The child support agency also establishes paternity and collects support when a parent lives outside of California - in any of the other 49 states and many foreign countries. If the law allows, support will be sought in California courts. However, in many cases DCSS must use the courts of the other state or country. Every state and country has its own court system, laws and procedures. By their very nature, these cases are more complex and take more time to get results - in most cases, more than 6 months. It is important for parents to provide as much information to the child support agency as possible and to assist in the considerable paperwork required in these cases.
