History of the CSEA

Prior to 1974, all Child Support collections were reported and maintained by the Tuscarawas County Clerk of Courts. In 1974, three agencies were in operation:

• Bureau of Support - Responsible for collection & disbursement of money for Public Assistance and Non Public Assistance cases
• IV-D Unit - Responsible for establishment of Support Orders and for compiling collection records for all Public Assistance cases
• Legal Unit - Responsible for all Legal action referred to them by the Bureau of Support or the IV-D Unit

At that time, each Unit was governed by three separate entities. The Bureau of Support was governed by the Tuscarawas County Court of Common Pleas. The IV-D Unit was governed by the Tuscarawas County Department of Human Services, and the Legal Unit was governed by the Tuscarawas County Prosecutors Office. By 1988, Ohio passed legislation causing a merger of the three Units. This merger gave each county the option of placing the Child Support Enforcement Agency under one governing authority:

• The County Commissioners
• The Court System
• The Department of Human Services
• The County Prosecutors Office

A task force was formed and it was decided that the Child Support Enforcement Agency would be placed under the governing authority of the Tuscarawas County Prosecutor thus creating the Tuscarawas County CSEA.