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Child Support

Office of Child Support Enforcement

After being temporarily re-located to 290 Main St.  for the purpose of essential renovations, the Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) of Erie County has once again settled back in its usual location on the second floor of the Rath Building, downtown Buffalo, effective 12/16/24. The department thanks community members for their patience during that brief transition.

OCSE - Erie County
95 Franklin Street
Rath Building - Room 230
Buffalo, New York 14202

Service

Service is available from the Erie County Office of Child Support Enforcement through the following remote contact channels:

  • Call 1-888-208-4485
  • Complete Customer Service Inquiry Form. Provide your daytime phone number, email address and mailing address and mail or email it to the addresses below.
  • All challenge forms are available online
  • Applications for services can be found online

General Information

The Office of Child Support was created in 1975 as part of Federal Legislation amending the Social Security Act. The Erie County Office of Child Support Enforcement [OCSE] is part of a Federal, State and Local effort to establish and collect child support from legally responsible individuals.

child playing with toy car

Purpose

The purposes of the Office of Child Support Enforcement are:

  • Locate absent parents and establish paternity of children born out of wedlock.
  • Establish, enforce and collect child support from legally responsible individuals.
  • Reduce the cost of public assistance for taxpayers.

Goal

By fulfilling its mandates, OCSE also helps to strengthen families and reduce welfare spending by placing the responsibility for supporting children on those parents with the financial resources to provide such support. For families receiving Temporary Assistance, the establishment and enforcement of support obligations provide a step toward self-sufficiency. If the child support collected is high enough, the family is able to leave the public assistance rolls. Furthermore, by providing child support enforcement services to families not in receipt of public assistance; further dependence on public assistance is avoided.

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