Dodge County Child Support

Services and Information

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To obtain the services of the Dodge County Child Support Agency, you must fill out an application form.  Please send your application form to:  Dodge County Child Support Agency, 210 W. Center Street, Juneau, WI  53039.

Exceptions may apply if you:

1. Are found to be indigent after filling out an Affidavit of Indigency (Spanish version)

2. Filed a divorce or paternity action between the dates of July 20, 1985, and July 29, 1995, or,

3. If you have received public assistance. Public assistance can include Badger Care assistance, childcare assistance and participation in the W-2 program. There may be additional charges for individual services, such as the Tax Intercept Program.

The services available from the child support program include the following:

If you are not married to the father of your child, the Agency can help you legally determine the identity of the child's father. This process is called "establishing paternity." Establishing paternity guarantees a child's right to receive financial support, medical support, and inheritances from the father.

The length of time it takes to obtain a judgment of paternity depends on what steps will be necessary to complete the process. If a man admits paternity and signs papers declaring himself to be the father, then the process is very fast. Frequently, however, it is recommended that genetic testing be done to confirm that a man is the father of a child; this can take a month or so to schedule and receive the results. If there is a trial by jury, it may take months to be scheduled and heard by the court.

A way to legally establish paternity that does not require the services of the Child Support Agency is for both parents to complete a "Voluntary Paternity Acknowledgement" form. However, filling out this form does not establish a child support order in and of itself. For more information about this form, you may call any local hospital, the Register of Deeds office, or the Child Support Agency.

A child support order can not be obtained without either 1) judgment of paternity, 2) genetic testing which establishes a 99% or greater likelihood of paternity, or 3) a filed Voluntary Acknowledgement of Paternity and subsequent motion to the court for child support.

The Agency can try to find absent parents by using the State Parent Locator Service if you provide the parent's name and social security number. If the absent parent has moved to another state, the Agency can ask the other state to find him/her. The Agency can also search throughout the United States for the absent parent by using the Federal Parent Locator Service.

A court hearing cannot be held to establish or enforce support unless the absent parent has been properly served with a notice of the hearing.

The Agency can assist in obtaining a child support order against a parent who is not Living with and directly supporting his or her child. This can be in a situation where parents are married but separated and not pursuing a divorce, or a situation where paternity was established but no support order made (because the parents were living together at the time), or in a situation where a child is temporarily placed in foster care or an alternate care placement.

The Agency will investigate how much the other parent earns and determine how much child support would be under the percentage standards. The Agency uses the State Percentage Standards (DCF150) to determine support unless there is a good reason to deviate from them. Then it will first try to get an agreement from the other parent to pay support. If no agreement is reached the Agency will file a motion to establish.

The Agency has a number of tools to enforce court orders for child support or medical support.

Enforcement tools include:

• Interception of a payer's income tax refunds (an additional small fee is charged for this service)

• liens against real and personal property

• denial or suspension of recreational, occupational or driver's license

• civil court charges of contempt

• criminal court charges of felony nonsupport

• passport denial

• automatic income withholding

• automatic National Medical Support Notice

• financial account seizure

• Credit Bureau reporting

• financial record matching program

The Agency may review and consider whether to pursue a revision of an existing child support order upon a request by either parent. The Agency uses the State Percentage Standards (DCF150) to determine support unless there is a good reason to deviate.  Pro-se (do it yourself) motion packets are available at the Dodge County Child Support Agency, 210 West Center St., Juneau, WI   53039,   phone number (920) 386-3640. (Back to top)

If you receive public assistance, the receipt of your benefits may be conditioned upon your cooperation with the Agency in its efforts to establish and enforce a child support order against the other parent (if the other parent is not living with the child). Cooperation means providing any information about the payer that you know or could reasonably find out, including address, employer, place of birth, physical description, and any other income information. It also means filling out forms immediately, keeping appointments, and informing us of any court hearing you have scheduled.

