Who Runs Child Support Enforcement in Arkansas
Arkansas runs child support as a statewide program, not as a collection of independent city offices. The Office of Child Support Enforcement, usually called OCSE, sits within the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration. It works with county prosecuting attorneys, circuit courts, employers and the state payment clearinghouse. If you need to start a case, check a payment or ask why money has not arrived, your local office is normally the first stop.
Our database lists 41 child support offices across 26 Arkansas cities. Some are field offices with a street address, such as 322 Main Street in Little Rock or 2228 Albert Pike Road in Hot Springs. Others are listed only with a post office box, including Jonesboro, Lonoke, Lowell, Pine Bluff and Stuttgart. A box means mail is accepted there, so phone before you drive.
The legal framework comes from Arkansas Code Title 9, which covers domestic relations, and from Title IV-D of the federal Social Security Act. Federal law requires every state to operate a child support program. The amount of support is guided by a chart that the Arkansas Supreme Court adopted in Administrative Order No. 10. A judge may depart from the chart, but only after finding that the chart amount would be unjust or inappropriate.
What an Arkansas Child Support Office Can Do for You
Any parent or caregiver can ask for IV-D services, whether or not the family receives public assistance. You do not need a private lawyer to apply. The attorneys connected to the program represent the state's interest in the case, not you personally. Staff cannot give private legal advice about custody or visitation.
In practice, the local office helps with five main tasks:
- Locating a parent who has moved, changed jobs or left the state
- Establishing paternity, including genetic testing when a father is disputed
- Asking a circuit court to set a support order, including health insurance or medical support
- Collecting and enforcing payments, most often through income withholding
- Reviewing an order and requesting a modification when circumstances change
When a parent falls behind, the program has several enforcement tools. Employers can be ordered to withhold support from paychecks. State and federal tax refunds can be intercepted. Liens can be placed on property, and unpaid support can be reported to credit bureaus. Certain licenses can be suspended, and a judge can hold a parent in contempt. Which tool is used depends on the facts of your case.
Support and parenting time are separate issues in Arkansas courts. The office cannot decide custody or visitation. A parent who withholds visits is not excused from paying, and a parent who stops paying does not lose visitation rights automatically. Those questions go to the circuit court that handles your family case.
Metro and Rural Arkansas: Finding the Right Office
Office locations follow the shape of the state. The population is concentrated in central Arkansas and the northwest corner, while the Delta, the southern timberlands and the western mountains are far more rural. A parent in a small county may drive to a neighboring county seat for in-person service, so check the listings before you leave home.
Central Arkansas
The Little Rock office at 322 Main Street serves the busiest part of the state and can be reached at 501-371-5400. This is the main office in Pulaski County. Nearby offices include Lonoke at 501-676-2736, Benton at 318 Edison Avenue (501-860-6162) and Conway at 2455 Washington Avenue (501-329-1721). Benton here is the city in Saline County, which is different from Benton County in the northwest. Hot Springs, in Garland County, is reachable at 501-321-1561.
The Delta and Northeast
Eastern Arkansas has a string of offices along and near the Mississippi River. Blytheville's Child Support Enforcement Unit at 1102 Byrum Road (870-763-5970) serves Mississippi County. Further south are Forrest City at 3945 North Washington Street (870-633-7745), West Helena at 648 Sebastian Street (870-572-3545) and McGehee at 504 Highway 65 South (870-222-4818). Marion, at 3821 North Airport Road (870-739-2555), sits in Crittenden County within reach of the Memphis area, so cases there often involve a parent living in Tennessee.
In the northeast, the Jonesboro office in Craighead County lists a mailing address and can be reached at 870-972-5510. Pocahontas, at 1905 Old County Road (870-892-4911), and Batesville (870-251-4333) cover the surrounding counties.
South, West and Northwest Arkansas
South Arkansas offices include Camden at 151 South Adams Avenue (870-837-1838), Hope at 811 North Hervey Street (870-777-8400), Monticello at 428 West Gaines Avenue (870-367-8763) and El Dorado at 307 American Road (870-862-9785), which serves Union County. Texarkana, at 210 North State Line Avenue (870-772-3443), sits directly on the Texas border. Cases there frequently involve a parent or employer on the Texas side.
In the west, Russellville at 800 East Main Street (479-968-7051) and Mena at 806 10th Street (479-394-6339) serve river valley and Ouachita Mountain communities. In the northwest, Lowell (479-770-5443) and Berryville (870-423-2979) cover the Benton County and Carroll County areas.
What to Bring and How to Prepare Before You Call or Visit
A complete first contact saves weeks. Gather what you can before you phone or walk in. Missing items will not necessarily stop your application, but they slow the search for the other parent.
- A photo ID and your current address, phone number and employer
- Each child's full name, date of birth and Social Security number
- Birth certificates, especially if paternity has not been legally established
- Any existing court order, divorce decree or paternity judgment
- The other parent's full name, last known address, employer and any identifying details
- Records of payments made or received, plus health insurance information for the children
Call the office first to confirm hours and whether a walk-in visit is the best option. Some tasks, such as address updates or payment questions, can often be handled by phone. Write down your case number and keep it with your paperwork, because every contact goes faster when you can give it right away.
Payments, Clearinghouse Records and Keeping Your Case Current
In most Arkansas cases, payments move through the state's child support clearinghouse rather than from one parent directly to the other. That gives both sides a payment record. If you receive support, ask the office how your money is distributed, whether by direct deposit or another method. If you pay support, keep proof of every payment, and never hand cash to the other parent without a receipt.
Report any change in your address, job or income promptly. Employers must honor an income withholding order, and a new employer can only withhold if the office knows where to send the order. If you are the parent paying support and your income drops, do not simply stop paying. Past-due support generally cannot be erased after the fact, so ask the office about a review and a court modification as soon as your situation changes.
The child support program in Arkansas is administered by the state's child support enforcement agency, which operates through a network of county-level offices that handle case intake, order establishment, payment processing, and enforcement across the state under the authority of Title IV-D of the Social Security Act.
Child Support Offices locations are available in 26 cities across Arkansas. They are spread across 26 counties.
Cities with the highest concentration include Little Rock, Camden, Batesville, which serve as regional hubs for child support case processing and interstate enforcement coordination for cases involving parents in multiple states.
Non-custodial parents in Arkansas who are current on their support obligation and experiencing a significant change in income — such as job loss or medical disability — may be eligible to request a formal modification review through the state child support agency without having to hire an attorney.
Custodial parents in Arkansas who receive public assistance are automatically enrolled in child support services as a condition of TANF or Medicaid eligibility. Parents not receiving public assistance can still apply for child support services voluntarily and typically receive the same level of enforcement assistance at little or no cost.
Browse Child Support Offices by county across Arkansas to find the nearest location.
Using Local Child Support Offices Across Arkansas
Many Arkansas offices are small and serve several counties, so call ahead rather than assuming a walk-in will be answered right away. The Berryville office at 803 Champlin Avenue appears twice in our listings with the same address and phone number, 870-423-2979. It serves Carroll County and the surrounding Ozarks communities. In south Arkansas, the Camden office at 151 South Adams Avenue, 870-837-1838, serves Ouachita County.
Listings use the city name from the mailing address, which can differ from the office's actual town. Forrest City is shown as Forrest, and Helena-West Helena is shown under West Helena. Searching by county and confirming by phone is the most reliable approach. If you are near a state line, such as in Texarkana or Marion, tell staff at the start if the other parent lives outside Arkansas.