• Birthing Cost: The cost associated with the birth of the child paid for by Medicaid. It may be assessed to one or both parents.
• Buccal-Swab: Genetic test used by genetic labs to scrape the tissue cells from the inside of the cheek.

• Central Paternity Registry: A statewide listing of children born out of wedlock.
• Certified Print-Out: Financial report verifying child support balances.
• Child Support Payment Central (CSPC): Ohio’s centralized system for collecting and disbursing child-support payments.
• Contempt: Failure to comply with the court’s orders.
• CSE: Child Support Enforcement

• Default: An arrears balance that is equal to or greater than 1 month’s current support.
• Defendant: A person who has a court action filed against him or her.

• Emancipation: The removal of a child from a child support case. Typically, this occurs when a child is 18 years old and has completed high school or is no longer attending an accredited high school on a full-time basis.
• Enforcement: Efforts taken to ensure that a support and/or health insurance order are fulfilled.
• Escrow: An account set up to hold money until a determination is made as to where the money should be sent.

• Felony Non-Support: A criminal action taken in some cases where an obligor has missed paying 26 out of the last 104 weeks in child support.
• FIDM: Financial Institution Data Match. The process by which money is removed from a bank account to pay an arrears balance.
• Findings and Recommendations: The initial review of income information provided by parties and recommendations as to what the amount of child support should be.
• Foster Care: Care provided by third parties when the children have been taken from their home due to neglect, abuse, delinquency or dependency.

• Garnishment: A withholding of earnings from a person’s wages or assets.
• Genetic Tests: Analysis of blood, tissue, or DNA of the mother, child and presumed father(s) to prove or disprove paternity.

• Imposition: Seeking to fulfill a sentence that has been suspended pending compliance with a court order.
• Income Withholding: An administrative order sent by the CSE to an obligor’s employer to inform the employer of the child support obligation to be withheld from the obligor’s paycheck.
• IV-A: Refers to the Department of Job and Family Services providing cash assistance, food stamps and/or a medical card to parties meeting financial requirements.
• IV-D: Refers to the section of the Social Security Act that established the child support agency. If a case is IV-D, then the CSE provides services on the case.

• Jurisdiction: Legal authority that a court has over particular persons, certain types of cases, and in a defined geographical area.

• Lien: Legal claim upon property to prevent sale or transfer until debt is satisfied.
• Long Arm Statute: A law that permits 1 state to claim personal jurisdiction over someone who lives in another state.
• Lump Sum: A 1-time payment (i.e. bonus check) that the CSE may seize to pay off back child support.

• Medical Support: An order by the court for medical insurance coverage.
• Mistake of Fact Hearing: An administrative or court hearing that is scheduled at the request of the obligor or obligee because he or she disagrees with formal findings and recommendations of the agency.

• NMSN: National Medical Support Notice. A federal notice requiring a party’s employer to enroll the child on an employer’s insurance plan if available at a reasonable cost.
• Non-Custodial Parent: Parent who does not have custody.

• OBES: Ohio Bureau of Employment Services. This agency provides unemployment benefits in the State of Ohio.
• Obligee: Person entitled to receive the child support obligation.
• Obligor: Person required to pay the child support obligation.
• Ohio Parent Locator Service: The information system maintained by the State of Ohio that searches for a party’s whereabouts and employment information.
• Ohio Works First: The name for the public assistance program in Ohio.

• Paternity: Establishment of the biological father.
• Petitioner: Person who requests court action.
• Plaintiff: Person who requests initial court action.
• Postmaster Verification: Process by which the post office verifies that an individual receives mail at a given address.
• Presumed Father: A man named as a potential father of a child; legal determination has not been made.
• Public Assistance: A variety of governmental programs with eligibility criteria.

• Residential Parent: Person who has custody of the child(ren).
• Respondent: Person who responds to court action taken against him or her.
• Review and Adjustment: The process of reviewing a current child support order to determine if the child support order should be adjusted.

• Seek Work: Program that requires the obligor to report every month to the agency to indicate that he or she is searching for a job.
• Shared Parenting: Formally known as joint custody. A plan that allows for the parents to share time with the child(ren).
• Spousal Support: Formally known as alimony. An obligation to support a former spouse.
• State Hearing: A review of the child support case by the State of Ohio requested when a party does not believe that his or her IV-D case is being handled in accordance with state or federal guidelines.
• Subpoena: A command to appear at a specific time and place to give testimony upon a certain matter.
• Support Enforcement Tracking System (SETS): The statewide computer system that maintains records of all child support cases in the State of Ohio.
• Support Order: The amount of money to be paid for the current child support obligation. It is determined by the Ohio Child Support Guidelines.

• Tax Offset: Federal and state process that applies tax refunds to a past due child support obligation.
• Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF): Formerly known as ADC or welfare; public assistance.

UIFSA: Uniform Interstate Family Support Act. The federal law that sets forth the process of establishing and enforcing court orders when the parents of a child do not reside in the same state.