Services Provided by Alameda County Child Support Services
- Establish paternity, child support and medical coverage court orders.
- Locate the non-custodial parent and his or her assets to enforce the court order.
- Collect and distribute child, medical, and spousal support payments.
- Maintain accounts of payments owed and received.
- Modify court orders when appropriate.
- Enforce Alameda County Court orders for child, spousal and medical support
Services Not Provided by Alameda County Child Support Services
- We do not legally represent either the custodial or non-custodial parent's interests. Our attorneys are not your attorneys.
- By law, we have the final decision as to which enforcement actions will or will not be
taken in a case. - We cannot assist with visitation and custody issues.
- We cannot obtain divorce decrees nor represent either party in a divorce action.
- We cannot establish or modify spousal support orders.
- We cannot obtain or enforce restraining orders.
**Please note that matters involving denial of court-ordered visitation
and incidents involving parental kidnapping are handled by the Child
Abduction Unit. The Child Abduction Unit can be reached at
(510) 267-8854.
The following are some of the most Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) from our clients. Before you contact our office, please refer to this list of FAQs as frequent phone calls and letters to our office that provide no new information can slow the child support process. Please click on the question to see the answer or click on a department to scroll through all the FAQs for that department.
If you have new information, such as a change of address, new employment information, Social Security numbers or additional court orders, please contact us:
- by telephone at 1-800-809-2955
- by fax at (925) 468-9297
- by e-mail at Child Support
- or visit our office at 5669 Gibraltar Drive, Pleasanton.
When contacting us, please be sure to provide your seven digit Child Support Services case number, your name and Social Security number and a daytime phone number.
How to navigate through our Interactive Voice
Response Unit
How to request a document be faxed from our Interactive Voice Response Unit
Case Opening
The Intake Unit at the Alameda County Child Support Services is responsible for opening cases. They review applications and referrals to ensure we have all the necessary information to open the case. They also review and research the case for initial locate actions.
- Who is eligible for Child Support Services services?
- How do I apply for Child Support Services services?
- What is the cost of Child Support Services services?
- What sort of documentation or information will I need to open the case?
- How long will it take to open a case?
- Will you open a case for spousal support only?
- Will you open a case for past due child support if all children are emancipated?
- I am not receiving CalWORKs; how do I apply for your services?
- My child(ren) and I are receiving CalWORKs benefits, but I did not apply for your services. Why was a case opened?
- The non-custodial parent and I already have an agreement regarding child support. Why are you pursuing him/her?
- If I discontinue from welfare, will the case be closed?
- How long before I start receiving child support payments?
- My child is 17; can I still open a case?
- How does Child Support Services locate the non-custodial parent?
- What information is Child Support Services looking for?
- I just received a Summons and Complaint; what does this mean?
- I do not think I am the father of the child(ren) listed on the Complaint. What do I do?
- I disagree with the child support amount or with one of the terms set in the Proposed Judgment. What do I do?
- How did you arrive at this child support amount?
- The non-custodial parent of my 13-year-old child and I never went to court and I've never received any child support. Will the court order the father to pay for those years he didn't support his child?
- How do I obtain copies of my court order for child support?
- A child support order exists and an account is open, so where is my money?
- How do I get the child support amount modified?
- I just received a "Demand for Payment" letter from the Franchise Tax Board asking me to pay off my entire balance within ten days; will they take my car and/or house, etc., if I cannot pay my balance off?
- My bank account is frozen; what should I do?
- I just got a notice that my license will be revoked. How do I stop the process?
- I just discontinued from CalWORKs, how do I get child support?
- I know a payment was recently mailed out to me, but I haven't received it yet. What is the procedure for tracking the checks?
- I am the custodial party. How do I close my case?
- How is a payment distributed?
- How do I obtain current payment information?
- How do I obtain a payment history?
- Can Child Support Services collect child support obligations when the non-custodial parent lives in another state?
- Can Child Support Services collect child support obligations when the non-custodial parent lives in another country?
- Why does it take so long for my case to proceed?
- What is Registration of Foreign Judgment and why is it necessary?
- Why does my order have to be registered out of state?
- Why can't Alameda County enforce my child support order?
