Child Support Team

The Greene County Prosecutor's Child Support Division generally has authority over four types of cases: 1) the establishment of paternity for children who are born out of wedlock and the establishment of a child support order for the support of that child; 2) enforcement of existing child support orders; 3) initiating and responding to Uniform Interstate Family Support Act cases; 4) other requests made by the State of Missouri Family Support Division (FSD).

In all the above cases, the client of this office is always the State of Missouri and this office cannot proceed without a referral from the Missouri Department of Social Services Family Support Division (FSD).

OFFICE INFORMATION

The Child Support Office is located in the Greene County Judicial Courts Facility, 1010 North Boonville Avenue, Springfield, Missouri 65802. The Child Support Office is on the first floor of that facility. Once you enter the building, the office is the first door to the left after passing through the metal detectors. You may reach the office by phone by calling (417) 868-4126. The Child Support office is open during normal work days from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Directions: If you are arriving from the west via I-44: Get off I-44 at Kansas Expressway. Go South (or right) on Kansas Expressway to Division Street. Turn east (or left) on Division Street and go to Boonville Avenue. Turn south (or right) on Boonville. Go south on Boonville to the 1000 block of Boonville. The Judicial Courts Facility is located on the east (or left) side of the street.

If you are arriving via U.S. Highway 65: Get off of Highway 65 on Chestnut Expressway. Go west on Chestnut Expressway to Boonville Avenue. Turn North (or right) on Boonville and go on Boonville to the 1000 block. The Judicial Courts Facility is located on the east (or right) side of the street.

You may want to use a private vendor website such as mapquest at www.mapquest.com or you may want to use your own favorite website directions finder.

HOW CHILD SUPPORT IS HANDLED IN MISSOURI

The child support enforcement program in Missouri is frequently referred to as the IV-D program as it originates from Title IVD of the Social Security Act. There are two main agencies that handle child support in Missouri; they are the Family Support Division (FSD) and County Prosecutor's Offices across the state.

FSD is the agency that initially handles all the cases. If they can adequately resolve the matter the case remains with that agency. If they cannot adequately resolve the issue they refer the case to the appropriate Prosecuting Attorney's Office. (Note: To open a child support case, contact FSD at (417) 895-6338.)

Once FSD refers the case to the Prosecutor, the law sets out specific time frames for the case to be resolved. Note: The Prosecuting Attorney does not have authority to act until FSD makes a case referral.

IMPORTANT: A frequent issue that arises is does child support continue if the child goes to college. We have included a link to a statute which concerns child support, its continuation and/or termination. The link is www.moga.mo.gov/statutes/C400-499/4520000340.HTM . Please talk with your attorney regarding how you can comply with the relevant statutes. If you do not conform to the law, you may not qualify for child support from the other party. We have also included two other links that may be useful for your review and they are www.moga.mo.gov/statutes/c452.htm and www.dor.mo.gov/links.htm .

PLEASE BE AWARE THAT WE REPRESENT THE STATE OF MISSOURI AND ARE NOT YOUR ATTORNEY. WE WILL PURSUE YOUR CASE BUT OUR CLIENT IS THE STATE OF MISSOURI WHOSE INTERESTS MAY NOT ALWAYS COINCIDE WITH YOUR DESIRES. THAT IS NOT OUR DECISION BUT IS A STATUTORY REQUIREMENT GIVEN TO US BY THE STATE OF MISSOURI.

Paternity Actions: Once a paternity action is referred to the Prosecutor, a Petition for Declaration of Paternity is filed with the court. Genetic testing of the parties is performed to determine if a named party is the father of the child. The laboratory perform tests until they exclude the person as the Father or until the results show at least a 98% probability that he is the Father. If the results of the genetic testing establishes that an alleged father has a probability of being the Father then a hearing is held to obtain a Judgment/Court Order establishing paternity and an attempt will be made to establish a child support order for the support of the child. The amount of time required to establish paternity can vary depending on whether the party disputes that he is the father of the child or not. Most challenged paternity actions are resolved within twelve months. Many can be resolved in as little as four months.

Enforcement Actions:

Civil: A Motion for Contempt against the non-paying party is filed in the court to begin an enforcement action. The person that is not paying is then served by the sheriff with the Motion for Contempt and a Order to Show Cause why they should not be held in contempt. The non-paying party is directed to appear in court on a certain date. At this initial appearance, the prosecutor will make an attempt to reach an agreement with the non-paying party. This agreement usually involves a payment plan. If an agreement is made the case will be continued so the court can monitor the party's compliance with the agreement. If an agreement cannot be reached the case is set for a hearing, which is like a trial. At the hearing the Prosecutor's Office has to prove the following: 1) that there was an order; 2) that the non-paying party knew of the order; 3) that the non-paying party is not paying as directed by the order. The non-paying party then must show that they had good cause for not paying as directed by the order. If the non-paying party fails to establish good cause, the Judge may find the non-paying party to be in contempt of court and can order the non-paying party be committed to the county jail until such time as they purge themselves of the contempt by paying a specific amount of money set by the court. This payment generally is paid to the custodial parent.

Criminal: This can be charged as a misdemeanor or felony. A misdemeanor carries a sentence of up to one year in the Greene County Jail and/or a fine up to One Thousand Dollars ($1,000). A felony carries a sentence of up to five years in the Department of Corrections and/or a fine of up to Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000).

Both civil and criminal actions have their own unique pluses and minuses and we will determine which action would be the most appropriate in any case referred to this office.

