[winkle]

I have a child born end of May this year, it took the CSA until mid August to contact his father (even though they had all his details), I've today been told from the CSA that once the claim is sorted the payments will only be backdated to when they contacted my son's father and not when he was first born or even when I contacted them (which was 10 days after my son was born). Is there anything I can do to get the money I feel he should pay from when my son was born up until the CSA contacted him. I've been told the courts don't deal with this sort of thing anymore

[macksmom]

I would ask to speak to someone higher up.

My daughter father and I didn't go to court for child support until she was almost 6 months old, and they still backdated everything starting from the day she was born.

It's not like the child had no financial needs up until when they contacted him...

[ScottGem]

What is CSA and why are you going though them? Did you go on public assistance?

[cjonline]

CSA must be Child Support Agency. In Virginia Beach, maybe elsewhere too, is called DCSE -- the Department of Child Support Enforcement.

In court, at least here, they back date to the filing date. macksmom is right... contact someone higher up than your worker, or who you talked to, they should back date the support at least to when you came to them for help.

[jverner]

Winkle might be in England because the child support system there is called the Child Support Authority. From what I see on the web, it's a mess.

As a general rule, at least in the US, a noncustodial parent will be obliged to pay child support back to a child's birth and perhaps some of the medical expenses. But child support law is very state-specific. Look up your state at The Child Support Web Child Support Enforcement Information & Resources

[s_cianci]

I've been told the courts don't deal with this sort of thing anymore

I don't know who told you this but the courts certainly do deal with it. Has there been an order of child support established? If so, was it established through CSA or through the Family Court? If it was established through CSA, it's true that they'll only take issue with the time they were involved onward. You can file a motion in Family Court to collect arrerages covering the period from the date of birth to when CSA got involved in the case. Of course, if the difference is not an inordinately long time (i.e. a week or two), it may not be worth the time and hassle going to court.