How Child Support is Calculated
A: : Any custodial party or non-custodial parent may open a case in our office. If you are currently receiving benefits from CalWORKs, Department of Social Services (DSS) must refer your case to us and a case will be opened on your behalf.
Q: I am not receiving CalWORKs; how do I apply for your services?
The application forms are available on our Forms & Brochures page. If you prefer to have the application mailed to you, you may call us toll-free at 1-800-809-2955. You may also request an application in person at our office, by fax at (925) 468-9297, or by email. If you need assistance in completing the form, please call us toll-free at 1-800-809-2955.
Q: What is the cost of your services?
A: Our services are free. We charge no fee nor do we retain any of the money we collect. We are funded by state and federal incentive monies.
Q: What sort of documentation or information will I need to open the case?
A: The most important piece of information is the non-custodial parent's Social Security number as it is key to accessing location and earnings information. Also important is information regarding the non-custodial parent's employment, home and work addresses, date of birth and any prior court order information. If you're not receiving CalWORKs, we also request a copy of your paystub. The more information you supply in your application, the quicker we will be able to proceed.
Q: How long will it take to open a case?
A: A case is opened within twenty days of receipt of a completed application or welfare referral. Case opening letters are mailed to the custodial party and non-custodial parent. The case opening process includes verification of information such as addresses and employment. Please note that providing accurate and complete information on the application will help to move the case forward. Incomplete or erroneous information may result in case opening delays or rejection of the application.
Q: Will you open a case for spousal support only?
A: We enforce spousal support obligations only when child support is also ordered in the court order and there is current child support or arrears still due and owing.
Q: Will you open a case for past due child support if all children are emancipated?
A: No, unless a case has been open in another County IV-D office. In order to open a new IV-D case, at least one child must be under age 18 at the time of application
Q: My children and I are receiving CalWORKs benefits, but I did not apply for your services. Why was a case opened?
A: State and Federal law require recipients of CalWORKs benefits to participate in the child support program. The CalWORKs office must send us a referral (a CA2.1 or CA 371 form) to open a case to establish paternity and financial and medical support for the child(ren) receiving the benefits. When you are approved for these benefits, your rights to child support are assigned to the county for the time period you and the child(ren) receive aid. The Child Support Services is charged with the duties to establish paternity, child support and health insurance coverage by court order. The child support collected while your family receives aid is used to reimburse the money paid to your family by the county, pursuant to state and federal law.
Q: The non-custodial parent and I already have an agreement regarding child support. Why are you pursuing him/her?
A: This office must legally establish paternity, child support and health insurance coverage in a court order for children receiving welfare benefits. An agreement, even a notarized agreement, is not an enforceable court order, which is what we are required to pursue.
Q: If I discontinue from welfare, will the case be closed?
A: We will continue to collect child support on your behalf unless you request in writing that we close the non-welfare portion of your case. We will continue to pursue for the child support owed for the time period the children received CalWORKs benefits. If the non-custodial party is unlocated, aid is discontinued and no legal action is pending, we will mail you a non-welfare assistance letter. If you do not respond to this letter, and the above criteria exist, we will review the case for closure. If the case is closed for this reason, we will still continue to access our locate sources. If we find an address or assets for the non-custodial party, we will review the case to re-open it to pursue collection of the child support arrears owed to the county for the time period aid was paid.
Q: How long before I start receiving child support payments?
A: It varies from case to case depending on the information provided and the cooperation received from the non-custodial parent.
Q: My child is 17; can I still open a case?
A: Yes. We will open a case and obtain and enforce an order for current child support until a child emancipates. Under California state law, a child emancipates at age 18, unless the child is attending high school. If the child is in high school, child support will continue until their 19th birthday OR until the child graduates, whichever comes first. If the case is already open and an order established, we will continue to pursue collection of any past due child support (aka arrears).
The Pending/Locate Unit attempts to locate the non-custodial parent, his or her Social Security number and assets. Once the Unit locates the non-custodial parent the case is prepared for the legal action that will establish an Alameda County enforceable order for paternity, health insurance coverage, and child support.
A: This office has several resources to locate the non-custodial parent. The following are a sample of the locate sources used to find addresses and employment information: Employment Development Department (EDD), IRS/FTB, credit reporting agencies, Department of Motor Vehicles, local, state, and federal criminal records, the California and Federal Parent Locator Service (CPLS and FPLS).
