Laws/Regulations
Paternity
Establishing paternity gives a child a legal father. It also gives the father both rights and responsibilities related to helping take care of his child. By knowing both parents, a child gains a sense of identity and belonging. Making the relationship legal from the beginning provides a greater opportunity for a healthy relationship and insures the father's rights to a relationship with his child. Legal fathers have all of the same parental rights and responsibilities as the mother, including the right to seek custody or visitation.
Parents and their children should know about potentially inherited health problems. Establishing paternity provides the child a greater likelihood of having access to this information. In addition, establishing paternity is the first step in making plans to provide the financial support a child needs.
When legal paternity is established, the child will have access to:
• Social Security dependent or survivor benefits
• Inheritance rights
• Veteran's benefits
• Life and health insurance benefits
How is Paternity Established?
A man is presumed to be a child's legal father if he and his wife are legally married.
In all other cases, paternity must be established in one of two ways;
• Acknowledgment of Paternity, or
• Court Order
An Acknowledgment of Paternity is a form that you can complete at the hospital right after your baby is born. You can also complete the form at any Department of Social Services office and at the Department of Public Health, in Hartford. When this form is filed, the Department of Public Health will add your name to the Birth Certificate.
If one or both parents do not want to sign an Acknowledgment of Paternity, or the parents disagree about the identity of the father, a court order can also establish paternity. Your local Department of Social Services, Office of Child Support Services can help you with this process.
Genetic Testing
The Department of Social Services, Office of Child Support Services can help schedule a DNA test with or without going to court. Samples taken from the mother, the child, and the possible father are sent to a lab for testing. A form of positive identification is required and the test may be free of charge. Please contact your local DSS office to request more information.
Establish Paternity For Your Child...And For You! Questions and Answers for Moms. (Spanish Version)
Establish Paternity For Your Child...And For You! Questions and Answers for Dads. (Spanish Version)
When a Non-Custodial Parent Resides Outside of Connecticut
When a non-custodial parent lives in a different state, CT DSS may not have jurisdiction over him/her. However, it is our responsibility to establish paternity, establish child support, and enforce child support orders. We do this by processing referrals to other states based on your particular scenario.
If there is already an established child support order, we may be able to collect child support by sending an income withholding order (IWO) to the non-custodial parent's employer. If help is needed from the other state's child support agency to establish paternity, establish a court order, or enforce the payment of support, CT DSS may ask for the other state’s assistance under a law called the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (UIFSA). This law establishes cooperation between states in these matters, and each state uses the same law to process these cases.
Under UIFSA, information is sent to the other state's Central Registry where it is reviewed and forwarded to the appropriate local child support agency within that state. The local child support agency in the other state will communicate with the assigned child support Investigator from CT DSS regarding the status of your case, and will follow-up if additional paperwork or information is required. You may contact your assigned child support Investigator to find out information and the status of your case during this process.
Below is a link to U.S. states and territories where you may get further information regarding program profiles. Your case, however, will be handled by your CT DSS Investigator. You will not need to contact anyone from the other state.
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/css/irg-state-map Opens in a new window