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Employer Resources:
If you're an Ohio employer... The Lake County Child Support Division welcomes you. This section is dedicated to addressing questions you may have concerning your role in the child support process.
In Ohio, the Child Support Program is state supervised and county administered.
Why should employers be involved with Child Support ?
Complying with this law will benefit all of us:
* Income withholding is the most successful and efficient enforcement tool for collecting child support - nearly 73% of all monies collected on behalf of Ohio's children is collected directly by employers!
* Stable, reliable workforce - when parents know their children are provided with the necessities of life and well cared for, the result is less absenteeism and higher productivity on the job.
* Taxpayer savings - the New Hire Reporting program will reduce government spending on welfare by increasing child support collections for families who would otherwise be forced to seek public assistance.
* Healthy children - children who might otherwise not be covered under a medical insurance plan can receive vital and preventative medical attention if they are receiving medical support through an employees medical plan.
* Fraud detection - Ohio can use new hire information to detect erroneous unemployment, disability, and workers compensation benefit payments and erroneous receipt of public assistance payments.
Responsibilities of the Employer: Income Withholding:
- To withhold the correct amount of income for the length of the support obligation or face penalties.
- Must honor an income withholding order/notice from another state.
- Must remit monies to Ohio Child Support Payment Central (OCSPC) in a timely manner.
- Must keep employment information up-to-date and report to the local Child Support Enforcement Division (CSED) when an employee will receive a lump sum payment of $150 dollars or more, is temporarily off work or terminates employment.
Medical insurance:
- On notice from the CSED, withhold monies for medical insurance for the children, if available. - Failure to enroll the employee on request by the CSED may prompt contempt charges by the court. - Must inform the CSED of any health insurance coverage changes, including termination of coverage.
New Hire:
- To have the information remain confidential.
- Report new hires and rehires in a timely manner or face penalties.
- Participate in the New Hire program inclusive of the electronic data match requirements.
Income withholding by employers is the single most effective method of child support collection. Ohio employers play a vital role in helping to secure the financial future of thousands of children. Working cooperatively to withhold and remit child support payments, makes you a valuable resource in our efforts to secure these children's future.
** Please Remember to provide the Employee name, the SETS case number, the Court Docket number AND the payment amount for each case you are submitting a payment. If you are submitting one payment for multiple cases, you must provide the specific payment amount intended for each case.
The payment amount submitted should be broken down between all cases. Please list the specific amount to be applied to each case individually.
Employers submitting payments should mail payments to:
Ohio Child Support Payment Central P.O. Box 182394 Columbus, Ohio 43218-2394
The SETS case number(s) and employee social security number MUST BE LISTED on your payment and included on all other correspondence you submit.
Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT)
Electronic Data Interchange (EDI)
EFT is a process that electronically transfers dollars from one bank account to another. EDI transfers information. In child support applications, EFT / EDI is used to simultaneously transfer child support payments and remittance information to the State (OCSPC).
Using EFT/EDI has proven to be faster and more efficient than mailing paper checks and hard copy remittance information. It saves postage and administrative processing costs and reduces the chances of error.
For detailed information on the formats and procedures for using EFT / EDI, go to Ohio Child Support Payment Central website.
The Department of Child Support Enforcement is responsible for establishing and enforcing health insurance orders for child support cases when coverage is available at a reasonable cost or expected to become available.
The employer will receive a National Medical Support Notice (NMSN) which requires the employee to obtain health insurance for the child (ren). The employer must enroll the child (ren) and deduct any premiums from the employee's income/wages. This notice may be subsequent to or in conjunction with an order to withhold wages/income for child support. The employer must also contact the Child Support Enforcement Division when employment terminates and/or the medical insurance ends or is no longer available.
The dependent (s) must be enrolled in the insurance plan without regard to seasonal restrictions (i.e. Open Enrollment). The dependant (s) may not be denied coverage on the grounds that the parents were not married, that the dependant is not claimed as a dependant on the employee's federal income tax return, or that the dependant does not reside with the employee or in the insurer's service area.
One of the most significant changes in child support enforcement was the implementation of the New Hire Reporting Program. New hire reporting is the process by which an employer reports information on newly hired employees shortly after the employee is hired.
Security and privacy of data is a major focus of the program. Federal law requires all states to establish safeguards for confidential information handled by state agencies. All Ohio new hire data is transmitted over secure and dedicated lines to the National Directory of New Hires (NDNH). Federal law also requires that the NDNH restrict access to and use of new hire information to authorized persons for authorized purposes.
New hires must be reported to:
Ohio New Hire Reporting Center P.O. Box 15309 Columbus, Ohio 43215-0309 Telephone: (614) 221-5330 or 1-888-872-1490 FAX (614) 221-7088 or 1-888-872-1611
Take care of your new hire reporting on the web! Ohio New Hire Reporting Center Website
Frequently Asked Questions about Income Withholding:
Q. What information should I include on the remittance documentation to assure the payment is posted properly?
A. It is best to include all of the following: Obligor name, SSN, SETS case #, order #
Q. Why do I need to list the SETS case number, isn't the employee name and social security number sufficient?
A. Only if there is a match to one case. An employee with multiple cases will cause the payment to become an exception and it will need to be sent to research for resolution and proper posting. This may cause unnecessary delays in getting the money out to the household.
Q. What do I do if an employee asks me to withhold child support?
A. If your employee presents a court order that directs payment through the Department of Child Support, then it is acceptable to initiate withholding at the employees request and follow the terms of the order. It will be necessary to obtain the SETS case number to include with your payments. If the employee does not have an order, send him/her to County Child Support Enforcement Division to establish one.
Q. How long after I receive the notice do I begin withholding?
A. Withholding must begin no later than the first pay period that occurs after 14 working days following the date the notice was mailed to the employer.