Q: What locate information are you looking for?
A: We are looking for the non-custodial parent's home and work addresses, employer, date of birth and Social Security number, assets and if he or she has other children to legally support.
The legal department establishes paternity, child support and medical support orders. When appropriate, the legal department may file Registration of Foreign Judgments, Contempts, Modifications, Supplemental Complaints, Interventions, Seek Work Orders, and other legal actions as necessary.
If you have questions regarding notice of a pending legal action or about a court date in your case, please call our Public Service Center at 1-800-809-2955.
If you wish assistance in completing the forms or further legal assistance, please contact the Family Law Facilitator at (510) 208-4960. For more information about the Family Law Facilitator service in California, please visit www.courtinfo.ca.gov.
Q: I just received a Summons and Complaint; what does this mean?
A: State and Federal laws require us to legally establish paternity, child support and health insurance coverage for the child(ren) listed on the Complaint. You must respond by filing an Answer with the Alameda County Clerk's office in the Superior Court House, within thirty days of service (or forty days of the date if someone you know was served on your behalf). If you do not file an Answer, a Default Judgment will be filed based upon the Proposed Judgment included in your Summons and Complaint packet.
Q: I do not think I am the father of the child(ren) listed on the Complaint. What do I do?
A: If you do not believe you are the father of this child, you must file an Answer (included in the packet) with the Alameda County Clerk's office in the Superior Court House. Once your Answer is filed, a court date and genetic test appointments will be scheduled to determine if you are the father. Failure to file an Answer may result in a Default Judgment being entered against you.
Q: I disagree with the child support amount, or one of the terms, set in the Proposed Judgment. What do I do?
A: You must file an Answer with the Alameda County Clerk's office. A court date will then be set and the issues resolved there. Failure to file an Answer may result in a Default Judgment being entered against you.
Q: How did you arrive at this child support
amount?
A: The child support amount is based upon the information you
provide to us prior to the filing of the Summons and Complaint, and the information
in the case. This includes the information we receive from the Employment
Development Department regarding your work history and the amount of
child support for other children you may have for whom you pay child
support through our office. The amount of child support is determined using specific guidelines
established by California law. The calculation, attached to the Proposed Judgment received with the
Summons and Complaint, details the income and deductions used. Click here for more details on how child
support is calculated. It is therefore extremely important to
inform us of your income information.
Q: The non-custodial parent of my 13-year-old child and I never went to court and I've never received any child support. Will the court order the father to pay for those years he didn't support his child?
A: No. In California, child support can only be established back to the date of the filing of the Summons and Complaint.
Q: How do I obtain copies of my court order for child support?
A: To obtain a copy of a court order you should contact the Superior Court Clerk's office in the county in which the order was filed. You will need to provide the clerk's office with as much information as possible, including the names of both parties, the court order number, and the date the order was filed. This information is at the top of the first page of the court order. Fees for copies of court orders vary by county. For orders filed in Alameda County, please go to the Alameda County Superior Court website (http://www.alameda.courts.ca.gov/courts/) and select "fee schedule."
A: We will mail you a payment within two days from the day we receive the payment. To collect a child support obligation, we need to know where the non-custodial parent is working. We will then serve a Wage Assignment so that the obligation is automatically deducted from his or her wages. If you know where the non-custodial parent is working, please inform us via mail, email or phone, and we will serve a Wage Assignment. You may call 1-800-809-2955 to see if we received a payment on your case. Information is available twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.
Q: How do I get my child support modified?
A:We will review your court order for modification if you have a case open in our office and there is a change in circumstances that will last more than three months. To start the review process, please telephone, e-mail, fax, or drop-by our office to submit your request. Please be aware that this review may result in either an increase or decrease in your support amount depending on the circumstances of both parents. ONCE YOU HAVE RETURNED THE APPLICATION FOR REVIEW THE PROCESS WILL NOT BE TERMINATED REGARDLESS OF WHETHER YOUR ORDER WILL BE INCREASED OR DECREASED. In other words, if the review shows that the child support obligation should be higher, we will proceed with the modification to increase the child support obligation. If the review shows that the amount should decrease, we will proceed with the modification to lower the monthly obligation. You may also seek a modification on your own behalf pursuant to California Family Code Section 3651. Forms may be obtained from the Clerk of the Superior Court.
