able to enforce either by bringing a legal action or by administrative process using any or all of the following:

• Income withholding- Wisconsin law requires that all child support be paid by income withholding, if appropriate. The employer withholds child support from the payors wages and forwards it to the WI SCTF (Wisconsin Support Collections Trust Fund) for receipting and disbursing. A check is sent to the custodial parent within 24 hours of receipt from the employer.
• State and Tax Intercept - Intercepts are automatically placed on both the state and federal refunds due to a payor if he/she owes past due child support.
• Liens A lien can be placed on a delinquent payors property to satisfy payment of any debts owing.
• Credit Bureau reporting All delinquent payors are reported to the four major credit bureaus.

V.  Reviewing and Modifying orders 

• Federal law requires that child support order be reviewed every 33 months to ensure that they are in compliance with the guideline. A case can be reviewed prior to 33 months if there is a substantial change of circumstances. Your child support agency can provide you with the necessary forms to have your case reviewed.

VI. Interstate Enforcement.

• All states operate under the same federal guidelines and Child Support Services can file the necessary paperwork if you have an absent parent who has moved to another state or if you have an order in another state. All enforcement, establishment of paternity and support can be accomplished by filing an interstate action (UIFSA).

RUSK COUNTY CHILD SUPPORT SERVICES

Location: Rusk County Courthouse

311 Miner Ave E. Ste L337 (3^rd floor)

Ladysmith, WI 54848

Phone Number: 715-532-2299

Fax Number:715-532-2178

Office Hours :Monday - Friday 8:00 a.m. 4:30 p.m. (With prior notice, after hour appointments can be accommodated) Closed for legal holidays

Rusk County Child Support is an equal-opportunity employer and service provider. If you have a disability and need information in an alternative format, or need it translated to another language, please contact us and we will make accommodations for your request.

HOW TO APPLY FOR SERVICES:

You may contact Rusk County Child Support Service by phone or in person to request an application for services. An application may also be downloaded from http://www.dwd.state.wi.us/bcs/ .There is a $20.00 fee to be returned with your completed application. This fee is not required if you are receiving benefits through any of the Rusk County Department of Health and Human Services Economic Support Progams.

HOW TO CHECK ON PAYMENTS:

Federal regulations require that all states have a central payment center and that all payments be receipted and disbursed by that agency. Wisconsins payment center is called: Wisconsin Support Collections Trust Fund (WI SCTF). They are responsible for processing payments and sending out monthly statements to all payors.

Payment information can be obtained:

On line at: http://www.dwd.state.wi.us/bcs/

By phone by calling 1-800-991-5530. Phone access can be made by using either your social security number or your Personal Identification Number (PIN). A pin is assigned to every participant when your case opens and can be obtained from your child support agency and shows on all of the correspondence you receive.

A child support web site is maintained by the State of Wisconsin.� This site can be reached at: http://www.dwd.state.wi.us/bcs/ The site contains the most updated information about the child support program. The Parents Information link provides detailed program and financial information.