The purpose of the Child Support Enforcement Program is to administer Florida's child support laws to help ensure that children receive the financial support that they need when it is not received from one or both of their parents.

The Department of Revenue administers Florida's Child Support Enforcement Program in 65 counties. Activities performed by the program include establishing paternity, obtaining child support orders, enforcing these orders, and receiving and distributing child support payments. The state attorney's office provides services in Miami-Dade County and the county clerk of court provides services in Manatee County.

The federal government requires each state to operate a child support enforcement program as a condition of receiving the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) federal block grant. The program collects child support for two groups of families: those who receive public assistance (temporary cash assistance, Medicaid, and food assistance) and those who do not but who ask the state to help collect child support.

The involvement of the state in establishing paternity and establishing and collecting child support helps children receive the financial and medical support they need. In addition, the program has a cost benefit to taxpayers.  Congress created the federal child support enforcement program in 1975 as an attempt to reduce public expenditures on welfare (Aid to Families with Dependent Children-AFDC) by obtaining support from noncustodial parents and reducing applications for such assistance.  The successor programs to AFDC include temporary cash assistance, Medicaid, and food assistance. Payments collected can also be used to reimburse the federal and state government for temporary cash assistance funds received by the family. 

For federal Fiscal Year 2018-19, the program projects collecting $1.61 billion in child support, which exceeds the approved standard of $1.58 billion. Of the amount collected, the program projects distributing $1.62 billion during the fiscal year.

The program is funded by several sources.  Funds to operate the program are received through grants and incentives from the federal government, local governments, fees and expenses collected from individuals served by the program, interest earned on collections, and from the state's general revenue.

Economic Impact Payment Offsets. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act provides cash payments to many Americans in 2020.  Under federal law, these payments, referred to by the U.S. Department of the Treasury as Economic Impact Payments, are subject to federal offset for persons who owe past-due child support.  This means the U.S. Department of the Treasury will take the amount of past-due support owed from the Economic Impact Payment and send that amount to the Child Support Program.  This applies to parents who owe a combined past-due balance on all their cases of at least $150 in public assistance cases and $500 in cases with no public assistance.

Florida is Generally Following Statutory Child Support Guidelines; Deviations are Limited, Report 17-11, November 2017

Other Reports

Office of Child Support Enforcement Preliminary Report FY 2018, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Child Support Enforcement, June 2019.
Websites of Interest
Florida Department of Revenue, Child Support Enforcement Customer Service
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Child Support Enforcement
National Child Support

Performance Information

Performance measures and standards for the department may be found in its Long Range Program Plan.

Chapters 61 and 409, Florida Statutes.

Customer Contact Center, 850-488-5437 (all counties except Miami-Dade)
Miami-Dade County 1-305-530-2600
Website