👨‍👩‍👧 Skip Tracing for Child Support Enforcement

💰 The Child Support Enforcement Challenge

Millions of children across the United States are owed child support that is not being paid. Non-custodial parents who owe arrears frequently move without updating their address, change jobs to avoid wage withholding, work under the table for cash, and deliberately make themselves difficult to find. For the custodial parent and the children who depend on those payments, every missed payment represents groceries not bought, rent not paid, and opportunities lost. 💰

State child support enforcement agencies have significant tools — the Federal Parent Locator Service (FPLS), state databases, tax intercepts, license suspensions, and contempt proceedings — but these tools only work when the agency knows where the non-custodial parent is and where they work. When government databases come up empty or produce outdated information, professional skip tracing fills the gap with current commercial data. Results in 24 hours or less. 🔍

For a comprehensive overview of the collection process, see our guide on how to collect child support arrears. This page focuses specifically on the role of skip tracing in finding the non-custodial parent and enabling enforcement. ⚖️

🔍 What a Skip Trace Reveals for Child Support Cases

⚖️ Enforcement Tools That Require the Parent’s Location

Every child support enforcement mechanism depends on knowing where the non-custodial parent is and where they work: ⚖️

📌 Income withholding orders. The most effective tool — automatic payroll deduction sent directly to the custodial parent or state disbursement unit. Requires the current employer name and address. The skip trace provides this.

📌 Contempt of court. When a parent willfully refuses to pay, the court can hold them in contempt — which can include incarceration until they pay. Filing a contempt motion requires serving the parent at their current address.

📌 License suspension. Most states can suspend the non-paying parent’s driver’s license, professional licenses, and recreational licenses. Notices of suspension must be sent to the parent’s current address.

📌 Tax refund intercept. Federal and state tax refund intercepts seize the parent’s tax refunds and apply them to arrears. While this does not require a current address (it works through the IRS), knowing the parent files taxes and having their SSN confirmed through skip tracing ensures the intercept is properly configured.

📌 Passport denial. Parents who owe more than $2,500 in child support arrears can be denied a U.S. passport. This is a federal enforcement tool that can motivate parents who travel internationally.

📌 Bank levies and property liens. With asset information from the skip trace, bank levies can seize account funds and judgment liens can be recorded on real property.

📊 When to Use Private Skip Tracing vs. Government Resources

State child support enforcement agencies provide locate services through the FPLS at no cost. However, private skip tracing is faster, more comprehensive, and often necessary: 📊

📌 When the state agency is slow. Government locate services can take weeks or months due to caseload volume. Private skip tracing delivers results in 24 hours or less — critical when arrears are accumulating daily.

📌 When government databases are outdated. The FPLS relies on quarterly-reported employment data, IRS records, and state databases that may not reflect recent moves or job changes. Commercial skip tracing databases include real-time utility connections, credit bureau headers, and address change data that government databases often lack.

📌 When the parent is self-employed or paid cash. Parents working off the books do not appear in employer databases. Skip tracing can identify their residential address, business interests, social media presence, and lifestyle indicators that reveal hidden income.

📌 When you have a private attorney. If you hired a family law attorney to pursue enforcement independently (rather than through the state agency), your attorney needs a private skip trace to obtain the parent’s current information.

💰 Proving Ability to Pay — Building the Contempt Case

For contempt proceedings, the court must find that the parent has the ABILITY to pay but willfully refuses. Skip tracing and asset investigation provide the evidence: 💰

📌 Employment. The skip trace identifies the current employer — proving the parent has income and the ability to pay. Pay stubs or income records obtained through discovery confirm the amount.

📌 Property and vehicles. Ownership of a home, vehicles, or other assets demonstrates financial capacity. A parent claiming poverty while owning a home and driving a newer vehicle has a credibility problem in court.

📌 Social media evidence. Posts showing vacations, new purchases, dining out, and an active lifestyle contradict claims of inability to pay. Courts increasingly accept social media evidence in contempt proceedings.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

📚 Related Resources