Modifications: The Office of the Prosecuting Attorney does not have authority to litigate modification cases. The Family Support Division (FSD) does handle modifications. They generally require that the order be more than three years old and that the Missouri Child Support Guidelines indicates that there would be a twenty per cent change in the child support amount. In certain circumstances, FSD may seek a modification of a court order sooner than three years, although the criterion is stringent. You should be aware that if you ask to either increase or decrease the child support amount, if the child support guidelines show the opposite to be true, FSD will follow the guidelines.

Visitation and custody: Neither FSD nor the Prosecutor's Office has the authority to litigate these issues. You need to seek the representation of a private attorney.

Child Support and Visitation: If you feel the custodial parent has denied you your visitation rights and you want to stop paying your child support, you still are under a duty to pay your court ordered child support until the court modifies that ordered amount. You need to seek the representation of a private attorney.

YOU MAY BE INTERESTED IN ONE OR MORE OF THE FOLLOWING

Speakers: To have a person from our office speak at your school, church, union hall or business, call our office. If it involves a child support related topic call (417) 868-4126. The issue of child support impacts almost everyone in some way. Any other topic that is related to the Office of the Prosecuting Attorney please call (417) 868-4061.

MC+ insurance program: MC+ insurance is a low cost medical insurance program that many families qualify for. It allows children to be enrolled in Medicaid. The fees are based on income. Call (888) 275-5908 to see if you qualify.

Parent's Fair Share Program: The Parent's Fair Share Program is designed to assist the person owing child support to obtain a better paying job through training. To find out more about the Parent's Fair Share Program or to see if you qualify call (417) 895-6338.

Family Support Payment Center: The State of Missouri has created a centralized child support processing center in Jefferson City Missouri. All IV-D payments are now sent to this location. They can be contacted as follows: Family Support Payment Center, P.O. Box 109002, Jefferson City, Missouri 65110-9002 or phone 800-220-0530.

Additional web sites that you might find useful:


Note: The Prosecutor's office has no direct input into the sites listed above. The above sites are provided for your convenience.

WHO ARE WE

The Greene County Prosecutor's Office Child Support Team is composed of the following individuals:

Dennis W. Tichelkamp, Director and First Assistant Prosecutor

Dennis joined the Greene County Prosecutor's Office in 1984. Dennis received his undergraduate degree from Lincoln University and his law degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law. Dennis is a member of the National Child Support Enforcement Association, the Eastern Interstate Child Support Enforcement Association and the Western Interstate Child Support Enforcement Association. He is past president of the Missouri Child Support Enforcement Association. He has been selected as Prosecutor of the Year by MCSEA. He has given numerous speeches regarding child support to child support agencies, high schools and other entities.

Lara Webb, Senior Assistant Prosecutor

Lara joined the Greene County Prosecutor's Office in 1999. Lara received her law degree from the University of Missouri - Kansas City in 1995. Lara received her undergraduate degree from Central Methodist College in 1992 with a major in Psychology, graduating Magna Cum Laude. Lara is licensed to practice law in Missouri and Kansas. Before moving to Greene County, Lara was a staff attorney for MAXIMUS, Inc., in Wyandotte, Kansas. Her duties while there were to enforce and modify child support orders. Lara has also served as an Assistant Prosecutor in Jackson County, Missouri, establishing paternity orders. While in Jackson County in 1997 Lara received the honor of being named Attorney of the Year in the Family Support Division. In 2005 she was elected President-Elect of the Missouri Child Support Enforcement Association www.mcseaonline.org and will serve a three year presidential term. She was also elected to be a Director on the Board of the Eastern Regional Interstate Child Support Association www.ericsa.org to serve 2005-2008.

Jonathan Osborne, Assistant Prosecutor

Jon joined the Greene County Prosecutor's Office in February 2005. He is originally from Connecticut, where he received a B.A. in History and a Minor in Justice and Law Administration from Western Connecticut State University, graduating Magna Cum Laude. Jonathan moved to Missouri where he attended and graduated from the St. Louis University School of Law in 2004. After being licensed to practice law in Missouri, he worked in private practice.

Brian Neal, Assistant Prosecutor

Brian joined the Greene County Prosecutor's Office in January 2007, and is from Springfield, Missouri. He received a B.A. in History from Missouri State University in Springfield, and graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law in 2006.

Ilona Rowsey, Office Supervisor

Ilona joined the Greene County Prosecutor's Office in 1978.

Marjory Ray, Legal Technician

Marjory joined the Greene County Prosecutor's Office in 1980.

Linda Hoffman, Legal Technician

Linda joined the Greene County Prosecutor's Office in 1983.

Tracy Ison, Legal Technician

Tracy joined the Greene County Prosecutor's Office in 1986.

Vivian King, Legal Technician

Vivian joined the Greene County Prosecutor's Office in 1990.

Helen Holloway, Legal Technician

Helen joined the Greene County Prosecutor's Office in 1992.

Sheri Castaneda-Harris, Legal Technician

Sheri joined the Greene County Prosecutor's Office in 1993.

Bill Hines, Legal Technician

Bill joined the Greene County Prosecutor's Office April 9, 2007.

Joanne Briano, Clerk

Joanne joined the Greene County Prosecutor's Office in 1999.

Carol Johnson, Clerk

Carol joined the Greene County Prosecutor's Office in 2006.

Mark Jackson, Investigator

Mark joined the Greene County Prosecutor's Office in 2001

Jason Cornelison, Investigator

Jason joined the Greene County Prosecutor's Office in 2001.

Bobby Smith, Investigator

Bobby joined the Greene County Prosecutor's Office in 2007.