- Depending on the circumstances of the case, DCS may try to collect support from a non-wage earning noncustodial parent in a number of ways, including:
- Suspending driver's, recreational, and occupational licenses.
- Attaching bank or retirement accounts.
- Filing liens on real and personal property.
- Seizing vehicles.
- Asking the court to find the noncustodial parent in contempt of court.
Despite recent record improvements in paternity establishment and child support collections, much more needs to be done to ensure that all children born out-of-wedlock have paternity established and that all non-custodial parents provide financial support for their children. Currently, only about one-half of the custodial parents due child support receive full payment. About 25 percent receive partial payment and 25 percent receive nothing.
In an effort to strengthen and improve state child support enforcement activities, several federal laws were passed, including a national new-hire reporting system. These laws required states to pass uniform interstate child support laws, automate enforcement actions, and provide for tougher noncompliance penalties, such as driver's license revocation.