Legal Question in Family Law in Ohio

Collection of Child Support

I am not licensed to practice law in Ohio, so the following answer should not be construed as giving legal advice, practicing law, or creating an attorney-client relationship.

In Virginia, our IV-D agency (so named because that corresponds to a section number of applicable federal law) is called the Division of Child Support Enforcement. Even though one of the Division's jobs is to collect from absent parents reimbursement for ADC funds paid, it also has statutory authority to be hired as a collection agent for non-ADC cases. You should check your state statutes to see whether DHS has the same authority.

Concerning "garnishment" of a social security disability award to reduce child support arrearages, garnishments in the traditional sense must be preceded by a judgment in favor of the creditor. However, there is another concept known as "offset" or "setoff" and there is a specific federal statute that authorizes the government to offset against certain benefits to be paid (primarily tax refunds) amounts that are due to other federal - and to some state - agencies. You may want to contact the Social Security Administration, which appears to be the agency that made an award to you, to find out what authority it relied on to reduce that award.