Q. When do I send in the withheld payments?
A. You should forward the withheld payment immediately but not later than 7 working days after the payment was withheld from your employee.
Q. What do I do if my employee quits, is fired, or laid off?
A. You should contact the County Department of Child Support which issued the wage withholding with the name of the employee, SETS case number, date of separation from employment, last known address and the name and address of the employee's new employer. You must continue to withhold wages through employee's final paycheck.
Q. How do I indicate a lump sum payment? A. A lump sum payment is any kind of annual awards payment, such as a performance bonus. If you have an employee that is due a lump sum payment of $150.00 or more you will need to:
Notify the county child support enforcement division 45 days prior to paying out the employee's lump sum payment. If the payment is eligible for withholding, the county child support enforcement division will send you an order instructing you on the payment.
When remitting a lump sum, clearly indicate Lump Sum on the remittance documentation, regardless of whether you use the billing statements to remit. It is important to differentiate the lump sum payment from a regular withholding.
Frequently Asked Questions about Medical Support
Q. My employee tells me he/she can't afford to pay the premium.
A. Your employee is bound by the court order to provide medical insurance if it is available through employment. The employee does have due process rights allowing him/her to contest the medical support order, but until that order is modified, you must enroll the children and deduct the premiums.
Q. My employee told me he/she no longer has to provide health insurance for the child(ren) because the other parent can get it at a lower cost. May I stop deducting premiums from my employee's wages?
A. No. you must continue to deduct premiums until you receive documentation from the court or the Child Support Enforcement Agency advising you of changes in the medical support order.
Frequently Asked Questions about New Hire Reporting:
Q. How do employers benefit from New Hire reporting?
A. A direct result of the New Hire reporting will be the reduction and prevention of fraudulent workers' compensation and unemployment insurance payments. Timely receipt of the new hire data allows Ohio to cross match this data against its active unemployment claimant files and either stop payments or recover erroneous payments. States already utilizing new hire data have reported unemployment benefit savings in the millions of dollars. With 100% of employers reporting, every state should show significant savings in the future.
Q. Do I have to report a new employee as a new hire if the employee worked for me in the past?
A. Yes. You must report all new hires, including rehires.
Q. Will I be penalized if I fail to report New Hires?
A. Yes. Under Ohio law, the penalty imposed on employers is $25.00 per newly hired employee the employer fails to report. If there is a conspiracy between the employer and the employee not to report, the penalty in Ohio is $500.00 per newly hired employee the employer fails to report.
Administrative Procedure: Method by which support orders are made and enforced by an executive agency rather than by courts and judges.
Arrearage: Past due, unpaid child support owed by the non-custodial parent. If the parent has an arrearage, he/she is said to be "in arrears."
Child Support Enforcement Division: local county entity which locates non-custodial parents (NCPs) or putative fathers (PF), establishes, enforces, and modifies child support, and collects and distributes child support money. Operated by State or local government according to the Child Support Enforcement Program guidelines as set forth in Title IV-D of the Social Security Act. Also known as a "IV-D Agency."
Consumer Credit Protection Act (CCPA): Federal law that limits the amount that may be withheld from earnings to satisfy child support obligations. States are allowed to set their own limits provided they do not exceed the Federal limits. Regardless of the number or withholding orders that have been served, the maximum that may be withheld for child support is:
Without arrearage 50% with a second family 60% Single
With Arrearage 55% with a second family and 12+ weeks in arrears 65% Single 12+ weeks in arrears
Custodial Parent (CP): The person who has primary care, custody, and control of the child(ren). Also referred to as the Obligee.
CSPC (Child Support Payment Central): The official name of Ohio's State Disbursement Unit (SDU). This enables all child and spousal support payments in the State of Ohio to be processed at one central location. Ohio CSPC is the umbrella that represents several activities mandated for implementation under the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 to centralize child support payment collection and disbursement within each of the 50 states.
EDI (Electronic Data Interchange): Process by which information regarding an Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) transaction is transmitted electronically along with the EFT funds transfer.
EFT (Electronic Funds Transfer): Process by which money is transmitted electronically from one bank account to another.
FIPS (Code): Federal Information Processing Standards. A unique five-digit code that identifies the child support jurisdiction, (i.e., States, counties, central state registries).
Income Withholding: Procedure by which automatic deductions are made from wages or income, as defined in the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA), to pay a debt such as child support. Income withholding often is incorporated into the child support order and may be voluntary or involuntary. The provision dictates that an employer must withhold support from a non-custodial parent's wages and transfer that withholding to the appropriate agency (the Centralized Collection Unit or State Disbursement Unit). Sometimes referred to as wage withholding.
Medical Support: Form of child support where medical or dental insurance coverage is paid typically by the non-custodial parent (NCP). Depending on the court order, medical support can be an NCP's sole financial obligation, or it can be one of several obligations, with child and/or spousal support being the others. In some cases, a court order may require the custodial parent (CP) to carry the coverage for the child(ren).
Non Custodial Parent (NCP) Or Absent Parent (AP): The parent who does not have primary care, custody, or control of the child, and has an obligation to pay child support. Also referred to as the Obligor.
SETS (Support Enforcement Tracking System): SETS is the internal system developed by Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) for tracking case establishment, case management and financial management of both child and spousal support cases in the State of Ohio. SETS is being designed pursuant to Federal requirements outlined in the Family Support Act of 1988, PRWORA96 and other Federal and State statutory and regulatory articles.
TPN (Third Part Number): Each active Ohio employer is assigned a unique identifier number by SETS. The number can be found on your billing statement(s). Your TPN is not your Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) or Federal Employer Identification Number (FIEN) or Employer Identification Number (FEIN).
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