If, however, you believe that cooperation with the Agency could result in harm to yourself or your child, or if your child was conceived as a result of incest or rape, you may not need to cooperate with the Agency if you fill out a "Good Cause Claim. " You may obtain a "Good Cause Claim" application from your Economic Support Worker in the Human Services Department. (Back to top)

Many people have private attorneys during the course of a legal action (such as divorce, paternity, or contempt). You may have the Agency's collection services and a private attorney's Legal representation at the same time.

The Agency has attorneys. However, these attorneys represent the State of Wisconsin and not any individual in an action. Unlike a private attorney you retain, the agency attorneys are not required to keep information you tell them confidential. They are also not bound to take a position that is favorable to you. Their job is to obtain the most fair child support orders possible and to enforce child support orders.  (Back to top)

The information contained in the files of the Agency are not open to the public.

Certain information may be shared with others only for the purpose(s) of the administration of the child support program and other related programs (Sec. 49.83, Stats.).

If a person has a concern that he or she may be harmed if certain information is released, the person should inform an Agency employee. If appropriate, steps may be taken to protect certain information from being released at all. Click here to download a Request for Privacy Protection form (external website). (Back to top)

Most child support payments will be automatically withheld from an employee's paycheck, provided the Child Support Agency has been informed of the payer's employer.

However, all payers are ultimately responsible for making sure that payments are made. Payers are instructed to check their paycheck stubs to make sure that the appropriate amounts of money were withheld. If the entire amount of child support due was not withheld, it is the payer's responsibility to send in the difference to the Wisconsin Support Collections Trust Fund ("WI SCTF").  (Back to top)

If you wish to make a child support payment on your own (either because you are self employed, or the employer did not withhold enough, or you wish to make an additional payment), you may send the payment to:

Each check must be accompanied by the following minimum information:

1. Name and either:

2. KIDS PIN number

3. Social Security number, or

4. Court Case Number. It is preferable to send in payments with a payment voucher (which you should receive in the mail). If making a payment on arrears, you must specify that on the back of the payment voucher. You may contact the Child Support Agency for assistance in filling out the payment voucher appropriately.  (Back to top)

To receive information about payments received in your case, or account balances, you may contact the KIDS Information Line at 1-800-991-5530 or you can access this information by clicking here. A brochure fully describing what information is available on this hotline is available at the Child Support Agency.

You may also obtain a copy of the payment history in your case from the Child Support Agency. There is a $3.00 charge for a copy of your payment record.

You may request the payment history in person, via fax at (920) 386-3906, or through the mail.  (Back to top)

Pursuant to sec. 767.25(6), Stats., a party ordered to pay child support was required to pay simple interest at the rate of 1.5% per month on any amount in arrears that is equal to or greater than the amount of child support due in one month prior to May 1, 2000. The statutory rate of interest is established at 1.0% per month as of May 1, 2000.  (Back to top)

All parties must notify the Child Support Agency and the Clerk of Courts of any change of address within five days. Parties are presumed to have complied with this statutory requirement. Failure to do so may result in your missing important legal documents that may affect your rights. For a child support recipient, it may also mean that you do not receive child support. For a child support payer, it may also result in a judge issuing a civil warrant for your arrest if you can not be found otherwise.  You can change your address with the Child Support Agency by clicking here. (Back to top)

All child support payers are required by statute to notify the Child Support Office and the payee within five business days of any change of employer and/or of any substantial change in the amount of his or her income.  You can change your employer with the Child Support Agency by clicking here. (Back to top)

The Dodge County Child Support Agency is an equal opportunity service provider. If you need assistance to access services or materials in an alternate format, please contact the Agency at (920)-386-3640   or the DES Equal Opportunity Office at (608) 267-0927 (Voice and TDD).  (Back to top)

If you have any other specific questions about the services of the agency or details about your case, you may either write the Agency (Dodge County Child Support Agency, 210 West Center Street, Juneau, WI  53039), call the Agency (920-386-3640), fax the Agency (920- 386-3906), email the Agency (childsupport@co.dodge.wi.us), or come to the office in person.