Use this listing for a better understanding of information in the child support section of this Web site:
Absent Parent: Also referred to as AP, non-residential, non-custodial or obligor; the person who is ordered to pay child support.
Administrative Hearing: Instead of going to court, a child support hearing officer makes a determination on issues such as paternity, child support, medical insurance, review and adjustment, or mistake of fact.
Arrearage: Past due child support.
Audit: Process of verifying account balances.
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.
CSEA: Child Support Enforcement Agency
Custodial Parent: Also known as the residential, CP or obligee; the person who has legal custody of the child(ren).
Default: An arrears balance that is equal to or greater than one 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 see 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 needs to be applied.
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: Cases where 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 alleged 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 CSEA 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 CSEA 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 one state to claim personal jurisdiction over someone who lives in another state.
Lump Sum: A one-time payment (i.e. bonus check) that the CSEA 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.
