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Harford County Department of Social Services
2 South Bond Street, Suite 300
Bel Air, Maryland 21014-3736
410-836-4700
Jerome Reyerson, Director
Office of Child Support Enforcement
101 South Main Street, Suite 200
Bel Air, Maryland 21014
Customer Service 1-800-332-6347
Automated Customer Service & Payment Information
1-800-723-9937
facsimile 410-638-8990
Karen Mayer, Assistant Director
Harford County State's Attorney's Office
Family Support Division
101 South Main Street, Suite 102
Bel Air, Maryland 21014
410-638-3442
Harford County Sheriff's Department
Child Support Enforcement Unit
45 South Main Street
Bel Air, Maryland 21014
410-836-5425
Harford County Circuit Court Clerk's Office
20 West Courtland Street
Bel Air, Maryland 21014
410-638-3247
James J. Reilly, Circuit Court Clerk for Harford County
*Enter your starting address to get map and driving directions to this office.
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Welcome to the Harford County Office of Child Support Enforcement Web Site!
Our goals are to strive to exceed customer expectations and provide the highest quality of service.
This site will provide you with an overview of the many programs our County has designed to maintain
this quality of service.
CUSTOMER SERVICE:
The Harford County Office of Child Support Enforcement has joined the Department of Human Resources Contact
Center. This is a high volume customer service call center that offers enhanced services to our customers.
The nationwide toll free number is 1-800-332-6347.
This service allows for calls to be completed in English or Spanish. The center is open from 8:00 AM to
5:00 PM EST, Monday through Friday. The center is accessible nationwide during these hours. The caller will
be connected to an individual who will be able to answer basic questions pertaining to their case. Any
questions that cannot be resolved by the call center staff will be forwarded to the Harford County Office
via e-mail that same day.
The Harford County Office will attempt to respond to the customer within forty-eight hours. Customers are
always welcome to stop by the office but it is recommended that if they need to speak with the enforcement
specialist, an appointment should be made first by contacting the call center. The call center will e-mail
the request to the specialist who will return the call to schedule a convenient time.
ENFORCEMENT:
Harford County uses all State and Federal enforcement methods, however, we have also developed additional
tools for enforcement and collections. The standard tools presently used, such as: earnings withholding
orders, lottery intercepts, tax intercepts, drivers license suspensions, passport suspensions, new hire
reporting, and credit bureau reporting are utilized by all municipalities. In addition to these tools,
Harford County has developed special programs to assist in the enforcement of child support.
Once a child support order is made payable through the Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) and
payments cease, various enforcement procedures are initiated. If the Non Custodial Parent's (NCP) employer
is known, an earnings-withholding order will be sent to the employer. If the employer is not known, the
case may be set for a Show Cause hearing for the parent to show cause to the court why he/she is not
obeying the court order. Prior to court, the parent may contact our office and negotiate a settlement.
If a settlement is not reached, his/her case will be heard in court. For the self employed NCP, the
specialist may accept a lump sum payment with signed orders stating that a certain amount will be paid
on a particular date or a bench warrant will be issued for the parent.
In some instances the NCP is unable to work due to an injury or disability. At this time the specialist
will investigate and determine if the parent has filed a claim, such as a workman's compensation or personal
injury award. If this is the case, a Trustee assignment is obtained and that award is attached for any past
due child support. In addition, if the parent owns real property or any valuable asset, he/she may be ordered
by the court to sell the property to repay the child support arrears.
SHERIFF DEPARTMENT:
Harford County is one of the few counties that have a dedicated sheriff's unit assigned to the Office of
Child Support Enforcement. This unit serves all of the bench warrants and subpoenas for child support. They
also design public service announcements on the cable systems and local newspapers such as the "ten most wanted".
They actively promote the child support program by staffing a booth at the annual Harford County Farm Fair and
providing child support information during their open house.
PRO SE FORMS ASSISTANCE PROJECT:
The Pro Se Forms Assistance Project is a program designed to enable persons to file their own domestic cases
without an attorney. Cases include divorce, custody, visitation or modification of visitation, child support
modification increase and decreases, contempt for failure to provide visitation. Forms for filing a case, as
well as forms to use to file an answer, are available from the Pro Se Forms Assistance office on the 2nd floor
of the Circuit Court.
