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Safety measures

Intro

The safety of families applying for or receiving child support services is critically important. There may be parts of the child support process that raise safety concerns. Fear and safety concerns may be about physical, sexual, emotional, psychological, or economic abuse.

As part of the child support process, both parents or caregivers are often required to provide information about themselves, the children, and the other party. Information may be about finances, employer and wages, contact and location, and open programs such as public assistance or healthcare coverage. Some information may be shared with the other party, and the courts.

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female county worker meeting female participant
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County workers can help child support participants access services more safely.
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The child support program has safety measures available and are working to develop more measures through pilot programs. If your child support worker is aware of your concerns, they can discuss safety measures available in your case.

Measures available may be:

  • Keeping your address and location protected from disclosure to the other party or the public – this can include protecting information about where you live, work and a child’s day care location
  • Using your preferred method of communication with your child support worker, such as phone, email or messages through Minnesota Child Support Online
  • Separate appointment scheduling, so you don’t have to be in the same room as the other parent
  • Alerts for certain actions on your case when they occur
  • Request accommodations for court hearings, such as not having to appear in person or if required to be in person, extra security or precautions at court
  • Provide a parenting decisions affidavit for you to make requests to the court about custody and parenting time, where you could indicate safety requests
  • Input into how the child support order is enforced, to address safety concerns  

For some families, the available measures may not be enough to provide child support services safely. If you feel this is your situation, talk to your child support worker. 

For non-emergency help navigating child support matters and safety, survivors of domestic abuse can call a Specialized Standpoint hotline at 612-767-8927. This hotline is being offered as part of a new initiative. See the Standpoint graphic at the bottom of this page for more information. 

For help in a crisis or to find resources near you, including safe shelter, advocacy, counseling, legal assistance and safety planning, the DayOne Crisis Hotline, 866.223.1111, is Minnesota’s statewide hotline for people experiencing violence, 24/7/365. Home - Minnesota Day One®: The Call to Safety

​Safety assessment

​Hennepin and Ramsey County child support agencies are implementing safety assessments in new paternity cases. Child support participants in those counties will be asked to assess their safety in the child support process using the 0 to 3 system pictured below. The child support worker will use this rating system to have further conversations with participants on their safety concerns and what safety measures are available for their situation. You may have received a safety assessment with this information on it.

"Let's talk about safety"

Use the zero to three system below to determine what conversation on safety you may want to have with your child support worker.

Safety assessment graphic with a threat level scale from zero to three.
Safety assessment graphic displaying safety concern level from zero to three.
Standpoint hotline graphic