Wisconsin Department of Children and Families - Division of Early Care and Education
Bureau of Child Care Subsidy Administration

Wisconsin Shares Handbook

4.7 Child Support Cooperation

Each parent in the Wisconsin Shares Assistance Group (AG) must cooperate with the Child Support Agency (CSA) for all their minor biological or adopted children over the age of 60 days, unless a good cause exception has been granted for a particular child (see 4.7.4).  

Cooperation means that the custodial parent must assist with:

• Identifying and locating an absent parent

• Establishing the legal parentage of any child of the custodial parent

• Obtaining any support payments or any other payments or property to which that parent and any minor child of that parent may have rights

Relatives or non-relative adults caring for a child that is not their biological or adopted child are not required to cooperate with the CSA for that child.

The Income Maintenance (IM) Agency must refer the following individuals through CWW to the local CSA:

• Unmarried pregnant women, including minors

• Families where the biological or adoptive parent is absent from the home (but not cases where the absence is due to military service)

• Non-marital co-parent cases (families where the parents either are not married to each other or were not married to each other when the child was conceived or born), when paternity has not been established

For more information about the automated CARES referral process, see Process Help Chapters 62 and 65.

Establishing Legal Parentage

For non-marital children, parentage is legally established by a court order, a Voluntary Paternity Acknowledgment (VPA) form (F-05024) filed with the Wisconsin Vital Records office, or through the administrative paternity process, in which genetic testing establishes the man as the father and paternity is entered in the KIDS system by the CSA. When paternity is established using any of these methods, the father’s name is added to the birth certificate. A father’s name on a birth certificate is evidence that paternity has been established. A same-sex spouse added to the child’s birth certificate through a court process is a legal parent of the child.

The following designations for a father are used in CWW:

Claimed father: A claimed father is an individual who claims to be the father of a child but has not had his paternity established or had a paternity action initiated. A claimed father is not included in the Wisconsin Shares AG. The case must be referred to the CSA so that steps to establish paternity can be taken.

Acknowledged father: An acknowledged father is an individual who claims to be the father of a child who has started a process to establish paternity but has not yet been added to the child's birth certificate. An acknowledged father meets one (1) of the following criteria:  

• The father has filed a Voluntary Paternity Acknowledgement, but the Wisconsin Vital Records office has not yet finished processing it

• A paternity action (adjudication) has been initiated, but the courts have not yet finalized it

This information can be self-declared unless questionable (see 7.6). An acknowledged father is included in the Wisconsin Shares AG. However, because there is still no evidence of a formal adjudication, the case must be referred to the CSA so that steps to establish paternity may be taken. Once paternity is established, the father’s name is added to the child’s birth certificate.  

Legal/adjudicated father: A father who has had his paternity legally established is the legal/adjudicated father. A legal/adjudicated father meets one (1) of the following criteria:

• The father's name appears on the birth certificate for a child

• The parent provides a copy of the court adjudication or similar proof of a Voluntary Paternity Acknowledgment  being filed with another state

A legal/adjudicated father is included in the Wisconsin Shares AG. A referral to the CSA is only needed if the father moves out of the home.

Marriage of one (1) biological or adoptive parent to another person does not relieve the other biological or adoptive parent of their child support obligations. Both biological or adoptive parents are responsible for supporting their children, regardless of subsequent relationships. A stepparent can only adopt a child if the child’s second biological or adoptive parent has agreed to relinquish their parental rights.

Marital Presumption

If the parents are married and living together, but the mother claims that the husband is not the father of the child(ren) born during that marriage, the IM agency must not refer the case to the CSA. Under Wisconsin law there is a presumption of paternity based on the marriage of the parties. The paternity presumption may be overturned by a court with genetic evidence that shows the man is not the biological father. If the court rules that the man is not the father, the court ruling may be used to remove the man’s name from the birth record. The man’s name can only be removed through a court process. Therefore, since the parties are living together and the husband’s name is on the birth certificate, the husband is included in the AG because he is the legal/adjudicated father until the paternity presumption is overturned.

If the husband moves out of the home, then the case must be referred to the CSA with the husband named as the Absent Parent, even if the wife names a different person as the father. The CSA will initiate an action naming the husband as the Absent Parent, at which time he can refute paternity and request genetic testing. If the parties are married and living together, but the husband’s name is not listed on the birth certificate (due to prior genetic testing), then the case must be referred to the CSA as paternity has not been established.

The presumption of paternity does not currently apply to same-sex spouses who are married at the time of a child’s birth. Same-sex spouses must follow a different legal process to have their name added to the birth certificate. If both parents are listed on the birth certificate, then legal parentage has been established. If one (1) parent moves out, the case must be referred to the CSA using the other parent’s name as the Absent Parent. If the other parent’s name is not listed on the birth certificate, then legal parentage has not been established. In these scenarios, the agency worker must refer the case to the CSA using either the named father or the unknown father as the Absent Parent.

4.7.1 Exemptions to Child Support Cooperation

4.7.2 Child Support Noncooperation

4.7.3 Good Cause Publication

4.7.4 Good Cause Claim

This section last updated 12/1/2022