The Pro Se Office schedules appointments and has open hours Monday through Thursday 8:30am - 4:30pm and
Friday 8:30am - 1:30pm. Appointments are preferred and the waiting time for an appointment is usually one week.
Assistance is also available by phone. 410-638-4916. The location is The Harford County Circuit Court, 20 West
Courtland Street, 2nd floor, Bel Air, MD 21014.
The program has a contractual attorney, Mrs. Lynn Reppar who offers consultations with persons with specific
legal questions. This attorney will only answer questions and will not represent anyone. The Pro Se Project is
designed for uncontested family law cases. You may still want to talk with a private attorney.
CHILD SUPPORT ORIENTATION:
Harford County is very proud of our new applicant orientation program. All new applicants for child support
services and all TCA applicants are provided with an orientation class. We explain the services our agency can
and cannot provide, an overview of how the child support community in Harford County operates and what is
expected from the applicant in this partnership. Day and evening sessions are available. This is an excellent
opportunity to establish a good working relationship between the customers and the child support specialists.
HARFORD COUNTY CHILD SUPPORT TASK FORCE:
Harford County has a multi-disciplinary task force that meets monthly to address child support issues in the county.
The task force is headed by the Chief Administrative Judge of the Circuit Court, William O. Carr and is made up of
members of the State's Attorney's Office, Office of Child Support Enforcement, Sheriff's Office, Non-Custodial Parent
Employment Program, Parent Access Program and Legal Aid Bureau. Each month the task force meets to review the processes
in place for establishing paternity, child support and collecting support. In addition to continually refining the
legal process for maximum efficiency, the group also hosts an annual child support conference for local child support
community members and works diligently to identify and implement new and innovative programs that promote the goals
of establishing and collecting support for all of the county's children.
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Parent Access Program
The program is designed to provide an opportunity for never married, separated and divorced parents to resolve
their child custody and visitation problems without having to petition the court. The program offers services at
no cost to parents who are referred by the Office of Child Support Enforcement. In addition to the free services,
the program offers convenient appointment times and free transportation vouchers. The following is a brief
description of the available services:
Education - Through participation in The Divorce Education Program, parents are encouraged to focus
on the needs of their children. The program addresses common problems related to the breakup of a relationship for
both parents and their children. The classes promote the creation of healthy co-parenting relationships that
benefit the child(ren) and include a focus on effective problem solving techniques and maintaining constructive
communication.
Mediation - In order to come to an agreement about the custody and visitation of minor children,
mediation provides parents with the opportunity to resolve their disputes without the need for court hearings.
Mediators are impartial professionals that will help parents focus on the needs of their children. The coordination
of arrangements so that the children can have a healthy relationship with both parents will be addressed in
addition to how holidays and vacation time will be handled, how major decisions related to the health and well
being will be made, and how problems will be resolved. Appointments with a mediator may be scheduled during evening
and weekend hours as needed.
Parent Child Reunification Services - When there has been no history of contact between a parent and
child, or visitation has been interrupted for an extended period of time, the Visitation Access Project contracts
with two experienced mental health professionals that are able to actively intervene.
Supervised/Facilitated Visitation Services - When there are concerns about the ability of one parent
to parent effectively, the Parent Access Program contracts with professionals to provide unbiased feedback to the parents.
They also arrange for a supervised visitation to occur which is usually held at the Circuit Courthouse in Bel Air.
Transportation - Free transportation vouchers are available to participants of the Parent Access Program.
Benefits of the Program
In many cases, when there are issues related to custody and visitation between parents, the only way to address these
problems is by petitioning the court for relief. The cost of filing a petition in the Circuit Court is $80.00. In many
cases, the court will require parents to attend the Divorce Education Program at a cost of up to $75.00 per parent.
Additionally, parents are often referred to the Office of Family Court Services for an evaluation at a cost of up to
$300.00 per parent. If the court decides to order supervised visitation or parent-child reunification services, they
are available at a rate of $25.00 per hour. Transportation vouchers are not available and parents are often required
to miss time from work to attend court ordered sessions. The Parent Access Program offers all services, including
transportation, at no cost to parents. We are happy to be able to provide these services to you. Please take advantage
of the services that are relevant to you.
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