Child Support Enforcement (CSE) services help families collect child support payments to ensure that both parents financially support their children. Services are provided through county departments of social services or other agencies in conjunction with others such as clerks of court, the judiciary, sheriff departments, municipal law enforcement and employers. CSE offers the following services:

-  Locating non custodial parents. CSE searches to find where the non custodial parent lives and or works and the location of assets the parents may use to provide support.

-  Establishing paternity for children born outside of marriage. CSE establishes the legal father of the child to define a legal responsibility necessary to pursue a support obligation.

-  Establishing support obligations Support obligations are entered as legally binding court orders.

-  Collecting and distributing support. CSE collects support and distributes payments to the family. Records are kept of all court-ordered child support payments that are paid and that are past due.

Access and Visitation Services

Access and Visitation activities funded through a federal grant provides fatherhood initiatives to improve relationships between non custodial parents and their children. The goal is to increase collections for children and families and to help develop access and visitation by non custodial parents with their children.  The services available through this include:

-         Mediation and counseling

-         Education

-         Development of parenting plans

-         Supervised visitation and development of guidelines for visitation, and neutral pick up and drop off. 

NC has awarded these funds to five (5) Family Court Districts who have hired Access and Visitation Coordinators to oversee and/or provide services; a smaller portion of the funds is also allocated to the Wake Co. Human Ser vice's Working for Kids program for utilization towards program services.

These services benefit children and families in North Carolina.