Child Support
What We Do
The collection of child support is neither a constitutional nor a statutory duty of the county attorney. Steve Gold, however, has agreed to undertake the responsibility of assisting custodial parents receive the payments that they rightfully deserve. The County Attorney’s office is currently under agreement with the Commonwealth of Kentucky’s Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS) as its representative in the county to do so.
It is important to understand that the attorneys and staff at the Child Support office do not provide legal representation to either parent as a private attorney would, but rather administers the laws of Kentucky to see that support is set and paid according to law. The County Attorney’s office may only deal with adult parties who request services in their capacity as the adult representative (guardian, custodial parent) pursuant to his or her obligation to provide legal services to and for CHFS and the Commonwealth of Kentucky according to KRS 205.712(7) (PDF). Each applicant for services must sign and execute an Authorization and Acknowledgement of No Legal Representation (CS-11) (PDF).
Our Goals & Responsiblities
- Collect current child / spousal support
- Enforce current child / spousal/medical support
- Enforce payment of past-due support
- Establish child / medical support orders
- Establish Paternity
- Modify child / medical support orders
Our office has a limited scope on pursuing medical orders (only when someone is receiving a medical card or if there is a judgment for a specific amount).
All of these services are provided by the state so there is no cost or fee to the public.
Responsibilities of Custodial Parents
In order to assist you, we need to be able to communicate with you when necessary. You must contact our office if you have a change of address, telephone number or change of employment. Further, you must keep us informed of new information regarding the non-custodial parent. Changes of address must be submitted in writing to our office.
The length of time to process your case varies depending on the information we have been provided and the type of actions required. Delays can occur if the non-custodial parent lives out of state or if our office cannot locate the non-custodial parent. Processing a case fully through the court system can take several months and full cooperation from you. Each case is very important to us, but we request your patience and cooperation throughout the process.
Disclaimer
The Henderson County Attorney’s Office Child Support Division is funded by the Kentucky Cabinet for Families and Children, which is a partially federally funded agency.