The State of Illinois, formerly referred to as IDPA, and now officially known as Illinois Department of Health and Family Services, or "HFS" for short has child support commencement and enforcement services that can be beneficial on many levels. These services are available to anyone that makes the request and are NOT based upon one's financial status. It is my understanding that the only fee required is an possible application fee. The catch though is that there are many people who want this free service and many others who must have state intervention due to the fact of their use of the state's financial assistance, thus the results do not happen fast. To be honest the word speed or any likeness to it would never describe the HFS.
IDHFS has very detailed website located at www.ilchildsupport.com. Within the last year there has been great strides to improve the information, links, and contact numbers. My personal opinion of IDHFS is that there are many employees who work to help people, there are others who just do not have a clue about what goes on in a typical case and just do not care but most significantly the system is slow and ineffective.
IHFS does not do the following:
Allow you to meet one on one with a regional case worker within a short time period to discuss your case.
File court actions for child support increases routinely.
Represent you on issues of custody or visitation.
Keep a running tab of what is owed to you, including the mandatory interest so that you know what is owed on any day you call.
Aggressively use remedies in court to apply assets of deadbeats to pay off what is owed.
Aggressively file court actions against employers who fail to comply with a Order/Notice to Withhold Income.
Fix problems promptly created by inaccurate Order/Notices to Withhold Income.
Provide computer documentation as to how there past due support calculations are derived.
There are many great employees of IDPA that help people everyday, the system they work in though is understaffed, poorly funded, and in some cases uneducated to reality. When it comes to your child you should not have to compromise due to these flaws, always take the extra step to speak out. If you are not satisfied with their services handle the matter yourself or hire a knowledgeable child support attorney. DO NOT hire an attorney who can take on all types of law, there is simply to much to know.