Q: I just received a "Demand for Payment" letter from the Franchise Tax Board asking me to pay off my entire balance within 10 days; will they take my car and/or house, etc., if I cannot pay my balance off?
A: Please contact the California Department of Child Support Services at (866) 820-5408 to discuss your situation with their representative.
Q: My bank account is frozen; how do I get it reinstated?
A: Please contact the California Department of Child Support Services at (866) 820-5408 to discuss your situation with their representative.
Q: I just got a notice that my driving or professional license will be revoked. How do I stop the process?
A: Prior to contacting us, please verify that Alameda County placed the hold on your license. This information is noted on the letter from the licensing agency. We cannot release another county's hold on your license. Once you've verified that it is Alameda County holding your license, please complete and submit to us the SLMS Request for Review form and provide us with the license type and number, your current address, phone number and employer or source of income. We will review your case and if it meets with our release criteria (i.e. you are paying regularly by Wage Assignment), we will mail a license release form to the licensing agency or the DMV. You will also receive a copy in the mail. To obtain a another copy of the SLMS Request for Review form, or for additional information, you may call (510)639-1638. You can also obtain a Request for Review form from the licensing agency. Once the release form is mailed to the DMV, it may take one to two weeks before it is cleared.
Q: I just discontinued from the CalWORKs, how do I get child support?
A: Contact our office and we will change the account so that you receive the current support.
Q: I know a payment was recently mailed out to me, but I haven't received it yet. What is the procedure for tracking the checks?
If you have not received the check twenty days after it was issued, contact our office and we will send you the appropriate forms to complete and we will immediately put a "Stop Payment" on the check. A new check will be issued when we receive the completed forms from you.
Q: I am the custodial party. How do I close my case?
A: You must notify us in writing. We will then close your portion of the case. If the child(ren) ever received CalWORKs benefits, we will continue to collect the child support owed only for that time period. If the child(ren) never received CalWORKs benefits, we will close the case and send you and the non-custodial parent a closing letter.
The Accounting unit processes payments, account adjustments, Unemployment and Disability percentage changes and credit reporting changes.
Q: How is a payment distributed?
A: All payments except state and federal tax intercepts are first applied to any current month obligation, and then interest, arrears and finally any fees.
Q: How long before you stop and re-issue a check?
A: If you have not received the check twenty days after it was issued, contact our office and we will send you the appropriate forms to complete and we will immediately put a "Stop Payment" on the check. A new check will be issued when we receive the completed forms from you.
Q: How do I obtain current payment information?
A: You may obtain current payment information by telephone by calling toll free 1-800-809-2955. Current payment information is available on our automated response system 24 hours a day. Please note that you will need your case number and Social Security Number to obtain information.
You can also see current payment information through the internet at the CASES Payment Website. Please note that you will need your Participant ID and Social Security Number to access payment information at the Cases Payment Website.
Q: How do I obtain a payment history?
A: You may obtain a twelve month payment history through the internet at the CASES Payment Website. Please note that you will need your Participant ID and Social Security Number to access payment information at the Cases Payment Website.
You may also request a complete payment history by contacting our office. To make the request by telephone, call toll free 1-800-809-2955 Monday through Friday between 8:00 AM and 4:45 pm.
You may also request a payment history by sending a fax request to (925) 468-9297, by e-mailing us or by writing us at:
Alameda County Dept of Child Support Services
5669 Gibraltar Drive
Pleasanton, CA 94588-8547
When contacting us, please include your name, your seven-digit Child Support case number, your Social Security Number or Participant ID, and a daytime phone number.
A: Yes. We can request the other state obtain and enforce a child support order, or depending on jurisdiction, we can obtain and enforce the order across state lines.
Q: Can you collect child support obligations when the non-custodial parent lives in another country?
A: If the United States has a reciprocal agreement with the other country, we will contact them to obtain and/or enforce a child support order. If not, we have no jurisdiction to enforce and will have to review the case for closure.
Q: Why does it take so long for my case to proceed?
A: Once we have determined that an out-of-state referral is necessary, a request is sent from our office to the other jurisdiction. The other jurisdiction has ninety days from the date we sent the referral to open the case. The only contact we can make with the other jurisdiction during that time period is to request an Acknowledgment letter after thirty to forty-five days. After ninety days, we can send requests to the other jurisdiction asking for the case status of your case.
