Family Support offered at Family Support Division

Provides the following legal services:

• Judicial establishment of paternity and child support including requests from other county and states and Tribes;
• Enforcement of support orders when parents fail to pay court-ordered child support through the contempt process;
• Prosecution of interstate cases for paternity and child support orders on the same basis as in-state cases;
• Modification of existing child support orders;
• Representation of state interest in private dissolution, parentage, and nonparental custody actions when tax dollars have been expended to support a child;
• Legal representation of the Division of Child Support, a division of the Department of State Health Services (DSHS), in lawsuits challenging the agency’s collection actions against parents owing a duty of support.

The Family Support Division does not represent parents or other individuals in child support cases. For a case to be initiated by the prosecutor's office, it must be referred by the Division of Child Support (DCS).