The Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office, Child Support Division, works with the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services’ Division of Child Support Services to provide services to all residents of Kane County.
The cases that the Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office handles are initiated by the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services’ Division of Child Support Services (HFS/DCSS). The State’s Attorney’s Office receives referrals from HFS/DCSS on matters involving the judicial establishment of paternity and child support, as well as the collection and modification of existing Kane County child support judgments.
Assistance
To receive assistance with your child support enforcement, you must sign up with HFS for the Title-IV-D Program. The program can help you establish paternity, set support, modify support, and collect child support. By law, the Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office cannot intervene in a child support case if the case is not registered with HFS.
Any custodial or noncustodial parent is eligible for the Title IV-D Program regardless of the income they earn.
Do you need to set up a case?
To set up a case, click the link below, and download the form. Follow the instructions.
You can also call and HFS will send you a form.
1(800)447-4278
When you have completed the form, if you live in Kane, DuPage, or Lake County, mail it to:
Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services
Division of Child Support Services / Aurora Regional Office
280 E. Indian Trial
Aurora, IL 60505
HFS/DCSS
Aurora Regional Office
280 E. Indian Trail
Aurora, IL 60505
If you live in another county, click the link below and locate the appropriate address.
For additional information, Visit the Illinois Child Support Enforcement Website or call
1(800)447-4278 or (TTY:) 1(800)526-5812
FAQs
Q. My ex-spouse will not comply with the parenting plan, what should I do?
A. The Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office does not represent parties in divorce or family cases and cannot provide you with legal advice on this issue. If you do not already have an attorney and are seeking assistance in locating one, the Kane County Bar Association has a Lawyer Referral Service that you can access that may be able to assist you in finding an attorney who practices in the area of family law.
Or if you would like to proceed with the issue on your own, you may find the Kane County Law Library and Self-Help Legal Center helpful
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Q. What is the role of HFS/DCSS?
A. Role of HFS/DCSS
Federal law says that all states must offer child support services to all families, whether they are receiving welfare or not. In Illinois, the Division of Child Support Services (DCSS) is a part of the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS).
HFS/DCSS helps parents and caretakers:
- Locate the absent parent.
- Legally establish the child’s father.
- Set a child support amount and or order medical coverage.
- Modify, increase, or decrease, the amount of support a parent has to pay.
- Collect unpaid child support.
HFS/DCSS cannot:
- Help you get a divorce or decide who gets the property.
- Petition the Court for, or participate in, issues involving parenting time rights of either parent.
- Petition the Court to provide for reimbursement of daycare, school fees or tuition, or extra-curricular expenses.
- Petition the Court to set support for non-minor children, i.e. children over age 19, or for college expenses.
How to Contact HFS/DCSS
Visiting the HFS/DCSS website.
Calling the Child Support customer service call center.
1(800)447-4278
E-mailing the Aurora Regional Office
Visiting the Aurora Regional Office of HFS/DCSS.
280 East Indian Trial
Aurora, IL, 60505
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Q. What is the role of the Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office?
A. Role of State’s Attorney
If you are looking for government assistance regarding your child support, you must first contact the Division of Child Support Services of the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS/DCSS). The State’s Attorney’s Office (SAO) cannot initiate any proceedings without a request from HFS/DCSS. HFS/DCSS will request the necessary information from you to prepare the case for judicial or administrative action. In the event judicial action is chosen, HFS/DCSS will forward the file or pleading to the local SAO.
Upon receipt of the file or pleading from HFS/DCSS, the SAO will review it, and, if all paperwork is in order, the case or pleading will be filed with the Clerk of the Circuit Court within 30 days. After a case or a new pleading is filed, a notice providing information on when the case will be scheduled for court is sent to the parties on the case.
The SAO does not collect or distribute child support payments.
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Q. Who collects the money owed and sends me a check?
A. After an order of support is entered, a notice to withhold income for child support will be served by HFS/DCSS on the Person Saying Support (PSS’s) employer. The support will be taken out of the PPS’s paycheck and forwarded to the Illinois State Disbursement Unit (SDU) in Carol Stream, Illinois. If the PPS does not have a W-2 employer, they will be required to mail their child support payments to the SDU.
P.O. Box 5400, Carol Stream, IL, 60197
The SDU will disburse the money to the Person Receiving Support (PRS). Child support must be paid through the SDU and should not be sent directly to the PRS. You may contact the SDU via telephone or email.
1(877)225-7077
www.ilsdu.com
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Q. What happens when payment is not being made?
A. Missed Payments
When a PRS has not received court-ordered support payments, a call must be made to HFS/DCSS. You do not contact the State’s Attorney’s Office (SAO). HFS/DCSS will review the case and decide if administrative remedies are appropriate or if judicial enforcement is warranted.
Some of the administrative remedies available to HFS/DCSS are:
- Intercept state and federal income tax refund checks.
- Intercept lottery winnings.
- Withhold unemployment benefits.
- Place liens on property.
- Seize bank accounts.
- Place holds on passports, professional licenses, and federal payments.
If necessary, guidelines are met, HFS/DCSS may send a referral for enforcement to the SAO with a Petition for Rule to Show Cause for Failure to Pay. The SAO will file the Petition and request that the Court issue an Order to Show Cause that must be served with notice on the PPS. In the event the PPS fails to appear on the day of the hearing, a body attachment may be issued for their failure to appear. If the PPS appears for the hearing and the judge finds the PPS’s failure to pay was contemptuous, the PPS could be sentenced to up to 6 months in jail. The Court will enter a set amount of money which may be paid by the PPS to purge the contempt sentence and get out of jail. If the PPS pays the purge amount, the contempt sentence is discharged, and the PPS does not have to serve time in jail. Any purge amounts paid by the PPS are credited to the child support.
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Q. What if I need to get my child support payment changed?
A. Changing Payments
Child support is set by a judicial order for a set period of time and can only be changed after notice and motion are filed. If either the PRS or PPS would like the terms of their child support order to be changed with the help of HFS/DCSS and the SAO, they may contact HFS/DCSS to request a modification review. HFS/DCSS will review the request and refer to the SAO if a change is legally warranted.
The PRS and PPS are each a party to the child support case and may choose to file their own pleading without the assistance of HFS/DCSS and the SAO, through private counsel or as a self-represented individual, seeking a modification, increase, or reduction, of the child support order with the Court.