Q: What is Registration of Foreign Judgment and why is it necessary?
A: We must register another county's or state's order to make it an enforceable Alameda County order; the legal action to do this is called "Registration of Foreign Judgment." With an enforceable order, we can serve Wage Assignments and Health Insurance Coverage Assignments, submit balances for IRS, FTB, Unemployment and Disability intercepts, and many other enforcement tools to enforce the order. Without the registration process, we have no legal means of enforcing the order.
Q:Why does my order have to be registered out of state?
A: Once we have exhausted all enforcement measures available to use in California, we will request the other state enforce an order on our/your behalf. In order to enforce our California order in another state, the other state must first "register" the California order to make it an enforceable order in their state. This allows them to use various enforcement tools such as service of Wage Assignments and Health Insurance Coverage Assignment, liens on assets and interception of Unemployment or Disability benefits.
Q: Why can't Alameda County enforce my child support order?
A: Prior to requesting the assistance of another state, we review every case to determine if California has jurisdiction to either establish or enforce a child support order. If we determine that California has no jurisdiction, we send a request to the other state asking them to establish and/or enforce a child support order as we do not have the jurisdiction legally necessary to establish and/or enforce a child support order in the case. Jurisdiction is determined pursuant to Federal and State laws and regulations.
How Child Support is Calculated
In this section, a simplified version of the child support guideline is provided to give parents a better understanding of how child support is calculated. However, just as the circumstances of each case are different, so are the amounts of child support ordered by the court. For specific information about the child support guidelines and formula, please see the Statewide Uniform Guidelines for Determining Child Support listed in the California Family Code (Sections 4050-4076).
Calculating Child Support
Both parents are financially responsible for financially supporting their child(ren). The custodial parent directly supports his or her child(ren) by providing housing, buying groceries, paying for school, clothing, health care, day care and school activities, and covering other expenses. The non-custodial parent pays child support to help cover these costs.
The amount of child support to be paid by the non-custodial parent is based on his or her net income and visitation with the child(ren) for whom we are seeking support. Net income is calculated by taking the gross income and subtracting health insurance coverage costs, exceptional heath care expenses, union dues, mandatory work-related expenses, and other biological children he or she is required to support that either live in his or her home or for whom he or she must pay child support. Again, each case and situation is unique and therefore the amount of child support is unique. Income is money from sources including: self-employment, job wages, savings accounts, unemployment money, disability and worker's compensation, and Social Security. In some circumstances, the judge may consider the amount of money she or he thinks the parent could be making, instead of the parent's actual income. Once each parent's net income is calculated, the child support guideline is used to determine the percentage of net income to be paid as child support.
Net income is calculated by taking a person's total income and subtracting certain expenses, such as federal and state income taxes, health insurance premiums, state disability insurance, and Social Security taxes. The judge may also consider other expenses, including the cost of raising a child from another relationship, exceptional health care expenses, uninsured catastrophic losses, mandatory union dues, or retirement contributions.
Once each parent's net income is calculated, the child support guideline is used to determine the percentage of net income to be paid as child support.
The example below is a general guideline for calculating child support. The Child Support Services will calculate the amount of child support in your case, although the final amount will be determined by a judge.
For more information on how child support is calculated in California, please visit the California Department of Child Support Services at http://www.childsup.cahwnet.gov
| Number of children in household | % of net income |
| 1 | 25% |
| 2 | 40% |
| 3 | 50% |
For example, a custodial parent (in this case the mother) and noncustodial parent (the father) have one child. If the father's net income is $2,000 per month, his share of child support would be $500 a month (25% of 2,000). If the mother's net income is $1,500 per month, her share of child support would be $375 a month (25% of 1,500). These percentages are then adjusted according to the amount of time each parent spends with the child.
Child support covers only ordinary living expenses for a child. It does not include things like child care, medical bills not paid by insurance, travel expenses for visitation with the other parent, or a child's special education needs. Parents must specifically ask the judge to include these additional expenses in the child support order.
The law requires the judge to order one or both parents to provide health insurance coverage for their child(ren), including vision and dental care coverage, if it is available through a job or group insurance plan at no or reasonable cost to the parent.
